***Update***
I recently drove out to Buffalo with some old roommates of mine. I tried to keep everything down to one bag, which meant that my D90 and my lenses needed to stay at home. The S90 proved to handle just about every shot that I put it up against, so if you need to travel light but don’t want to sacrifice on quality this might be a strong reason to consider this camera. If you want to read about the trip, and find out who “Tron” is, then click here to read the post (with more pics from the trip – all taken with the S90).
*** End Update***
Here is a video that I just shot using my Canon S90. I recently went to NYC to see A Camp play at Le Poisson Rouge… If you don’t know who A Camp is you may recognize their lead singer, the uber-cute Nina Persson from The Cardigans. Eagle-eyed readers will also see James Iha (the Japanese guy from The Smashing Pumpkins) at the end of the video:
Because this is the most visited section of my blog, and you are probably reading this because you want to see samples of what the Canon S90 can do, here are some of my latest pictures from my trip to New York. If you want to read more about the trip (and see more pictures) click on this link.
Note: all of these images had some processing done with Adobe Lightroom 2.0. I’m assuming that you will process all of your images as well, so think of these as examples of what the final version of your pics could be (the ones you frame or send to friends).
I’m pretty satisfied with the results, but I still need to play around with the camera some more and get comfortable with all the controls. Feel free to post a comment and let me know what you think. Also, if you have not seen the reviews for the camera, then here are the Youtube video’s that I put together.
Part 1 (build quality and first impressions):
Part 2 (more about controls and user interface):
Part 3 (all about video):
Part 4 (Controls/User Interface):
43 Comments
Great videos man. I think, you are the first “hands-on” review on youtube. I appreciate the info. Did you checkout the G11 at all? (I’m kinds debating between the S90 or G11.
Some sample “videos” from the S90 would be awesome, if you have a chance.
Thanks again,
Amol
Thanks for the reviews…good stuff! Looking to get an s90 real soon. Do you have any samples of the s90’s video recording capabilities?
Hey, I just posted a youtube video shot on the S90 which talks about the video funcionality. Check it out at my blog or at Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb7pzF7E57U
or
http://fakeconomy.com/2009/10/canon-powershot-s90-review/
Hey, just posted a new youtube vid all about video on the Canon S90
Thank you very much for the very detailed review. Also, you went into details on some of the main functions related to compact cameras which was also very good for me (as I’m still a rookie
). You convinced me more than anyone else so I just ordered it! 
Hmm… The photos are kinda blur. Maybe bump up ISO speed will help.
You are correct. I have a bad habit of trying to keep ISO as low as possible, many times at the sacrifice of image quality (exact opposite of what I was trying to do). The S90 actually has decent performance at higher ISO’s but I’m a bit gun shy because I was used to ISO performance of my previous compact (not that great).
thanks alot for taking the time to post those videos.
I’m stuck!!!!
s90 or g11
I can only speak to the quality of the S90 and my experience with it, but I also believe the G11 is a quality product and you may be happy with that as well. Let me walk you through my decision making process between these two (I also considered the Panasonic LX3 as well).
The biggest difference between these cameras seem to be:
1) Size
2) Hot shoe
3) Zoom
4) Max aperture
I’d also say that you may make a decision one way or the other depending on if you already own a DSLR or if you might be planning on buying one in the future. More on that later….
So let’s think about the differences:
1) Size
The S90 is much smaller than the G11. With the S90 you could fit the camera easily inside a coat pocket or your jeans pocket. It is not super compact but it is small enough that you can stash it away while wearing “regular” clothes on a night out in town. The G11 is a fair bit bigger (while not as large as a full SLR). You’ll be carrying around this either on a neck strap or in a bag/purse. If size matters and you want something smaller then the S90 wins, if you don’t care the G11 might work well enough for you.
