Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

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Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

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p.1 #1 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I picked up a new Canon S90 from b&m store this afternoon. Preliminary results are impressive for this little point and shoot. This is not dedicated to the gear heads who want mathematical interpretations - but instead geared towards folks who want to know if they should flop down $400+ bones for a P&S:

1) If you need compact size and image quality - this S90 is it.
2) If you want hi-iso and optical image stablization, this is it.
3) If you want rugged chassis and a good quality 3.0" lcd with better color and outdoor usage, this is it!

There's almost nothing bad except for price about this unit. Coming from using an SD870IS canon p&s, this S90 with manual controls and that nifty lens ring control (rotate to select manual control parameters) is very good - not gimmicky at all and is a "why didn't they do this before" sort of feature. The only other issue is that the lens barrel sticks out further and protrudes out when not in use.

I'm not gonna go into much detail but you can see that this camera has pretty good hi ISO quality. It's not really a "test" - but a quick and dirty sample in real life usage. Shot in kitchen with only kitchen lamp overhead. Macro shot with f-stop (f/2.0) for two of the three high iso pics.

(the first three out of box shots are actually from the iPhone3GS - damn, that's also good quality in outdoor lighting

Edited on Oct 31, 2009 at 11:20 PM · View previous versions

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:10 PM

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p.1 #2 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

How do you link more than one image? All my other images aren't appearing

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:14 PM

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p.1 #3 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:18 PM

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p.1 #4 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

(All hand held shots using Image Stablizer mode: on). These aren't too bad - no post processing except for downsampling 33.3% of original size. No noise-reduction, straight from camera jpgs.

ISO1600:

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:18 PM

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p.1 #5 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

ISO3200:

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:18 PM

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p.1 #6 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

(All hand held shots using Image Stablizer mode: on). These aren't too bad - no post processing except for downsampling 33.3% of original size. No noise-reduction, straight from camera jpgs.

ISO800:

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:21 PM

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p.1 #7 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

sorry if this is the wrong forum!! Please move if it is!

Oct 31, 2009 at 11:22 PM

senna4ever
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p.1 #8 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I was lent an S90 for the weekend by Canon. We were very disappointed by its barrel distortion. The jpegs were ok, but the RAW files were gross. There would be way too much work involved to correct them. I was saddened, as it looked so promising on paper, but a few minutes or testing revealed itself. I still prefer the LX3 over the S90.

Nov 01, 2009 at 06:19 AM

stargazer78
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p.1 #9 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

senna4ever wrote:
I was lent an S90 for the weekend by Canon. We were very disappointed by its barrel distortion. The jpegs were ok, but the RAW files were gross. There would be way too much work involved to correct them. I was saddened, as it looked so promising on paper, but a few minutes or testing revealed itself. I still prefer the LX3 over the S90.

The barrel distortion on the LX3 lens just as horrible as the S90's. The only difference is that Canon honestly presents the problem on their RAW files. On the other hand, the LX3 cheats by forcing (most) RAW processors to hide the problem. This is true for all the latest generation of Panasonic cameras, including the G-series.

I think most people would agree that RAW files should be kept, well... RAW, And I don't think anybody should be commending Panasonic for cheating, and trashing Canon for being honest.

Shooting JPEGs on the S90 corrects the problem automatically. On the other hand, if you shoot RAW you can have DPP correct the problem automatically. It adds about 3 mouse clicks to process your entire batch of RAW files. It's not at all "too much work".

Nov 01, 2009 at 07:00 AM

Sam N
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p.1 #10 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Nov 01, 2009 at 10:52 AM

dhphoto
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p.1 #11 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Sam N wrote:
senna4ever wrote:
I was lent an S90 for the weekend by Canon. We were very disappointed by its barrel distortion. The jpegs were ok, but the RAW files were gross. There would be way too much work involved to correct them. I was saddened, as it looked so promising on paper, but a few minutes or testing revealed itself. I still prefer the LX3 over the S90.

Both cameras have barrel distortion that is fixed automatically in the latest ACR, no?

I believe they do, but using RAW is simply too much trouble for Mr Senna4ever, needs it done for him. Bless

Nov 01, 2009 at 11:01 AM

fang
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p.1 #12 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I'm having fun with my S90 too. Also compared it to my 5D - http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=33558387

Nov 01, 2009 at 12:54 PM

Jayem1
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p.1 #13 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Isn't this a Canon SLR forum?

Nov 01, 2009 at 01:04 PM

jerrykur
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p.1 #14 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Jayem1 wrote:
Isn't this a Canon SLR forum?

Yep, this thread should be in the Alternate Gear & Lens forum just like other compact camera threads. That makes it easier to comparison compact cameras from various companies and information available to people that normally shoot Nikon or other brands.

