Canon PowerShot S95 Review
Introduction
For quite a while I have wanted a compact camera that I can take with me when it is not practical to lug around a DSLR. However, since I am accustomed to using a state-of-the-art DSLR, I have high expectations for any compact camera that I might use. Specifically:
- Image quality should be compromised as little as possible.
- The camera needs to allow full manual control.
- The camera must fit in my pocket (otherwise I could just take a DSLR).
On paper, Canon’s new PowerShot S95 seems to fulfill all of these criteria:
- It has a large sensor for a compact camera and Canon have sensibly limited the megapixel count to 10MP, this should mean higher image quality with less noise.
- The S95 also has a nice 28-105mm (35mm equiv) F2.0-4.9 lens, which, at f/2 on the widest setting, should result in good low-light performance. The lens also sports Canon’s latest Image Stabilization technology, which promises to significantly reduce the effects of camera shake.
- The camera has manual shooting modes including aperture priority, shutter priority and fully manual. In addition, images can be shot in RAW, which allows more flexibility in post-production.
- The S95 is small with dimensions of just 100 x 58 x 30 mm.
Over the weekend, after years not owning a camera smaller than a brick, I took the plunge and purchased the Canon PowerShot S95. I’ve now had the camera for a few days and I have briefly tested it out on the streets of London.
Image Quality
The image quality has not disappointed me. The 10MP sensor delivers good dynamic range and very little noise. All of the shots displayed here were shot in RAW and converted to JPEG using the supplied software (Digital Photo Professional) unless stated otherwise. You can download the unprocessed full-size jpeg files at the bottom of this page.
I instantly liked the S95’s lens which produced very nice results especially at the wide end. The new hybrid image stabilization is very effective and helps reduce camera shake significantly, especially at longer focal lengths. The images below show the results at full zoom and full wide angle respectively.
Sample image at 105mm (35mm equiv)
Sample image at 28mm (35mm equiv)
Low Light Performance
The low light performance of a compact camera’s sensor can never compare to that of the larger sensors found in DSLRs, however, I found the S95 produced decent results even at ISO 800 (below left). The fast f/2 lens and ISO 1600 allowed me to shoot a dark street-lit scene hand-held and produced a surprisingly good picture (below right). You can download the unprocessed jpegs at the bottom of the page if you would like to take a closer look at the noise.
Sample image at ISO 800
Sample image at ISO 1600
Manual Control
The S95’s build quality is good and the clean design is finished off with a nice matt finish. The controls are simple and intuitively placed and the inclusion of two programmable control rings allows quick operation of manual controls. The tactile control ring around the lens is a nice touch.
I found myself mainly using aperture priority mode with lens ring controlling the aperture and the wheel on the back controlling exposure compensation. One button press and a turn of the thumb wheel could then be used to set the ISO.
The images below were taken in shutter priority mode and aperture priority mode respectively. In the first shot I was quickly able to set an appropriate shutter speed to blur the motion of the bike and in the second I used exposure compensation to darken the shadows.
Sample image, Shutter priority mode
Sample image, -1 exposure compensation
HDR Mode
I was intrigued about the new HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode that Canon has introduced with this Camera. The camera basically takes three bracketed exposures and outputs them as a single jpeg with greater dynamic range. To use this mode you really need to have the camera on a tripod since the slightest amount of camera shake ruins the picture (for me this slightly defeats the purpose of a compact camera as I would probably just take a DSLR if I also needed to carry a tripod).
I found a high contrast scene to test and took one image using HDR mode and one using Auto mode. Below are the unprocessed jpegs as outputted by the camera.
Sample image, Auto mode
Sample image, HDR mode
The HDR mode did seem to work reasonably well and certainly resulted in a bluer sky and more detail in the shadows. I can see this being very useful for people who want to generate HDRs quickly. However, since the camera outputs a jpeg, you do not get a great deal of control over how the final image looks. The S95 can do normal exposure bracketing so, in most cases, I would probably prefer to shoot 3 bracketed RAW images and process them in a program such as Photomatix (although obviously this would be much more labor intensive).