2) Hot shoe
Do you have an extra add-on flash? Would you like to use it with your compact camera? If you answered yes to these then the G11 is the only option for you. The S90 has no hotshoe the only flash is the in-built flash that is part of the camera (and sucks like all in-built flashes). The G11 will give you the option of attaching or wiring the camera to an external flash. Another feature of the G11 which is pretty impressive is that it can sync to a flash at speeds up to 1/1000th of a second – even many DSLR’s cannot do this. If this means nothing to you then don’t worry, it may just mean that a hotshoe is not an important factor for you.
3) Zoom
The S90 can zoom between 28mm and 105mm, the G11 can zoom between 28mm and 140mm. So you get a little bit more reach with the G11. This might be important if you are sitting in the balcony section of a concert and you just need more zoom to get a good clean picture of the performer. You can always use either camera to crop into the image afterwards, but the G11 has the ability to zoom out further then the S90 and that might be really important to you.
4) Max aperture
The S90 (at it’s wide end of 28mm) has a aperture of f/2.0. The G11’s max aperture is f/2.8. So between the two camera’s the S90 is actually better (although you may want to read more about the G11 to see if it’s sensor may compensate for this). The larger the aperture (smaller the f/number) the more light gets let into the camera. I take a lot of pictures at restaurants, clubs, bars and concerts and this is the killer feature for me. An aperture of f/2.0 is almost unheard of for a compact camera and it can make your nighttime shots looks amazing.
Finally, do you already own a DSLR or do you plan on buying one in the future? A DSLR can do everything these camera’s can do and that much more depending on the lenses you have. The one thing a DSLR cannot do is become smaller and fit in your pocket or purse. When I travel I usually shoot all my daytime photography using my D90 (DSLR), and I pack that camera away in the hotel room and bring my S90 with me when I hit up town at night. For me this combination is ideal.
If you have no interest buying a DSLR then the G11 (or Panasonic LX3) will be a good middle ground between a compact camera and a DSLR. My dad, for instance, loves to take pictures but he has no interest to own/learn to use a DSLR. For him a G11 might be the only camera he ever needs (although, he too bought a S90 after I told him about it).
Finally, I had a conversation the other day with a guy working at a camera store. He swore that the G11 is vastly superior to the S90, according to him the choice was a no-brainer to go for the G11. Personally, I think that in my situation it was clear I was going to buy the S90 – but just know that there are plenty of people out there who are proud and happy G11 owners and they might offer a different spin on your decision.
Dude you just sold me the S90… That was a fantastic review
THANK YOU
Excellent review. I’m a wedding photographer and I shoot with a D700. I was looking to get a compact camera and was deciding between s90 and g11. Your review was very accurate, and you knew your stuff well. And the differences you outlined here between G11 and S90 are spot on. I personally thought S90 is better because of the f2 lens and smaller size, besides having a hotshoe on a compact defeats the purpose of a compact camera. Great videos, I went with the S90 and I do think it’s the best point and shoot you can get. Still can’t compare to an SLR though, but you can’t put SLRs in your pocket.
Keep up the good reviewing, they should hire you on CNET or something because your review was 10x better than their so called reviews.
Thanks for the comment, I definitely appreciate hearing that the review was good from a pro.
The S90 so far has been pretty awesome, I recently went to Buffalo and wasn’t able to pack my D90. With the S90 in my pocket, I was still able to get just about every shot that I wanted during the road trip.
hi! just want to thank you for making such a great review. im now in the market for a good compact camera. still not sure, but im thinking of getting either the Lx3 or the s90. i like the lx3 because of the video capability. the s90 because of how small it is and the interesting control ring. Your video helped a lot. it was funny, i watched your video the last, because it looked the least “professional” but i found yours the best. thanks again, and keep up the good work.
Thanks for taking the time to put your Utube reviews together
– I am retired, in the UK, and just getting into using UTube for info. I have been a keen photographer for some time – going back years.
I have been looking for a small, but not too small, P&S and was going to buy the LX3, but I always felt that it was just too big to be pocketable, (almost in between), so I looked at the S90 and your reviews, which clearly demonstrated the neat functionality of the S90 have convinced me.
