Canon PowerShot S90

By Leonard Goh, CNET Asia
Nov 9, 2009

It's been four years since Canon announced the PowerShot S80 for its range of high-end compacts. Only recently the Japanese firm revived this family lineup with the S90 to compete with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 in the advanced point-and-shoot category. This is hardly surprising as the Lumix has been doing exceptionally well in this market segment and more consumers are starting to look out for better compacts. Hence, it's natural for Canon to want a slice of this lucrative pie. But, is the S90 the LX3-killer it's touted to be?

Design

The PowerShot S90 is clothed in a matte-black chassis and this accentuates its serious nature. The styling takes on a minimalist tone that should appeal to advanced users. Buttons are clearly labeled and well-situated for one-hand operation. Unlike the LX3 which has a mini handgrip, the PowerShot relies on a thumbrest on the rear to provide support when holding the shooter.

On the front, you will find a lens control ring around the lens barrel. This implementation turns in click stops and can be used to control certain functions in the camera depending on what mode you are in. For example, if you're shooting with Aperture Priority, the default setting for the ring would be to adjust the F-number. However, you can customize it to change ISO sensitivity, exposure compensation, manual focusing, white balance or even zoom the lens. This novel idea is interesting to use but we have a gripe with how the ring turns. For example, when we were shooting in Shutter Priority, we had to turn the ring anti-clockwise to increase the shutter speed. But on the rear it's done by turning the command wheel clockwise. This makes it counter-intuitive. It would be nice to have an option to determine which way the control ring turns to suit different user preferences.

The petite size of the S90 makes it really pocketable, but it also raises the issue of usability. Shutterbugs with larger hands may find it difficult to operate the camera with two hands--one holding the snapper and the other turning the control ring. One way to resolve this is to designate a lesser-used option, such as white balance, to the ring and use the command wheel on the back to adjust the settings. That said, use caution when deploying the wheel because it doesn't have any resistance and spins too freely for our liking.

The onboard flash on the S90 is electronically controlled and moves up from the snapper body on the right end. Users will want to take note not to place their finger over the flash when holding the camera as this may obstruct the mechanism. Also, deactivating the flash is done via the shooter, so the flash should not be physically pushed back into the snapper.

Seasoned lensmen should be able to adjust their shooting habits to the S90. We shot mainly in Aperture Priority mode and set the control ring to activate zoom. What really pleased us was that the shooter would return to its last zoom setting (in our case, 35mm) when powered up. We had the PowerShot in our jacket pocket for a day and it didn't feel like it was there. Also, with its smaller chassis and unassuming design, we were able to sneak a couple of candid shots on the streets without our subjects noticing.

Features

The S90 comes with a good range of exposure functions and modes that will keep advanced photographers happy. However, when compared with the LX3, there are some areas that the PowerShot can improve on. Here's how the two snappers stack up against each other.

Specifications/model	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3	Canon PowerShot S90
Sensor resolution	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Dimension/weight	108.7 x 59.5 x 27.1mm/229g	100 x 58 x 31mm/175g
LCD size	3-inch	3-inch
Lens specifications	24-60mm F2.0-2.8	28-106mm F2.0-4.9
Zoom range	2.5x	3.8x
Max. video resolution	1,280 x 720 pixels at 24fps	640 x 480 pixels at 30fps
Image stabilizer	Optical (via lens)	Optical (via lens)
Memory media	SD/SDHC	SD/SDHC
Hotshoe	Yes	No
Related links	Review

We appreciate the F2.0 optics on the S90, but wish it could match the F2.8 on the long end of the lens like the LX3. There were occasions where we zoomed in on our subject in a low-light environment, and we had to bump the ISO sensitivity up to increase the low shutter speed. That said, the longer zoom lens on the Canon did come in useful at times, especially when shooting portraits.

Unlike the LX3, the S90 doesn't have a hotshoe for peripherals such as an external flash or optical viewfinder. This is not a big issue, but we think it's a good-to-have feature, especially for taking indoor pictures. Also, the PowerShot lacks multi-aspect shooting modes, so users are left with the default 4:3 ratio. The Lumix is more flexible in this sense, providing shutterbugs with the option of 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, and recently (with a firmware upgrade), 6:6.

However, there are a few useful features in the S90 which some photographers will like. For example, we can choose between Small and Normal for the autofocus frame sizes. Using Small gives the camera less area to focus on but makes it more precise. However, we weren't able to shift the AF box around the frame like we could on the LX3. To ensure that the focusing is sharp, there is an option for AF-Point Zoom which magnifies the focus box when you half-press the shutter button to activate autofocus. You can also shoot in time-lapse mode for up to 10 shots in duration, varying from 1 second to 30 seconds.

On the mode dial is a dedicated Low Light option which instantly boosts the ISO sensitivity and allows users to shoot handheld with a higher shutter speed, thus preventing blurred shots. However, resolution in this mode is reduced to 2.5 megapixels.

Tags: Lens, PowerShot S90, Lumix, Camera, compensation

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