Nov 01, 2009 at 01:19 PM

galenapass
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p.1 #15 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Jayem1 wrote:
Isn't this a Canon SLR forum?

Lot's of photographers are interested in small easy to carry around alternatives when bigger equipment is not appropriate.

Nov 01, 2009 at 01:26 PM

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p.1 #16 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

galenapass wrote:
Jayem1 wrote:
Isn't this a Canon SLR forum?

Nov 01, 2009 at 01:50 PM

keithreeder
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p.1 #17 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

dhphoto wrote:

Yup, and it's about Canon gear.

It's really not. I don't know how they could be less ambiguous.

This is the Canon-mount SLRs forum.

Nov 01, 2009 at 01:56 PM

ChrisDar
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p.1 #18 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

dhphoto wrote:
galenapass wrote:
Jayem1 wrote:
Isn't this a Canon SLR forum?

Lot's of photographers are interested in small easy to carry around alternatives when bigger equipment is not appropriate.

+1

Yup, and it's about Canon gear.

If you aren't interested in the thread then just leave it alone

+1 +10.. I wish you guys would quit bitching about the wrong forum. It's Canon gear and the posts are articulate and informative. There were three posts on Canon gear posted on this forum in the last two days that directly related to items I happened to be looking at and the information gathered was helpful in making my choice to purchase said items. I would not have sorted through a mixed forum to search for the information.

If you don't like the post then don't read it but to waste your time bitching about it is absurd.
I'm sure the moderator will move the post if he finds it in the wrong place.

Nov 01, 2009 at 02:48 PM

dhphoto
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p.1 #19 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

We have always discussed P&S cameras here and I always will, until there is a *dedicated* forum to do otherwise.

"Alternative Gear & Lenses" and "Pro Digital Corner" are not where the people I know hang out, plus I am talking exclusively about Canon gear so if you don't like posts about P&S cameras being here, then just don't read them.

It is also becoming much less clear what constitutes a dslr, my ageing Pro1 has a single lens, a viewfinder and works just like one, so why shouldn't that be included? What about future models with electronic viewfinders?

I think some of the posters here need to remove their thumbs from where the sun don't shine

Nov 01, 2009 at 03:21 PM

DavidP
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p.1 #20 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

It's the best truly pocketable digital P&S I've used since the Fuji F30.

Nov 01, 2009 at 03:22 PM

bdickers
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p.1 #21 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I purchased an S90 last month and after shooting several hundred images, I took it back to the dealer. Distortion is a severe problem that I'm not willing to overlook. In my opinion, any manufacturer who wants to charge a premium price should manufacture a premium product which, to me, the S90 simply is not. It's too bad, I really wanted and tried to like this camera.

Nov 01, 2009 at 03:48 PM

Ariel Bravy
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p.1 #22 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

Thank you for posting this here! I wouldn't have seen it otherwise.

DavidP wrote:
It's the best truly pocketable digital P&S I've used since the Fuji F30.

My thoughts too. My F31fd recently died and this looks like just the upgrade I was looking for!

Nov 01, 2009 at 04:39 PM

dadagallery
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p.1 #23 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I purchased this since I've always wanted to just have a camera even if I'm not intentionally going out to "shoot." I've since taken a number of very fun images of found objects and situations. I don't do "street" photography but was having fun taking a few shots just because I had the camera. Now I'm hooked by the ease at which this camera opens up a new type of shooting for me just because it is so pocketable. I'm very concerned about my image quality, that is why I bought a 5D II and L lens, but I'm glad I bought this fun camera for doing some non-paid," just for fun" shooting. My standard body and lens combination for shooting costs about $4,000 and this cost about 10% of that, so I'm not looking for the same quality, I'm looking for enjoyment and was pleasantly surprised by how decent the quality turned out to be with this little gem.

Nov 01, 2009 at 04:59 PM

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p.1 #24 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

I like it! Thanks for sharing and of course this is the right, this is the Canon forum, not Canon dSLR Forum.

I've been thinking about one of these for the briefcase for a long time, this looks like a good bet. Love the form factor. One problem I keep having on P&S cameras from Canon is the little cover gizmo over the front of the lens...I've had three and on all three, it broke and needed to go in. Hope this one is better...could have just been bad luck....3 is not much of a sample, but still, makes me wonder...

Edited on Nov 01, 2009 at 05:23 PM · View previous versions

Nov 01, 2009 at 05:21 PM

Gochugogi
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p.1 #25 · Canon S90 - I'm very impressed!

It is ironic the iPhone3GS images have less distortion than the S90. Also, iPhone3GS WB is better...

Nov 01, 2009 at 05:23 PM


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