Creative Modes
The S95 has a number of other fun creative modes including “miniature effect” which blurs the top and bottom of the frame like a tilt-shift lens, “fish-eye effect” and “colour swap”. The image below was taken on “colour accent” mode which allows you to keep only a selected colour and convert the rest to black and white.
Video
The PowerShot S95 features 720p HD 24fps movie recording with stereo sound. The video quality was very good and I have uploaded a few video clips which can be seen below. Creative modes such as “miniature effect” and “colour accent” can also be used in video mode and were fun to play with!
Conclusion
In conclusion I am very happy with the Canon PowerShot S95. Its small size means it compliments my arsenal of DSLRs nicely and I will be able to carry with me whenever a DSLR isn’t practical. The image quality is great for a compact and I like the fast wide-angle lens. Finally the ease of use of the manual controls is exactly what I was looking for. There are a few things that the camera is missing such as an optical viewfinder, a hot shoe for an external flash and a better zoom, but these omissions are what help make the camera so small so I can live with them.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Click here to download the full-size unprocessed jpeg images used in this review.
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Jeremy said:
September 8, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Thanks for taking the time to write this helpful review and also posting the raw files!
Melanie Mauer-Lawler said:
September 22, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Hello was wondering about sports pictures and pets and kids. are there any blur with them???
Will said:
September 27, 2010 at 11:11 pm
Hi Melanie, as long as you keep the shutter speed fast enough then you shouldn’t see any motion blur.
Jeff said:
September 29, 2010 at 3:56 am
Excellent demo and review. Almost made my choice for a camera. I still can’t decide between this or the LX3, but I’m almost convinced.
Josephine said:
October 2, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for your very nice review. I actually have a question, so in your opinion, how is the s95 compared to a 5-6 hundred bucks DSLR? Would the DSLR be SIGNIFICANTLY better in this case? Thanks a lot. J
Will said:
October 3, 2010 at 11:28 am
Hi Josephine, a compact can never really compare with a DSLR… DSLRs have superior image quality because they have larger sensors and better lenses. The advantage of the S95 is that it is so much smaller than a DSLR. If size is not an issue for you, and you want the best image quality, then I would definitely go for a DSLR.
Doug said:
October 4, 2010 at 7:16 am
Hi
Youve owned this camera for over a month now ,whats your view of it now ? Any serious weaknesses?
Thanks for your honest review,
Doug
Canonfodder said:
October 21, 2010 at 3:35 am
Great review however not too much mention of the depth of field performance? Is it great for portraits etc i.e. focused foreground, blurred background?
Will said:
October 21, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Canonfodder, for a compact camera the DOF performance is very good… it has a larger than usual sensor and a fast lens which in combination produce a shallower depth of field than most other compact cameras.
Doug, I’ve had the camera for a while now and I’m still very happy with it. Nothing has happened to make me revise any of my findings above.
Antonio said:
October 22, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Hello,
interesting reviews of this camera.
I have a few questions:
-There is no video zoom, but you can choose at which 28mm-105mm take it?
- In your personal use, it is a great issue not autofocus in videos?
- How is the flash performance for a standard camera? I´ve got a ZS3=tz7 and flash and granny dissapointing me in social night photos.
I am looking for a small camera good for social photos in very low light parties, flash portraits, do you think this camera is good for it?
Thanks in advance
david said:
October 23, 2010 at 12:03 am
Hi
Good review!
Awesome movie clips – lusting after one of these just for colour accent and miniature mode in Video! Still we already have a Lumix TZ10 and that’s almost as pleasing and the longer zoom is hard to be without…….perhaps when my wife takes back her TZ10 then I;ll just have to have this one…the LX5 is also tempting but too exie vs this Canon, soon to be I expect, Classic!
David Moynihan said:
October 28, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Will,
Thanks for the instructive and comprehensive review. I think I will add to my collection…
Will said:
October 29, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for your comments guys.
Antonio, to answer your questions…
- I believe there is digital video zoom but not optical video zoom. Yes, you select the optical zoom length first and then use digital zoom if you want.