I don’t need video or a good bust shooting mode in a P&S. I particularly like the way the LCD changes for exposure adjustments, (WYSIWYG – if you like), and the programmable control rings. I am sure that both the LX3 and S90 will be similar in image quality etc., although I prefer the colour rendering of the S90 from what I have seen on flickr.
Thanks again and good luck with your blog, (again just finding out what a blog is)
I really enjoyed your reviews of the Canon S90. I was planning on purchasing it but am now wondering if it might be more of a camera than I need. I want the best compact point and shoot available but in reality I will have it on auto mode 99% of the time. Would you still recommend this for me. If not what is the next best option.
Thank you for your time. I found your videos the most informative of any on the web.
Thank you for review, it’s really great! You know, i live in Russia and have a problem with selecting a camera. I just can’t choose. I’ve got quetsions for you as a pro…
i try to choose between ultazoom compact powershot 200xs and powershot s90. as i anticipated s90 is great in terms of photo, but 200xs has hd-mode. i saw your movie about hd in cameras, but is it really not very effective? and again… is s90 that good in taking pictures? your images from buffalo are spectacular… don’t you use Photoshop?)) Thank u for help)
Hi,
Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. My honest answer as far as other camera recommendations is for you to check out some camera review sites. Unlike a pro reviewer (or a electronic review site like CNET) I can only give advice on the products I have either owned or tried myself. If I find something good I’m more than happy to share my experiences about it with others, but if I don’t know anything about the products then I would recommend you check out some of the excellent review sites, I would hate to give you bad information.
I recommend starting your search with the following sites:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/
http://www.cameralabs.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
If you hate reading, then Cameralabs.com usually has a 5 minute video on just about every product they have reviewed. I found out about the S90 first from Ken Rockwell (way back when it was just a rumor).
In terms of the S90 being too much of a camera, here is some advice I can give. First I think it is great that you really are thinking about how much you plan on using your camera and what your level of involvement will be. A lot of people buy the best/most expensive gear and expect to do amazing things with it out of the box – it doesn’t work that way (for anything).
Having said that I still think the S90 is an excellent camera for beginners beacause you really can grow with it. If you want to push your photography further and wouldn’t mind taking the time to learn how to set manual controls, or if you like the idea of a SLR but just don’t want to invest the time and money into buying one just yet – I think the S90 might actually be a good choice. My first cameras were those disposable film camera’s you can buy at the pharmacy, I spent a year in Australia (back in college) and those were the only camera’s available to me. Despite what anyone says, any camera can take good pictures because the biggest factor in a good picture is composition. After graduating from disposable cameras, my first digital camera was the Casio Exilim z850 – just like the S90 it was a compact camera that had tons of manual controls. I started using it mostly in auto mode but gradually experimented with adjusting the aperture and shutter speeds. It doesn’t take much experimentation but soon you will see why adjusting a camera manually will give you results that literally are impossible on full auto mode. I loved the Exilimi but unfortunately I ended up loosing it, this was actually why I bought the S90 – to replace my lost camera. Honestly the S90 is way better than the Exilim I lost, the low light photography and aperture controls blow my old camera out of the water. The Exilim had a longer zoom (but not as wide) and it had more flexibility with long shutter speeds – I honestly don’t miss either of the two compared to what the S90 can do.
Having said all of that you can still pay a lot less for a camera and have full auto. I didn’t know this before I bought the S90 but there is a hack called CHDK (http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK). You need to check the site out and make sure they have a version that works with the canon compact you plan to buy (most of the super slim Canon Elph’s are supported with this). Then you download the file to the memory card you will be using and you will now have access to more controls that Canon usually keeps locked. You see, most cameras are more advanced then the manufacturer let’s on – this is called manufactured obselescence. You can’t have all the advanced features in the entry level camera because then everyone would buy your cheapest camera and not your most advanced/expensive camera. In many cases camera’s that differ in price by $50-$100+ may even share the same computer chips, just with the lower end models having some of the features crippled with software. Also, there are some “safety” controls that the manufacturer limits to prolog the longevity of the camera, like putting a limit on how fast the shutter speed can go (to save wear on the mechanism). CHDK supposedly will remove all these obstacles.
