Canon PowerShot S90

The arrival of the ‘affordable’ digital SLR saw most manufacturers slowly withdrawing from the high end compact camera market, but recently models like the Canon G9/G10/G11 and Panasonic’s LX3 have shown that there is still demand for pocketable cameras with real photographic controls. And it is the Panasonic LX3 that Canon has in its sights with the latest in what was, for a long time, presumed to be a dead line of cameras that goes back to almost a decade. The S90 may not look much like the S80, S70 and all its earlier predecessors, but it has been conceived in much the same spirit; a smaller, more stylish alternative to the G series, offering key enthusiast features (such as raw capture and manual controls) in a compact body.

It was way back in August 2005 that Canon launched the last in the line of its S-Series compact photographers’ cameras, the S80. And though you can see traces of the S60/S70/S80′s DNA in the S90 it is a very different beast to those cameras; the S90 is smaller, sleeker – and in many ways more sophisticated, but it’s lost the optical viewfinder and the lack of anything to really get hold of will undoubtedly impact on handling.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the new design is the new Control Ring built around the lens, which can be set to control exposure (i.e. aperture or shutter speed), AE compensation, step zoom, manual focus and a selection of other functions. Finding a way of offering usable manual controls has proved surprisingly difficult for the normally ingenious designers of ultra compact cameras (although we’ve suggested a traditional ‘aperture ring’ like this on many occasions); this seemingly simple addition has a transformative effect on the utility of the S90′s extensive manual controls.

As with the Panasonic LX3, Canon has chosen to incorporate a relatively large (1/1.7″, 0.43 cm²) CCD sensor which has been designed with high sensitivity, rather than just higher megapixel count in mind, to make the most of the bright lens. This 10 megapixel sensor is then mated with Canon’s latest Digic 4 processor to offer what the company describes as a dual anti-noise system.

Canon S90 Key Features

Lens Control Ring

10 million pixels sensor

RAW shooting

Fast f/2.0-4.9 maximum aperture range

Lens covering the classic 28-105mm range

Dual Anti-Noise System (high sensitivity sensor and Digic 4 noise reduction)

3.0 inch PureColor II LCD

Optical Image Stabilization

Smarter Scene Detection

Low Light mode

DIGIC 4 image processor

HD output

Recommended price • $429• €469• £449

Sensor• 1/1.7″ Type CCD• 10 million effective pixels

Image sizes • 3648 x 2736• 3648 x 2048• 2816 x 2112• 2272 x 1704
• 1600 x 1200• 640 x 480• 320 x 240

Movie clips • 640 x 480 @ 30fps• 320 x 240 @ 30fps

Maximum clip length •Up to 4GB or 1 hour

File formats • Still: JPEG (Exif v2.2), RAW• Movie: MOV [H.264 + Linear PCM (monaural)]
Lens • 28-105mm (35mm equiv)• f = 6.0 – 22.5 mm
• 3.8x optical zoom• F2.0-4.9• Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups 7 elements in 6 groups (2 double-sided aspherical elements including 1 UA element)

Image stabilization •Yes (Lens-Shift)

Digital zoom •up to 4x

Focus • Auto focus :TTL- 9-point AiAF- 1-point AF (center or Face Select and Track)
• Manual focus

AF modes • Single• Continuous• Servo AF/AE

AF lock •Yes (on/off selectable)

AF assist lamp •Yes

Focus distance •Closest focus distance 5 cm

Metering • Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame)• Center-weighted average• Spot (center)

ISO sensitivity • Auto• ISO 80• ISO 100• ISO 125• ISO 160• ISO 200• ISO 250• ISO 320• ISO 400• ISO 500• ISO 640• ISO 800• ISO 1000• ISO 1250
• ISO 1600• ISO 2000• ISO 2500• ISO 3200

AE lock •Yes

Exposure compensation •+/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments

Shutter speed • Auto (1 – 1/1600 sec) • 15-1/1600 sec

Modes • Auto• Program AE• Shutter Priority AE• Aperture Priority AE• Manual• Custom• Scene• Low Light• Movie

Scene modes • Portrait• Landscape• Night Scene• Night Snapshot• Kids & Pets• Indoor• Sunset• Foliage• Snow• Beach• Fireworks• Aquarium• Underwater
• Color Accent• Color Swap• Nostalgic• Stitch Assist

White balance • Auto (including Face Detection WB)• Daylight• Cloudy• Tungsten• Fluorescent• Fluorescent H• Flash• Custom• Underwater• White Balance
Correction

Self timer • 0-30 sec (1-10 frames)• Face Self Timer

Continuous shooting • Approx. 0.9 shots/sec.• AF: Approx. 0.6 shots/sec.• LV: Approx. 0.8 shots/sec. (until memory card becomes full)

Image parameters •My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color)

Flash • Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, Slow Sync, Red-eye reduction• Slow Sync Speed : Fastest speed 1/500 sec• +/- 2EV in 1/3 stop increments• Face Detection •FE compensation• Safety FE• Flash exposure lock• Manual Power Adjustment• Second Curtain Sync• Range (Auto ISO):50cm – 6.5m (wide) / 2.5m (tele)
External Flash•Canon High Power Flash HF-DC1•LCD monitor • 3.0 inch PureColor LCD II (TFT)
• 461,000 pixels
• 100% coverage
• Adjustable
Connectivity • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
• HDMI mini connector
• AV out (PAL / NTSC switchable)
Print compliance PictBridge
Storage SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus
Power Rechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-6L
Weight (no batt) 175 g
Dimensions 100 x 58 x 31 mm

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