Canon PowerShot S100 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

 

 

Create your own review

I owned five Powershot S Series (s30,s50,s60,s80,s90) cameras prior to purchasing the s100. I took close to 100,000 photos with my s90 in the two years that I owned it. I am a semi-professional photographer that owns multiple Canon EOS DSLR cameras with L lenses.

First off, I don't think it's fair to compare the s100 to DSLRs, APS-C, Four Thirds cameras. These large sensor cameras are in another class and even my really old Canon 10D with 6MPs will at low ISO have better image quality than the s100. If you don't mind a larger camera that is not pocketable and are willing to spend more, the s100 is not the best camera for you. For example, the Sony NEX-5N will give superior results to the s100 in nearly all situations.

The s90, s95 and now s100 are all unique in that the are truly pocketable--all the competitors are too large for pant pockets (Panasonic LX5, Olympus XZ-1, FujiFilm X10). Some of these cameras are quite good and all of them provide faster lenses across the zoom range (the s100's size precludes a faster zoom lens). But none of these competitors are comfortably pocketable--this means that the s100 has practically no competition for it's size as a truely pocketable semi-pro camera.

If you don't need the manual control, the Canon 300HS will also take great pictures for less than half the price in a smaller/slimmer camera body. The s100 does have a great AUTO mode and multiple Scene modes which in most situations does an excellent job. But shooting both the s100 and 300HS in AUTO will lead to very similar results. The s100 differentiates itself by providing excellent manual control and the ability to shoot RAW images.

Now if you are someone that wants pant pocketable camera with excellent manual controls and image quality, the s100 is very hard to beat. I take ten times more shots with my s100 than my DSLRs because I ALWAYS have it with me.

If you already have a s90 or s95, there is little need to upgrade to the s100 immediately. The s100 has some worthy upgrades (24mm, GPS, better designed body) but the image quality is near identical to the s95/s90. My s90 took many falls and goo in an airplane pocket killed the flash otherwise i'd stay with the s90. I have now taken close to 1500 photos with the s100 and here are my experiences of it's pros and cons:

PROS:
* The s100 is cleaner at high ISO (eg 1600 and above) but the difference isn't as substantial as Canon claims (for low ISO, there is no difference in noise)
* s100 is even slimmer than the s95 which is was already quite pocketable
* GPS is a great addition and quite accurate most of the time
* rough texture finish is makes the camera easier to hold and also looks great
* rubber grips make camera easier to hold but don't expect miracles
* mirror like shutter button is easier to find especially given the removal of the func button
* back wheel now has the perfect resistance and feedback
* the delete button is not on the dial so I can finally delete while viewing a zoomed in image!!!
* lens zooms very quickly (sometimes too quickly to get accurate zoom)
* fast shutter speed (in fact in Continuous drive mode it is very difficult to take one photo--always get two photos and I am fairly fast releasing the shutter button--an additional slower Continuous mode option would have been helpful)
* 8 shots in a second is a handy feature to have though not often used
* 24mm wide-angle is very useful for indoor photography
* lens is sharper across zoom range than the s90--with sharper corners
* ability to control max ISO and ISO selection criteria for Auto ISO
* dynamic range correction works well
* dedicated movie recording button
* 1080p video recording (much better than s90&s95; but can't match Sony HX-9V)
* can zoom while recording video with minimal noise