- I have not found the autofocus in video a problem in my uses of it.
- The flash is as good as any other compact camera in my opinion. You can never get great results with inbuilt flashes. The next step up would be to get a speedlite flash on something like a G12.
- I think this is a great camera for social photos in low light due to the small size and good low light performance for a compact.
Hope that helps!
Will
Digital Camera Fan said:
October 30, 2010 at 3:14 pm
I just like the simple things, such as the fact that it is slimmer than the old version (S90) and has a tactile grip for easier usage and less chance of blurring due to shutter lag.
Lauren said:
November 3, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Hey thanks for the review, just wondering how this camera performs in AUTO mode in low light conditions with the flash on? (e.g parties, pubs etc) I don’t want to have to adjust ISO settings etc. I’m trying to find a replacement for my old Samsung NV3 which was fantastic on auto in low light, always producing really crisp, well exposed shots, I never really had to think about programing the camera.
Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
Wim said:
December 2, 2010 at 7:21 pm
Hello,
I own an S95 myself for about a month and I must say it has one big disadvantage, being the very poor jpeg compression. Photos in highest resolution are max about 3,5 Mb and you can see that when enlarging a bit or studying your photograph more in detail. One ends with quite some “smeary” photographs (pixel artifacts). My old G6 performs better in that respect than this S95 (missing the “very fine” compression). I miss crispy sharp photos with the S95 ! I do know how to use cameras (normally use a Canon DSLR) so that is not the point. Depending of the situation (need for quick P&S photos of lesser importance or not) I shall use the raw+jpeg option. Raw is definitely better for this S95, whatever some reviews say or claim.
Also the “low light” function is a bit exagerated, easily jumps to rather high ISO producing photographs which are sometimes a bit unsharp, lacking detail.
Sometimes wonder if there is nothing wrong with the software of my camera.
So a very practical camera which you can use like a DSLR (with its restrictions of course), but needs raw photographing…
regards from Belgium, Wim
tmr said:
December 11, 2010 at 2:38 am
Hello, I am curious to follow up comments by Wim. I noticed that some of my photos are amazingly compressed at “large/fine” setting, coming in at 565K, or 1mb. This is amazing to me. The ‘low=light’ setting especially gives very soft photos. But if one has to always shoot RAW, doesn’t this defeat the whole purpose of a compact, small camera? How can a 10mg camera produce such low quality files at the highest setting? please explain.
nandu said:
December 11, 2010 at 3:52 pm
I’m confused between the Olympus E-PL1 or the Canon S95. This is my first digital camera. My only digital camera experience is of a few shots on my friend’s cheap point and shoots. I know that these two cameras are both pricey and belong two different categories!! I’m ready to spend the extra money for the E-PL1, but I’m concerned as I’m very much a beginner!! Will the E-PL1 prove to be out of my limits(if i get it)??
Robert said:
December 17, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Thank you for your comments, pics, and video. I have been looking for a compact camera for my wife’s Christmas present, and I have been driving myself crazy as to what camera I should buy. Your comments and other reviews on this camera have helped me make my decision to purchase the S95. While it is more advanced than my wife is used to and more than I was originally looking to spend on a compact, the picture quality and capabilities really seem to set this camera above the others and make the photos of other compacts simply look bland. I’m happy I’ve taken the time to research and not just run out to buy the first camera I saw. I’m sure we will have lots of fun taking photos and learning something other than auto modes. Thanks again.
Codz said:
January 12, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Hi! I bought a Canon S95 for it’s image quality inclusive at higher ISO and I made a good choice, as I wanted a pocketable camera to replace my trusty Nikon D40 which is a big package with the two lenses , filters and so on. I have though some things to made my mind of when shooting the Canon S95, I’m tempted to do the following and I don’t know if it’s right:
Thanks!
