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Reviews > Cameras > Digital > Canon S95 Powerseries Camera > Owner Review by Brian HartmanCANON POWERSERIES S95 CAMERA
TESTER INFORMATION
I have been backpacking for over 20 years throughout Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and most recently in Western USA. In addition to backpacking I enjoy family camping with my wife and kids and being outdoors in general. I would describe myself as a mid-weight backpacker. I use fairly light weight equipment and gear but still like to bring more than the bare essentials with me while on the trail. PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Canon, Inc. Year of manufacture: 2012 Manufacturer's website: http://www.canon.com/ MSRP: US $399.99 Listed weight (including batteries): 7 oz (195 g) Measured weight (including batteries): 7.2 oz (204 g) Dimensions: 3.94 x 2.28 x 1.18" (100 x 58 x 30 mm) Other details provided by manufacturer: Body type: Compact Max resolution: 3648 x 2736 Effective pixels: 10 megapixels Sensor size: 1/1.7" (7.44 x 5.58 mm) Sensor type: CCD ISO range: 80 - 3200 Focal length: 28 - 105 mm Optical zoom: 3.8x Screen size 3" (7.62 cm) Format: H.264 Storage type: SD / SDHC / SDXC / MMC / MMC plus / HC MMC plus card Ports: HDMI and USB 2.0 DESCRIPTION The Canon S95 (hereafter called
S95 or camera) is a pocket-sized digital point-and-shoot camera that is part of
Canon's Powershot S Series product line. It features an extremely compact
design, full manual control, and great picture quality.
On top of the camera is the shooting mode dial which provides access to additional manual controls as well as scene modes. It is thumb operated and clicks into place at each of nine mode settings including Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual and Custom mode along with Auto, Low Light, Scene and Movie modes. In Program mode, for example, selecting the ISO icon provides a slide rule across the bottom of the screen which displays ISO speeds from 80 to 3200. From there I can simply rotate the scroll wheel or tab between them to select the desired setting. Quite remarkably, the S95 offers full image resolution at ISO 3200 along with 1/3 stop adjustments all the way from ISO 80 to its top setting. The function/settings button is located on the back of the camera in the center of the control pad/scroll wheel. It allows for adjustment of all kinds of shooting parameters including ISO, white balance, color, exposure and focus bracketing, drive mode (single, continuous, continuous with autofocus), metering, aspect ratio, image quality, and dynamic range correction. At the top, bottom, left, and right points of the control pad are selections for exposure compensation, flash settings, self-timer, and macro or manual focus. When in playback mode, the top and bottom buttons can be used to quickly sort through a number of photos or delete saved photos. Finally, spaced symmetrically around the wheel are four buttons for menu access, display settings, photo playback, and photo printing via PictBridge. PictBridge is an Industry Standard technology that allows images to be printed directly from digital cameras to a printer, without having to connect the camera to a computer. A press of the menu button brings up the image capture, set up and 'my menu' folders. Within image capture, one can enable iContrast, auto red eye reduction, blink detection and image stabilization. The display button, alternatively, brings up a nine zone grid and simultaneous RGB histogram with additional on-screen info. In addition to everything mentioned above, two new in-camera modes, Tracking AF and High Dynamic Range, were recently added to the camera. Tracking AF features fully automatic face and motion detection as well smart auto scene detection. When this mode is turned on, the camera automatically tracks fast-moving or unpredictable subjects like wildlife (or children) and automatically keeps them in focus. High Dynamic Range mode helps capture high-contrast scenes in vivid color. Lastly multi-aspect shooting lets photos be taken in a variety of formats including 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 16:9 and 4:5 for enhanced flexibility and creativity. FIELD TESTING AND OBSERVATIONS I bought this camera in
preparation for a cross-country trip I made to the Southwest in the spring of
2012. I used the S95 extensively on that trip while hiking through Sedona, the
Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde National Park. Since then I have taken the camera
on almost all of my backpacking trips and day hikes through the Midwest and
South and even on a trip to Yosemite last spring. All told, I have taken
thousands of pictures and hundreds of videos with this camera. As far as
weather conditions go, I have used the S95 in sun, rain and snow and in
temperatures from 100 F (38 C) to -10 F (-23 C). It has been used at sea level
and at 11,000 ft (3,352 m) elevation.
I must admit that I love movie mode and use it every chance I get. As mentioned previously the camera has a mini HDMI port that can be connected to an HDTV for playback of movies. Regrettably for the S95, resolution in movie mode is limited to 720p, and the optical zoom and auto-focus are not available during recording. This is a shame because the rest of this camera is so good and I don't think rival cameras are limited in respect to 720p resolution, zoom and focus. The LCD screen, however, looks and performs great. It's plenty large at 3" (7.6 cm) across and is high resolution and plenty bright in sunlight. Battery life for the lithium rechargeable is respectable. I can usually shoot for an entire day before the battery runs out and recharging is quick. However, I haven't had as much luck with the overall life of Canon's lithium batteries as I'm on my third one now. It seems like these batteries should be lasting several years each but I honestly haven't kept track of how many times I've charged them to know if they're lasting as long as they should. I just wish they weren't so expensive. For the most part, I'm very happy with the responsiveness of the S95. It powers up quickly and is swift to focus at any focal length. The zoom is ok but it's not super fast and doesn't have extraordinary range. Most of the time this isn't an issue, but there are occasions when a long, quick zoom would be great. One such time was when I was hiking through the woods in Glacier National Park and came into an opening just as a large brown bear and her cub were walking across a log bridge over a fast moving stream. Before I could get the S95 zoomed in and focused, the bears were across the log and into tall grass. Another time was when I saw a bald eagle in the sky above me at the Grand Canyon but was simply too far away to get a photo. Granted these were just two occasions out of hundreds and maybe only a few point-and-shoot cameras could pull those shots off. When size and weight aren't an issue I'm quick to take my Canon 50D with its 70 - 200mm lens, but for all other occasions I rely on the S95. As my dad, an avid photographer once told me, the best camera is the one you take with you. In that respect alone, the S95 is a great camera because it's so small I take it with me everywhere. SUMMARY All in all, the Canon Powershot
S95 is a fantastic compact camera. It is super small, loaded with features and
has great picture quality. For a pocket-sized camera that can be taken
everywhere, the S95 is a great option. Read more reviews of Canon gear Read more gear reviews by Brian Hartman Reviews > Cameras > Digital > Canon S95 Powerseries Camera > Owner Review by Brian Hartman |