CONS:
* all Canons Point&Shoots; have slower focus especially in the dark. The s100 is comparable or slightly slower than the s90. Fuji and Sony have made strides to provide faster focus and I hope Canon follows. Set shortcut button to Focus-lock to pre-focus--once focus locked the s100 is really fast
* NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHERS: a major con for me is that the s100 is locked to ISO80 for shutter speeds over 1sec. May not matter to most people but I like shooting 15sec ISO400 shots with my s90
* The display does not brighten as much in a dark room making composition more difficult. The s90 shows a very grainy bright image in a near dark room where the s100's display is very dark
* The s100 is better in high-ISO short shutter speed situations but the s90 is better for long shutter speed photography
* Auto mode is limited to 1/8 (have to switch to P mode if you don't want to use a flash in a dim room)
* HDR requires a tripod because camera does not align images (given the tech Canon really should auto-align the images).
* battery life slightly worse than s90 (buy a second battery--I had three for my s90)
* fast zoom with steps sometimes makes it difficult to get the exact zoom desired
* Movies are great in well-lit areas but have a lot less gain than the s90 resulting in hi-res but darker movies
* Sony's panoramics are fantastic and Canon is still using same approach as it did in the s30 in 2001!
* always open flash if it is needed before handing the camera to anyone else. Everyone initially presses down on the flash resulting in a flash error.
* price but you get what you pay for

At the time of this writing the S100 was just released. I recently bought the S95 on the recommendation of a friend who is an avid photographer, thinking the S100 would not be released until much later. The S100 just started showing up in stores so I bought it as well, intending to return one of the cameras. So I had the opportunity to compare them both!

To preface, I'm an intermediate level photographer, and it is just a hobby. I do own a DSLR, but it is one of the lower end models in the DSLR world. Still, I have become comfortable with manual adjustments and own a few lenses for it. However the majority of my pictures end up being taken with the camera most conveniently at hand (iPhone), and in this case I was looking for something that could offer a big step up in image quality without having to carry the larger DSLR.

Both the S95 and S100 are excellent cameras. However, there are key points about the S100 that give it the advantage. The rubber grips on the front and back are excellent. The flash pops up on both the S95/S100 where you would naturally place your left hand. Having the rubber grips for your right hand allows this to be a one-handed camera, or at least allows better support with the right hand since the left hand may not be able to rest where it feels most natural, which for me tends to involve a finger resting on top of the flash. This is an issue for both the S95 and S100, but the S100 mitigates it by having better support for the right hand - the rubber grips and better shutter button position. More on that next.

The shutter button is larger on the S100. This feels more natural and easier to access. Also the position of the shutter button has been moved more towards the right edge. It may seem small but this is a big improvement. If you have shorter fingers you may find it more difficult to naturally reach the shutter button on the S95 than the S100. The shutter button on the S95 is just a bit too far from the right edge for my taste, making it a bit difficult to reach when bending your shooting finger to press the button. Canon certainly recognized that as evidenced by the new location of the shutter button on the S100.

The buttons on the rear of the camera have been changed, including having a single-press button to start shooting a video. This is great since most videos for me involve catching fleeting moments of my kids in action. On the S95 you need to turn the mode selection dial to movie mode first. Regarding video, the S100 also allows zooming in/out while shooting a movie. As I understand it, the S95 did not allow that.

The processor has been upgraded and the S100 does feel slightly faster because of it when navigating through menus.

I took comparison shots in my home using both cameras and I found a slight advantage for the S100 in terms of image quality. There was a bit more detail using the S100, but honestly it wasn't significant. Still, in my head-to-head tests the S100 was the winner.

For me the main difference is in terms of the user interface. The button layout is better on the S100 and the addition of the grips is helpful. This camera feels easier to shoot because of this. This may seem small, but all of these button layout changes and grip additions add up to a camera that overall is more convenient for me to shoot. That's why I chose the S100. This is, after all, my camera of convenience.

The only downside I found for the S100 is that it is priced higher than the S95.

If you are on a budget and tried the S95 and like how it feels, then get it. You will be very happy with it! The pictures were very similar in quality between the two, and the S95 is a high quality camera. Everything about it mechanically boasts of durability and quality. But if the price difference is not an issue then I recommend the S100.

This camera, in my opinion, isn't nearly as good as the s95. However, it does have its positives, namely its user interface, wide angle lens and aesthetics.