- use Vivid colors – because I will not post process and I want stronger colors (of course when I’m not taking photos of people faces, then I use auto, indoor with B2/AWB, two pips less red as I think AWB turns hairs a little red with artificial light)
- use Normal instead of Fine compression, size Large of course – that gives me files half the size and with no differences up to 200% magnified on-screen, yet no gradients ruined by Normal setting – printing normal album photos are great also on Normal
- use 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratio, for wider screens of today’s computers and HDTV, 4:3 looks too square for me especially for landscapes/city scenes shots
- use f/2.0 for blurred backgrounds and f/4-5.6 as I’ve heard this is the sweet spot of S95’s lens
- use ISO 800-1600 for low light situations, no matter the noise, because the S95 gives very usable photos (you can look and like scenes that otherwise you would inappropriately use the flash or blur because of the long exposure)
- won’t shoot RAW but only if I’ll take some once in a life photos that I will have time to process
Tell if I’m doing something wrong here
PS: Will, nice review by the way, I choosed this only place to submit my questions
Kruti said:
January 20, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Hi,
I jus wanted to know if I should go for a Canon S95 or the Canon 1000D. I’m just looking at really good image clarity.. I’m quite confused between the two at the moment!! Please suggest as to what should be more worthy a buy..
georg said:
January 28, 2011 at 2:58 pm
Kruti> for best picture quality and crisp, sharp photos take Canon 1000D, not compact camera.
Paul Chapman said:
March 14, 2011 at 11:08 am
Thanks for this review – on the basis of your useful comments and other positive feedback about this camera I have just bought one – still learning how to use it but looking good!! Impressed by the speed of processing and the clarity of the images. I was originbally aiming to get the 16MP A3300 but the reviews on that camera were not at all good and the S95 was recommended as a better buy.
SteveD said:
April 6, 2011 at 10:50 am
Great review thanks. I have a S95 and am having trouble with the wheel on the back as it seems to get moved in between shots and then depending on the setting either the ISO or apperture etc gets changed. i have ended up shooting with ISO3200 by mistake. Do I just need to pay more attention before each shot (as I do with an SLR) or should it not really be so easy to move the wheel. Any views appreciated.
Tarana said:
May 11, 2011 at 4:28 am
Thanks a lot for a very useful review. I ordered my S95 on a whim after researching for months for a compact pocket cam to complement my 7D DSLR. I just receive my new S95, the battery is charging, and your review has encouraged me to go out and take my new little camera on a test drive. Thanks again for the sample images and the detailed review.
Bilal Qazi said:
May 29, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Hi all. Bought the camera a few days ago and shooting happily except for one concern. How I can reduce the blurred baby picture without using flash. Babies move a lot and thus blurring their image. Using flash will disturb him and also blackens the background while taking pictures closely.
Nick said:
July 15, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Bought a S95 recently based on the good reviews. The only camera I can compare it with is my 6 MP entry-level Pentax ist DL2 from 2006. Well, the S95 is no old entry-level DSLR. Maybe I expected too much. Still, it’s a great little camera. My best pictures so far were macro shots taken on a cloudy day and portraits taken indoors. Otherwise I was quite disappointed by the landscape shots and action shots I took.
Tom said:
October 6, 2011 at 8:57 am
Thanks Will for an excellent ‘user’ review with superb sample pics that I can refer people to. Most camera reviews now seem to be rewrites of manufacturers own press releases or are written by ‘experts’ who don’t know how to take photographs and have only briefly handled the camera. I have owned the s95 for several months and also have a Nikon DSLR. The canon is a lovely compact that suits a DSLR user because of the flexible modes and ‘mechanical’ controls. Image quality is better than many compacts, but should not be compared with a DSLR (you don’t but some do). I would recommend the s95 for a DSLR owner looking for a compact. A compact camera user looking to ’step up’ should consider a DSLR.
HyunJin Lim said:
October 13, 2011 at 2:32 am
Thanks for taking the time to do this review! I really think this was helpful for my desicon to buy the powershot. Love the pictures you took!
cassie said:
December 14, 2011 at 4:22 pm
i’m glad i came across your review. i was just about to hit the purchase button for the G12 but from your article it’s clear that the s95 can do most of what the g12 can. my only gripe is the 3.8 zoom compared to what the g12 offers – 5 mp