It’s definitely that time of year… deals are coming (and going) at a fast and furious rate. The Canon Powershot S95 I bought just last week at full price, as there weren’t any discounted options, is currently marked down $50 on Amazon – $350 versus the $400 MSRP. Plus, they’re sweetening the deal with free shipping and a bonus 4GB SD card. While it’s too late for me, if you’re in the market for an extremely competent and pocketable digital camera, I suggest striking while the iron is hot.
We don’t generally cover cameras, but I’ll say this… I did my homework, plunked down my hard-earned cash and, though it’s still early, I’m quite pleased with the S95’s performance. It’s pretty rare that you find one product better than all others any given category, but the Canon S95 comes very highly regarded – primarily due to the manual controls (you can grow into) , f/2.0 lens, and CCD sensor. It also features a few nice upgrades over its predecessor like the ability to shoot 720p video. But don’t take my word for it, here’s some of the material I reviewed before making a purchase:
Again, I haven’t had the camera very long. But, if I had to complain about anything I can tell its battery life isn’t the greatest. Fortunately, Amazon’s selling a third party battery for a mere $10. So I ordered one today as a backup, thanks to a tip from Kevin Tofel – who is also a new S95 owner. Also, it doesn’t appear you can zoom while shooting HD video. But these are minor tradeoffs for perhaps close-to-dSLR photo capabilities without the bulk.
Lastly, the S95 obviously has an extremely fast lens… how else could I have captured these three competing devices peacefully lounging together?
Thanks Dave. Got one for the wife. I couldn’t muster up the courage to get a dslr for her snapshots but I didn’t want another “kids” camera.
(Why did you blot out the apple but leave the roku tag unblemished?)
What case (maybe that holds the extra battery) might you recommend?
I conducted zero intentional blotting! Still getting used to how/where the camera focuses. And I was actually attempting to focus on the ports. Also, the logos are presented very differently. The Apple logo is etched into the case using the same color foreground and background whereas the Roku displays a contrasting color on fabric. For completeness: Logitech’s Google TV most visible branding is on the front and therefore not visible at all.
As far as cases, the S95 barely fits into an old digital Elph case I have from years ago that I’ve used with several cameras – although none were actually a Canon or Elph. For now I’m keeping that case and will just throw the battery into my laptop bag. Sorry I don’t have a more mobile/compact recommendation.
Yeah, this is a very good camera by all accounts. Another good option is Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 — it’s good enough for Leica to slap on D-Lux 5 badge and charge almost twice as much (okay, the outer body design and firmware is a bit different but still…).
Personally, I’m looking forward to Fuji’s X100 camera (http://www.finepix-x100.com). There’s a lot of excitement about it. More upmarket than S95 or LX5/D-Lux 5 — going to be around $1000.
Yeah, I looked at the Panasonic (and was mostly happy with an earlier generation Lumix), but this is about as upmarket as I’m going to get. And honestly, despite the nice lens (for a compact) I was very tempted by the Sony WX5. Still am infact. Better HD video, slimmer form. Presumably decent low light through trickery (shooting and combining multiple shots to sharpen the image up).
One major gotcha you need to be aware of… While the S95 has upgraded to HD video over the S90, it will not autofocus while filming. I knew I couldn’t zoom during recording, but once you start shooting it won’t refocus as you move to objects/people of different distances. This could be a deal breaker for me. I don’t shoot much video, but it’s a capability I want. Sigh. I suppose it’s possible my unit is defective and I haven’t reviewed the forums at length yet…