Again, I don’t have CHDK myself, so you should investigate more into it if you are interested. Still, if you have the money and the interest in learning photography then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the S90.
Hi Sasha,
First, thanks for the comments and taking the time to post them on my site…
A lot of people ask me about other camera’s or other options and my honest answer is always that I can only recommend what I own and have tried myself – it would be dishonest for me to tell you what to buy when I have not tried the competing products that are out there. Thus if you are looking for more info on the S90 or my pictures I can totally help you out.
In terms of comparing cameras I recommend checking out the following sites to get all the details of the other camera’s you are considering.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/
http://www.cameralabs.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
I took a quick look at the Powershot 200XS and here are my brief observations – again, definitely continue to do your own research beacuse I have not actually used this product.
The 200XS looks like a decent camera. The wide angle is 28mm (same as the S90) and the zoom goes up to 336mm which is a much longer zoom than the S90. Both camera’s are around the same size with the 200XS being slightly bigger. The 200XS also seems to have manual controls, but definitely read some reviews to find out how good they are. The one downfall of the XS200 is the largest aperture of it’s lens. The XS200 can only open up to f3.5 while the S90 can go all the way to f2.0 – for the type of photography I do the S90 would still be my top choice because it allows me to take better pictures using a lower shutter speed and ISO speed. One thing to note, on the S90 that f2.0 aperture is only available on thw widest setting, one you zoom in on things it too goes down (but almost 100% of my pictures are taken at 28mm).
I don’t take much video, but for the small clips I take (very casual and usually complete afterthoughts for me the S90 is good enough. Check out my review of A Camp – I have posted two videos I took using this camera. If you plan on taking a lot of videos and HD is really important then the XS200 is your only choice out of the two (read some reviews to find out how good the video quality is and how easy is it to record things).
I definitely think the S90 can take good pictures, but if you are good at composing then you can even use a disposable film camera to take good pictures. What you want is a camera that you can grow with as you become more advanced.
For post processing I used Adobe Lightroom 2 – I used to use Google’s Picassa (free). I usually only adjust the shadows, fill light and exposure. I used to use Photoshop (I still do actually) but Photoshop is more of a composition tool, it can do everything that Lightroom can do (and much more) but Lightroom is much easier to use.
Thank you very much, i really appreciate your time. You shared wonderful infromation with me. I’ll try to use it correctly and find a better solution. As soon as i decide what camera to choose, i’ll write down some emotions and sentences about my experience with it.
Again thanks for your site, reviews and time!
Hello! Thanks so much for doing an in-depth review on the S90. This is my first semi pro camera and it’s good to know that it’s amazing one and that I can learn a lot about composing my shots from it! I love learning more about the aperture and f-shots and i can’t wait to start using my S90!
Thank you!!!
A nice review you’ve got! A pity that you actually edited your pictures with Adobe Lightroom 2 as I would prefer to see the unedited pictures so that I can really see the quality of the pictures taken using the S90!
Hi,
Here are some older shots I took when I first posted the review. None of them used any post processing in lightroom or any other program.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4044136972/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4044135808/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4044135058/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4044133530/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4043385429/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4044132190/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4020269383/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4020268951/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72484936@N00/4021028474/
hi there,
i post some sample images of G11 at my website here
http://156.tumblr.com
hope that you’ll can enjoy it.
btw, s90 is a very cool camera too
Great review. I’m looking to getting a compact camera and yr s90 review helped a lot. It’s funny though I’ve been planning to buy dslr as well and have been eying the D90 for a while now. I noticed you own a D90 as well. It would be great if you can talk about nikon D90! ( what kit lens works, its performance, how is it compared to the D5000 ? ) Thanks anyways.
