Canon PowerShot S90

Canon PowerShot S90

Compact cameras, stylish as they are, are generally conceived as exposure machine, not quite reaching the level of the top-notch digital compacts. With a few exceptions – for that matter, the Leica D-Lux 4, whose test you can find here on our website, surely deserves to belong in the category alongside the top camera models. And convincingly enough, so does the decent Canon PowerShot S90, the subject of this review.

The rather basic design of this pocket-sized camera, made only in one color, black, immediately catches the eye of many. Without any real intentions to experiment with the shape and design, the creators put together a simply cut, but at the same time very elegant, digital camera.

This pure design has its downsides, however, this being ergonomics. As you might notice, the entirely smooth-surfaced front side of the camera does not really provide support to your right hand, not even a small indication of a grip. The backside is slightly better off – under the circular regime select switch you will find a shaped jut to rest your thumb.

Regarding the layout of the controls, this digital camera is rather typical. The right back side is filled with the usual assortment of buttons, along with a 4-way directional pad with a control dial around it. It’s assigned to handle additional changes to the shutter speed, exposure compensation and so on. In spite of this excellent control element, we do have to criticize a small aspect - this dial has weak detent - it moves much too freely without being able to set it in a clear and correct position. The selection of the desired settings is often unsure and inaccurate.

Despite the basic design, the structure offers two interesting features. The main one is a circular Control Ring around the lens. It can be used as an additional control element, as well as assigned by the user to handle several changes. The producer believed in the rareness of this new element so much, that he placed a RING FUNC. button on top of the camera for selecting its functions. By pressing the button, you can opt to choose the functions the Control Ring will use. You can choose from several items in the Default Control menu (i.e. in AV mode – shutter priority – controls the shutter, in TV mode and so on), and also select the ISO/Sensitivity, EV compensation, step zoom control and more – see the first preview of the menu further on in this review.

The second unusual structure-based feature is the retractable flash of the Canon PowerShot S90. Its ‘pop-up’ ability is not new to us; the originality is shown in the fully electronic control, where the flash not only pops up when activated (still not that unusual), but it automatically retracts when turned off.

Here we must refer to another top compact digital camera – the Canon PowerShot G11. It has a lot of important characteristics in common with the Powershot S90.  It has a 10 megapixel sensor resolution with relatively large image cells, ensuring not only great image quality in normal light, but also in low light, while using the high sensitivity of the sensor. It is also able to save pictures in the wireless RAW format, providing the best image quality.

The next feature common to both models is the presence of advanced photographic functions. You’ll find all the exposure modes in the S90, starting with the basic P/A/S/M and preset shooting programs all the way to fully automatic. You can save the camera settings you use most often at position ‘C’ (Custom) on the circular regime select switch.

Addtional characteristics of the two ‘sibling’ models are not so similar. The PowerShot S90 does not have the option of a user-defined focus point, built-in neutral grey filter, hot shoe for an external flash is not present and neither is the option for additional optical elements. Now, we will briefly concentrate on the lens, which also separates the Canon S90 from its sibling. If you are bewildered by the small range of the zoom, 3.8x, you should turn your attention to the aperture of this optical elements. A zoom with a 28-105mm focal length – especially at the wide edge – has a perfect aperture of F2.0-4.9. Along with the ability to perfectly suppress noise; these two characteristics show the promise of acquiring quality images, even in very low light. And don’t worry about using the slow shutter speed, since the optical stabilization is very effective.

Screenshots of the menu of Canon PowerShot S90

Overall evaluation
Given that we labeled the Canon PowerShot G11 the best digital compact camera at the end of the year 2009, at the beginning of the year 2010 we thus need to state that its teammate, the Canon PowerShot S90, comes close to the very same spot. It’s not equipped in the same ‘maximalist’ style – that was not the intention. The Canon PowerShot S90 is a top-quality pocket-sized compact camera that you can have on you when needed without the need for an accessory case or any other additional baggage. It just fits into your pocket waiting for its time. And when that time comes, it rewards you with pictures of extraordinary quality. Just like the Canon PowerShot G11, the S90 deals perfectly with noise even with higher ISO, the image sharpness is excellent. ……… It is, however, very unlikely for you to recognize it on the images themselves, especially if you store your pictures in the RAW format and process them in quality convertor software. The Canon PowerShot S90 is generally regarded as an excellent digital compact camera; it is certrainly appreciated by members of Week of Life – it will be a great companion and come in handy while actively documenting your own life.

Common price (at the time of this review being published): $380.00

Basic Technical Data for Canon PowerShot S90

Sensor
CCD 1/1,7"
10 Mpx (3 648 × 2 736 px)
Light sensitivity ISO 80 to 3 200

Optics
28–105 mm F2–4.9
Optical stabilization

Memory medium
SD/SDHC, MMC

Data formats
Image: JPEG, RAW (CR2)
Video: MOV

Video
640 × 480 px, 30 fps
320 × 240 px, 30 fps
Mono sound

LCD
Screen size 3" (76 mm)
461 000 px

Power supply
Li-Ion battery

Dimensions and weight
100 × 58 × 31 mm (w × h × d)
195 g (incl. battery and memory card)