The Canon PowerShot S100 ($429.99 direct) is the follow-up to the popular S95 ($399.99, 4 stars), a camera that we liked enough to award our Editors' Choice. Although it's priced slightly higher, the 12-megapixel S100 improves on the S95 in many ways. Its zoom lens starts at a wider focal length and delivers a longer zoom range, recycle time has been cut drastically, and a GPS has been added. That's enough for it to replace the S95 as our? favorite high-end pocket camera.
Design and Features
The S100 is almost identical in size and design to its predecessor.?At 2.3 by 3.9 by 1.1 inches (HWD) and 7 ounces, it is a bit larger and heavier than competing compact cameras, such as Canon's own 2.2-by-3.8-by-0.9-inch, 4.9-ounce PowerShot Elph 310 HS ($259.99, 4 stars). Available in black and matte silver, the S100 feels a bit heavy for its size, thanks to its sturdy metal construction. The extra weight should actually help you to keep the camera steady when taking photos, but will be noticed if you are used to carrying a plastic camera. It's not out of line when compared with other compacts with fast lenses. Panasonic's top-end point-and-shoot, the Lumix DMC-LX5 ($499.99, 3.5 stars), weighs 9.3 ounces and measures 2.6 by 4.3 by 1.7 inches.
The lens covers a 24-105mm (35mm equivalent) field of view, which is a 5x zoom range. At the wide end it opens up to f/2, which lets quite a bit of light in, but the aperture narrows to f/5.9 at the telephoto end of its zoom. The Olympus XZ-1 ($499.99, 3.5 stars) features a slightly faster f/1.8 lens, but it only covers a 28-112mm field of view. Because of the S100's fast lens, long exposures in bright conditions can be troublesome, but a neutral density filter?which can be activated via the menu system?is built into to reduce the amount of light coming in to the lens, making it possible to use longer exposures when photographing waterfalls, rivers, and other scenes where a long exposure is desirable.
The 3-inch LCD is packed with 460k dots, and even though it is as crisp and bright as the screen found on the S95, it is no longer the best you'll find on a point-and-shoot camera. Other pocket models, including the Samsung TL500 ($449.99, 3 stars) now employ twice-as-sharp 920k-dot screens. With a camera like this, the LCD is the only way you can frame and review images in the field, and the extra resolution makes it easier to determine if you've nailed a shot.
One thing missing from the S100 is a hot shoe. Other cameras in this class, including the Olympus XZ-1, Panasonic LX5, and Samsung TL500, all have one?but Canon requires you to move up to the considerably larger PowerShot G12 ($499.99, 2.5 stars) to get one. The main advantage of a hot shoe is the ability to use an external flash or wireless flash controller with the camera.
Physical controls are the same as you'll find on other point-and-shoots, with one exception. In addition to a mode dial, 4-way scrolling command dial, and a dedicated Movie Record button, the S100 has a front control ring surrounding its lens. This ring can be configured to control a number of camera functions, including EV compensation, ISO, zoom, and focus. ?The software menu system is well executed, and will be familiar to anyone who has picked up a Canon camera before. Options are presented as clear, crisp text with an explanation of the function displayed across the bottom of the LCD.
The S100 also supports Raw shooting, which records all of the information that is gathered by the lens and sensor. Enthusiasts love to shoot Raw since it provides extra control, but you lose the convenience factor of simply being able to download photos to your computer and immediately share them with friends. Raw files must be developed using specific software in order to convert them into files that can be printed or shared online.
Performance and Conclusions
The S100 performed admirably in our speed tests. The camera takes 2.3 seconds to start up and grab a shot, and can capture another photo every half second in continuous shooting mode. Shutter lag measured at only 0.3 second, which is an excellent score for a camera that you can slide into your pocket. ?Other cameras in this class weren't able to match the S100's performance. The Panasonic LX5 comes closest?it starts a bit faster, grabbing the first shot in 1.9 seconds, but records a 0.5 second shutter lag and requires you to wait 1.4 seconds between shots.
I used the Imatest software suite to measure the camera's sharpness and image noise performance. The S100 scored exceptionally well in the sharpness test, recording 1,989 lines per picture height. A score of 1,800 is considered to be acceptably sharp, making the S100's score especially impressive when you consider its small form factor. Among cameras currently on the market, the S100 is the sharpest high-end compact that we've tested. The Samsung TL500 came closest, scoring 1,972 lines.
I measured image noise at the many ISO settings that the camera supports, from its base sensitivity of 80 through its maximum of 6400. As a camera's sensitivity to light increases, image noise increases as well. When an image is more than 1.5 percent noise it is considered to be too grainy for general use. The S100 was able to stay under this threshold through ISO 2000, which will allow you to snap good-looking photos in poor light thanks also to its fast f/2 aperture lens. The Panasonic LX5, Samsung TL500, and Olympus XZ-1 keep noise below 1.5 percent at ISO 1600, but cross the barrier at the next setting.
The built-in GPS performs quite well. It acquired a signal within minutes in both suburban New Jersey and midtown Manhattan, the latter being quite the challenge for many cameras. The GPS records the coordinates of where you are standning when taking a photo. Most popular photo software, including Picasa, iPhoto, and Lightroom, will display your photos on a map, or allow you to click on a link that opens the coordinates in Google Maps. Using the GPS didn't?appear to put much of a strain on the battery. I was using the GPS in its default mode, which only searches for a signal when the camera is on. There is another mode that periodically looks for a signal, even when the camera is off, that will put more stress on the battery, but speed signal acquisition time.
Video is recorded in 1080p24 or 720p30 HD resolution. It is stored in QuickTime format for easy upload to your computer and the Web, and looks quite good. Colors were rich and details were sharp, although there were a few jitters zooming in and out in my tests. The sound of the lens zooming is picked up on the audio track, although it is not overly loud. The camera features standard mini USB and mini HDMI for computer and HDTV connectivity. It supports SD, SDHC, and SCXC memory cards.
The Canon PowerShot S100 takes everything the S95 did right and improves on it. Even though the S95 is still available through retail channels, the longer zoom range, faster recycle time, and GPS make the S100 well worth the extra $30. Two other cameras in this class, the Olympus XZ-1 and Samsung TL500, have slightly faster f/1.8 lenses, higher-resolution displays, and hot shoes. But they are more expensive than the S100 and lack its GPS and longer zoom range. Because of its excellent performance, well-rounded feature set, and relatively modest price, the S100 easily earns our Editors' Choice award for high-end compact cameras.
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