That’s not a bad idea. I haven’t been giving my D90 enough love, might be a good way for me to get reacquainted with it…
There are plenty of review sites out there that will tell you all you need to know about the D90. In short it’s a great camera and if you are interested in buying one then go for it. Honestly I can’t give a full review of the D5000 but in my experience, if you really are committed to learning photography you might as well go for the D90 and learn to use all of its features. Personally I started off with a D40 and I always knew I would be upgrading, it was a great camera but I probably could have saved some cash by just buying what I wanted to begin with.
very informative. this helps me decide on what camera to get. thanks for sharing!
Hi There,
Great Reviews … I like quality Pictures and am looking forward to become a prof or 1/2 at least :p.
I think u r the person who would help me in my Camera Choice …
I so so so badly want the Canon SX210 IS … Now that i saw ur review about the s90; am a bit confused …
PLEASEEEE HEEEEEEEEEEEELP …
This is my first time I have visited this site. I found a lot of interesting stuff in your blog. From the tons of comments on your posts, I guess I am not the only one! keep up the good work.
First, thanks for the comments and taking the time to post them on my site…
A lot of people ask me about other camera’s or other options and my honest answer is always that I can only recommend what I own and have tried myself – it would be dishonest for me to tell you what to buy when I have not tried the competing products that are out there. Thus if you are looking for more info on the S90 or my pictures I can totally help you out.
In terms of comparing cameras I recommend checking out the following sites to get all the details of the other camera’s you are considering.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/
http://www.cameralabs.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/
One quick thing I can say is that the SX 210 has a smaller aperture at max than the S90. The S90 has a f2.0 aperture at it’s widest, the SX 210 has only a f3.1. If you don’t know what that means I recommend doing some research on the sites I mentioned above. In a nutshell the S90 is much better for low-light photography and that’s pretty important to me.
Hey great job there! really admire your work!
Though i know nothing about photography , i just ordered my s90.
Hope i can learn something from you:)
Great reviews for visual learners like me, thanks! I read about a very nice custom made grip you can get for this model and plan to buy one soon: http://www.kleptography.com/rf/#camera_s90
Hi,
I have a question for you: how is the s90 when taking fast action photos? I don’t think it has a burst mode right? Nice review by the way.
Thanks,
HT.
For my needs it is good enough but it does not have a fast continuous frame shooting (I think it is only .9 fps which is pretty slow).
The wide aperture works towards your advantage but I wouldn’t recommend it for sports or nature photography. For situations where you are shooting action, especially far away from you, you need to invest in a good DSLR which has a high frame rate, and a good telephoto lens with a wide aperture (f2.8 is usually the best at 200-300mm but very expensive).
Hi,
I checked out your review of the S90 on YouTube, good stuff, very comprehensive and well thought out. I am currently toying with the idea of purchasing the S90 and I was wondering what your thoughts are on the build quality of the S90 are having owned it for a time now. The top and bottom panels appear to be plastic, how are they and the camera overall holding up to regular usage?
Regards,
Matt,
Helsinki.
The camera is still holding up fine, I usually carry it around with me in my backpack or in cargo pockets (if I am wearing something with them them). The front lens element with the adjustable dial is rock solid and has no wear on it. The top and bottom plastic parts are solid as well. There is one spot of plastic near the flash that people have been complaining about. This is where you can press down on the plastic and hear a clicking sound. Honestly I never notice it myself and rarely keep my finger on that spot.
For me the grip is fine but I have smaller hands. Many people complain that the camera lacks a grip and does not allow them to take pictures with one hand because of it. You’ve probably seen other posts where people recommend buying add-on grips. I haven’t done anything like that to modify my camera, but it’s an option and people who do modify their camera’s seem to be happy with the results.
Does this camera take great pictures without photo-shopping the photos after? Because I do not know how to edit photos at all, and I am looking for a camera that can take great pictures from the get go without editing.
