|
|
Steve's Conclusion
By Josh Fate
|
Steve's SnapShot |
|
Pros
|
|
|
Cons
|
|
Timing
Test Results
|
|
|
Bottom Line
|
| Once again Canon has
improved on an already powerful and easy to use digicam. With a full set
of upgraded hardware and outstanding quality, this is a wonderfully
powerful camera with amazing quality. |
|
Pick This Up If...
|
| You are looking for an
extremely capable camera that can be used as a substitute for a dSLR
that captures high quality images and can be slid into your pocket or
purse with ease. |
Canon's new PowerShot S100 follows in the line of the PowerShot S90 and S95
from the last two years. These slightly more advanced digicams were
designed for people with a little more photography and camera knowledge,
but with its Smart Auto mode, anyone can use it the first time they
pick it up. This popular and powerful digicam has been blessed with some
major internal upgrades over the S95 from last year. A new 12-Megapixel
"High Sensitivity" CMOS imaging sensor, DIGIC 5 image processor, f/2.0
5x optical zoom lens, Neutral Density Filter, GPS and full 1080p HD
video capture will really make you drool; especially if you own one of
the previous models. All of this has been inserted into a very similar
sized and shaped body that includes the pop-up flash unit and 3.0-inch
461,000 dot LCD screen.
Handling the S100 is
easy with either one or two hands. A thumb and finger grip gives you
excellent control over the camera. Both the shutter release and
dedicated video recording button are easy to press and well located. The
continuation of the lens ring dial and selection dial on the back keep
changing settings quick and easy. While its loaded with creative
features, they are all easy to use, including the HDR and other special
shooting modes. Framing and viewing your images is accomplished on the
3.0-inch, 461,000 dot LCD screen that has been found on the last two
models. Featuring 5 levels of brightness, the highly detailed images are
easy to see in any lighting conditions.
Canon
also added GPS to the camera for easy logging of the your favorite
shooting locations. When the GPS logger is on, it will log the camera's
location all the time, even when it is turned off, so you will have to
careful with your battery. Using the included software with the camera
allows you to map out your entire trip afterwards picture-by-picture so
that you can recreate the trip in the future. The GPS also allows you to
set the camera to the exact local time based on the GPS satellites.
Looking
at our outdoor images, we see outstanding overall image quality; as was
expected in the continuation of this powerful "S" line. The new
12-Megapixel High Sensitivity CMOS imaging sensor and DIGIC 5 imaging
processor produce sharp, well exposed images with less image noise that
with a standard CCD sensor. This HS system is not only more sensitive
when it comes to capturing light, but it also allows the camera to
capture images at a much higher rate of up to 9.6fps. Mixed in with our
excellent outdoor images, the museum shot
stood out with the overexposed sky and aberrations around the tree.
Other than this we see outstanding color with just a few other hints of
aberrations within the outdoor images.
Also
new on the S100 is its 5x optical zoom lens. Expanding on both ends of
the zoom range, it now has a 35mm equivalent of 24-120mm and a bit more
versatility. There is no need to be alarmed with the new lens, as it
still offers that fast f/2.0 maximum aperture at wide angle, giving you
same low-light performance featured on the S95. While the telephoto
magnification is still not enough to shoot close-up images from across a
field, it gets a little closer while giving you even more one the wide
end as well. This range is perfect for typical shooting, and works very
well for close-up portraits.
Our indoor
sample images are where you can really see the amazing image quality
from the S100. ISO 80-400 are crystal clear, showing all of the finest
details within the image. Jumping up to ISO 800 still looks great, but when looking at 100% you can see that the finer details start to disappear. It's not until ISO 3200 that noise starts to become apparent and quickly jumps at ISO 6400.
Even though the noise shows up at the higher end, the S100's quality
excels at each setting. Assisting with your low-light images is a unique
automatic pop-up flash unit. While this flash isn't incredibly
powerful, the camera's high sensitivity capabilities and fast lens help
to extend its range when shooting at the wide end. With a range of up to
23ft. (W) you will not have any trouble lighting a medium sized room,
but when you zoom in, the range will decrease drastically until you hit
the 7.5ft. max. effective range at the telephoto end.
Portraits
in either Smart Auto mode or Portrait mode are as easy as can be. The
camera's Face Detection software works almost instantly, recognizing
faces within the frame and adjusting the settings accordingly. Our
sample images show perfectly exposed faces with soft, natural skin
tones. Along with the standard face detection, the advanced shutter
modes allow it to automatically capture an image when everyone in the
frame smiles, someone winks or when an additional face is detected
within the frame.
While the S100 has most of
the standard special shooting modes that you will find on any other
PowerShot model from Canon, there are two additional settings that we
would like to mention. First the camera comes with a built-in Neutral
Density filter mode that reduces the available light by 3 stops (1/8).
This allows you to use slower shutter speeds and smaller apertures in
bright situations. Our example shows the difference in the running water
with and without the filter. Secondly the camera features an Automatic
HDR shooting mode. With just one press of the shutter release, the
camera will capture 3 images with different levels of brightness. It
will then select the portions of each image to combine to create your
HDR image. Our sample shows a little overexposure in the sky and some
dark areas inside the bridge, but for an auto program inside the camera,
it did pretty well.
Two years ago we looked at the S90
and were a little disappointed with the lack of HD video capture. Last
year Canon fixed this with the addition of 720p HD video capture on the S95.
This year Canon finally added full 1080p HD video capture capabilities
to the S100. You still have options for lower resolution video if
needed, but it was nice to see Canon step up the S100's video
capabilities. During recording the camera keeps focus pretty well even
while panning with a moving subject, which is a problem for some
cameras. Its video quality is actually very good for a compact camera,
producing clear movies that will look great on the HDTV. They run
smoothly both on the camera and on the computer and the f/2.0 lens
allows you to record your movies in less than perfect lighting
conditions with no problems. There is also a slow motion movie mode that
is great for dramatic shots and studying sports movements like a golf
swing.
Powering the S100 is a 3.7V, 1120mAh
rechargeable Li-Ion battery, which is an upgrade over the S90 and S95's
1000mAh pack. Canon still claims you can get about 200 photos on s
single charge; same quote as the S95. We were able to capture over 100
still images and several short movies without any trouble, along with
concluding our other tests on a single charge. With the new 12-megapixel
sensor, DIGIC 5 processor, and GPS radio, the power does go a little
faster than with the old hardware; which is probably why Canon opted for
a slight stronger battery. This shorter battery life compared to other
cameras of this size is a small sacrifice for the improved quality and
performance shown here. Also included with the S100 is a compact,
portable quick charger that allows you to keep your battery and a spare
charged and on hand at all times. We feel picking up a spare pack is a
very wise choice, especially if you plan on using the camera's GPS
features often.
Bottom Line - Canon's PowerShot
S100 is a fantastic compact digicam that has been designed with the
quality and features that a professional can enjoy, while still providing
the ease of use for any first time photographer. With a new
12-Megapixel HS CMOS sensor, DIGIC5 image processor, 5x optical
zoom lens, f/2.0 maximum aperture, GPS functionality, and full 1080p HD video capturem it's easy to see why Canon is a leader in the industry. Image quality is no different from past models, providing some of the
highest quality images that we have seen from a compact digicam. This
wonderful camera is available now with a MSRP of $429.99 USD, and well
worth it in our humble opinion.
Visitors of Steves can visit the stores below for real-time pricing and availability. You can also find hot, soon to expire online offers on a variety of cameras and accessories at our very own Camera Deals page.