A very surprising positive for this item, is the user interface, specifically the button layout on the back of the unit. Canon reduced the total number of buttons and moved them around. Shockingly, I immediately adjusted to the new layout and found it very hard to return the unit, mostly due to the buttons' ease. After years of Canon's old layout, I am still amazed that I adjusted in less than a week to the new layout.

The unit also features a rear thumb rest and front grip, combined with a less slick and more textured finish, the unit feels much better in your hand than the s95 ever did.

The s100 features a 24mm lens vs. the 28mm lens of the s95. That is a huge improvement in wide angle shooting and creating more life-like scenes.

Unfortunately, that's where the good ends on this camera. For me, the biggest issue is the awful white balance of this unit. As we all know, a big selling point of this point and shoot, is the 'bright' f/2.0 aperture lens. The s95 absolutely excels in low light shots, creating nearly 'professional' quality photos. I took a series of low/ambient light shots with both cameras on the same settings, under the same conditions and the results were absolutely night and day. The shots with the s95 came out bright and light, the s100 shots came out orange and dark. With a huge adjustment to the white balance, the s100 shots looked ALMOST as good as the s95 shots. When viewed on a monitor at 100% the shots lost a large amount of clarity and contrast.

Canon 'upgraded' the CCD sensor of the s95 to a CMOS sensor. Apparently they've never heard the phrase 'if it's not broken, don't fix it.' Also, if you zoom to 28mm, the aperture goes to f/2.2, which is 'dimmer' than the s95 at 28mm.

With these gripes aside, the s100 is still a solid performer. It just isn't an improvement over the s95. The bottom line is that the aesthetic improvements and wide angle lens do not make up for the white balance/darkness issues when shooting in low/ambient light. Canon, you messed up on this one.

2115|R4R2PZQ0TBH32;2115|RLJLDGUII3KDH;2115|R196DFG8J2HKU;

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 50 customer reviews...

 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice little Camera!!
Excellent image quality in day light. Nice image quality in low light. fair to good battery life. Nice zoom. Nice to have little camera, but bit pricey.

Published 1 day ago by swarna

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent quality in a tiny package
I own a Nikon D7000 dslr and several high end Nikon lenses. I love my D7000 but I was looking for a small camera that I could carry everywhere i went. Read more

Published 3 days ago by Ian Nicholson

5.0 out of 5 stars camer
I love this new camera. I had not updated my small Canon digital camera in years and what wonderful changes have been made since. I have taken some great photos with it. Read more

Published 4 days ago by basketmaker

5.0 out of 5 stars Low Light Beast
Totally taken aback to see these poor reviews, I have been using this camera for a little over a month now and I am totally satisfied with the quality of the pics. Read more

Published 5 days ago by G One

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding point and shoot camera
So that you know where I am coming from, I am not an expert photographer, but a novice/intermediate. I do not own a DSLR because I do not want the weight and bulk. Read more

Published 7 days ago by Douglas Y Park

4.0 out of 5 stars A review from just an amateur photo-taker... not a photographer!
A review from an amateur photo-taker - NOT your professional photographer with all the technical jargon! :P

I am so happy this camera is here! Read more

Published 7 days ago by JChiCago

5.0 out of 5 stars Great enthusiast camera, don't recommend for P&Shooter;
I've owned about 30 compact digital cameras and the S100 is, by all means, one of my favorites. I've owned and used it since mid-October, taking well over 2000 shots... Read more

Published 11 days ago by G. Bjork

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor image quality
As Richard Wanderman noted in his review ("I have not taken a sharp picture yet with this camera"), I was unable to take a photo (even with the camera set on "Auto" for... Read more

Published 12 days ago by AHD

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little camera
I am truly impressed with this camera. While it does not out perform my 7D in terms of low light capability, it does out perform my first DSLR, the original Digital Rebel. Read more

Published 13 days ago by Hello

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera!!!
Had this camera for two months now, got it from Best Buy. My previous camera was the Panasonic LX5. Great camera but too bulky for me to put in my pocket. Read more

Published 14 days ago by TJN

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 50 customer reviews...