Canon PowerShot S100

The S95 has been a strong contender in the advanced compact market, often topping our top ten charts thanks to its superb high ISO performance. The company has now updated it with the new S100, which share similar features like competing models in its class, such as RAW image capture, manual controls and custom settings.

But the new PowerShot sees additions such as an improved handgrip, longer zoom range and an increased reach of 24mm at the wide end. Besides GPS capabilities, the shooter also features an improved video mode that allows manual control and zooming during recording. What really makes it different though is that the S100 incorporates a new CMOS sensor. Other advanced compacts in its category typically utilize CCD image sensors.

Design And Features

When you handle the S100, you'll notice that there are some cosmetic differences compared with its predecessor. The new camera now comes with an added rubberized thumbrest and front grip that allows users a more secure grip. However, we think that those with bigger hands may find the camera a tad small.

Canon has also added a dedicated recording button which comes in handy for capturing videos of candid moments, without the hassle of switching the video recording option on the mode dial for the S95.


The older S95's top plate had a plasticky feel to it. But this time, the S100 is completely covered with a luxurious matte finish, which makes it quite attractive--especially so for the silver version.

The shooter sports bright F2 lens optics at the widest end, which did give us more usable (blur-free) shots in low-light conditions. Also, its fast aperture also meant that we got relatively defocused backgrounds while keeping our subject in crisp focus.

However, one of our gripes is its slow F5.9 aperture on the telephoto end. Compared with competing models, such as the Olympus XZ-1 (F2.5) and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 (F3.3), the S100's F5.9 aperture value is the slowest in its class. Canon's new snapper does make up with this with impressive noise performance at higher ISO values, but more on that later.

One of its highlights of this new camera is its new GPS capabilities which allow users to geotag their images. It also logs the locations of images and keeps track of your route, which can be later referred to on a computer via the bundled software. However, the S100's GPS function seems limited compared with other advanced compacts such as the Nikon Coolpix AW100, which tracks your progress on an in-camera map.


Keep in mind that you'll have to be in a open area for the GPS module to acquire your coordinates. To minimize battery consumption, remember to deactivate the GPS function when not in use as it still tracks your journey even when the camera has been powered down.

Shutterbugs can also assign preferred settings to the Custom option on the mode dial. The front control ring can be customized to control frequently used settings such as ISO sensitivity, white balance, exposure compensation and aspect ratio, to name a few.


The high dynamic range (HDR) option on the mode dial came in handy when we were faced with a contrasty and backlit situation which rendered our subject underexposed. This feature captures three consecutive frames and merges them into one evenly exposed image. However, some form of camera support is needed as slight movements are likely to cause a ghosting effect in your image.

How It Compares

Key specifications	Canon PowerShot S95	Canon PowerShot S100	Fujifilm FinePix X10	Olympus XZ-1	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5	Samsung EX1
Sensor (effective resolution)	10-megapixel CCD	12-megapixel CMOS	12-megapixel EXR CMOS	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD	10-megapixel CCD
Lens optics	28-105mm, F2-4.9, 3.8x optical zoom	24-120mm, F2-5.9, 5x optical zoom	28-112mm, F2-2.8, 4x optical zoom	28-112mm, F1.8-2.5, 4x optical zoom	24-90mm, F2-3.3, 3.8x optical zoom	24-72mm, F1.8-2.4, 3x optical zoom
Sensor size	1/1.7-inch	1/1.7-inch	2/3-inch	1/1.63-inch	1/1.63-inch	1/1.7-inch
Sensitivity range	ISO 80 - ISO 3,200	ISO 80 - ISO 6,400	ISO 100 - ISO 12,800	ISO 100 - ISO 6,400	ISO 80 - ISO 3,200	ISO 80 - ISO 3,200
Shutter	15-1/1,600 sec	15-1/2,000	30 - 1/4,000 sec	60-1/2,000 sec; bulb to 16 min	60-1/4,000 sec	16-1/5,000 sec
LCD	3-inch fixed 461,000 dots	3-inch fixed 461,000 dots	2.8-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch fixed OLED 610,000 dots	3-inch fixed 460,000 dots	3-inch articulated AMOLED 920,000 dots
Video (best quality)	720/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	1080/24p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	1080/30p H.264 QuickTime MOV Stereo	720/30p Motion JPEG AVI Mono	720/30p AVCHD Lite Monaural	30fps VGA H.264 MP4 Monaural
Battery life (CIPA rating)	220 shots	200 shots	300 shots	320 shots	400 shots	350 shots
Dimensions	100 x 58 x 30mm	98.9 x 59.9 x 26.7mm	117.0 x 69.6 x 56.8mm	111 x 65 x 42mm	110 x 65 x 25mm	114 x 65 x 30mm
Weight	192g	198g	348g	263g	260g	371g

Performance

The S100's autofocus performance was average and should be suitable for your usual snapshot. However, with shot-to-shot and time-to-first-shot timings coming in 3.2 and 2.1 seconds respectively, you may have issues capturing fast-moving action. Also, we found that there was a delay of a few secons before we could review the image after capturing shot. The camera's shutter lag was timed at 0.43 second, and we think that it may be a tad slow as well, if you're trying to capture active children or pets.

Image Quality

In terms of color performance, the camera produced images with rich colors without going overboard. From some of our samples, the S100 seems to have improved optics, providing images that are a hair sharper compared with the S95. However, in some situations, purple fringing around the edges was observed.


From our tests, one can expect the best quality from ISO 100 to 400. Typically, noise only starts being obvious from ISO 400 and above.


From ISO 800, there's a hint of noise with much of the image detail retained. At ISO 1,600, image details are softened with some noise scattered around. We were pleasantly surprised that the S100 still maintained a good level of contrast at ISO 3,200, where other typical compacts would have seen a loss in contrast. One could definitely shoot at this ISO and still get pretty usable images. By the time you reach ISO 6,400, there is an overall drop in contrast, and details are smeared and fuzzy. Noise is also very heavy in most of the image.


Comparing 100 percent crops of images shot with the S95 and S100, we found the S100 to render more image detail and richer contrast. We think this has a lot to do with the S100's new CMOS sensor which contributes to its better image performance even at high ISOs--probably giving the new camera a one stop improvement.

Video Quality

One of improvements in the S100 is its ability to zoom in or out during video recording. In terms of video performance, the colors were punchy with a good amount of detail while autofocus was pretty good at keeping up with panning and zooming. We did, however, notice some judder throughout the 1080p footage, which can be rather disorienting.

Image Samples

Exposure: 1/100, F4, ISO 200.

Exposure: 1/280, F4, ISO 200.

Exposure: 1/200, F4, ISO 200

Exposure: 1/20, F5.9, ISO 1000

Conclusion

Canon has taken a proven formula (the S95) and given it a facelift along with some added bells and whistles. The S100 shines in low-light conditions thanks to its new CMOS sensor and surpasses its predecessor, especially at high ISOs. Overall, the S100 is a well-rounded camera that provides excellent image quality in an attractive little package.

While the average user may pick this camera for its good noise performance, we think it should also appeal to serious enthusiasts with its bright F2 lens optics, manual controls and RAW image capture capability.