The camera takes ok pictures as is and you have different presets (auto-modes) that you can use if you don’t feel comfortable with manual control. No camera (not even the $8,000 pro-DSLR’s) will take great pictures out of the box.
I advise you to learn to edit pictures, you’ll find that with just a little effort you can make a good picture look fantastic by changing the exposure and saturation slightly. Don’t bother learning photoshop it is way too complicated for beginners, instead check out Google Picasa. It’s free and will do about 90% of the tasks that most photographers need for picture editing. Also there are plenty of sites and tutorial where you can learn from other Picasa users.
I currently use Adobe Lightroom, which I consider somewhere in between Photoshop and Picasa. It’s a great program and I’d recommend it as a next purchase for anyone who wants to move beyond Picasa for their picture editing.
Scroll through the comments, I’ve posted a few pictures that are unedited when I first got the camera.
Hi,
Are you still using the camera?
Yep, still using the camera… not disappointed in the purchase at all.
Hi, Ive been watching your really useful videos and am thinking about buying the s90 for my girlfriend, she is a threatre designer and needs to take shots in low light but with lots of contrast with areas of bright light in the shot. I was wondering if you knew if the s90 allows you to turn off the ’sounds’ on the camera, most cameras have the ‘click’ sound when actually taking the shots, she needs the camera to be completely silent. I was also wondering if you knew if this would be a good compact for this type of photography, I am assuming it is from the large aperture and CCD digital sensor. We think that as we are both not very experienced photographers a DSLR would be overly complex for our needs.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Best wishes,
Nic
It sounds pretty much like the perfect camera for what your girlfriend needs. It’s like training wheels for a DSLR, you can use it on mostly automatic settings and gradually start exploring more of the manual options as you get more comfortable.
The f2.0 lens is awesome for low light, so you will be able to get better shots with a faster shutter speed than with most other compacts. Because of the subject you would be shooting (actors) + the lighting challenge you will want to keep shutter speed as high as possible to reduce shake. You’ll need the wide aperture and the pretty decent high ISO settings to accomplish this. Stage lighting should be enough that you really wouldn’t need a flash so a compact should work fine (plus the actors would hate your girlfriend if she used a flash during performances).
One thing that you need to know is that f2.0 only applies at the widest angle setting. If you start zooming into your subject then the aperture drops off.
@ 28mm the widest aperture is f2.0
@ 105mm the widest aperture is f4.9
Unfortunatly I can’t tell you exactly how the f stop lines up with focal length but here is an approximation:
28mm – f2
35mm -f2.8
50mm – f3.5
85mm – f4.5
105mm – f4.9
So if your girlfriend needs to zoom in to capture an actors face she needs to know that she won’t have the wide aperture. What you can do instead though is crop the image during post processing to get a closeup. You may encounter some pixellation but it’s better than having a blurry/out of focus closeup.
If you were thinking of an SLR you could get a 3omm f1.4 which might be the best possible combination. For wider angles you’d need to add a 11-16mm f2.8 to get the wide shots. You’ll definitely get better pics, but you’re paying a lot more to do this + the hassle of changing lenses.
Because your girlfriend is a theater designer I’m assuming that she cares more about getting a wider viewing angle (I was thinking set design), so the 28mm might be enough on the S90 might be enough (just don’t show her what an 11-16mm can do).
In terms of silencing the camera I haven’t noticed too much noise and I’m sure there is an option but I would need to check first. I can let you know when I find out.
Hi,
Thanks that all sounds great, I think she will be wanting to take full set shots so wont need to worry about the aperture going down with zooming in, and the 28mm lens sounds good for this. It would be brilliant if you get a chance to check the camera noises, I think that is the only potential problem. It looks like a great camera, cant wait to actually use it!
Thanks so much for your help.
Nic
Hey, just a quick update. I went to Montreal and tried the silent mode on the camera. It was completely silent (and I was taking pics inside the Notre Dame Basilica which amplifies everything). So if you are still in the market this will take silent pics (no shutter sounds, etc).