Canon PowerShot S100 review

High-end compact cameras have got a lot of competition these days. What with the rise of the Compact System Camera there's ever more demand for a pocketable yet capable camera. Which is exactly what Canon's PowerShot S100, the follow up to the S95, claims to be. It's also one of the first Canon compacts with the company's latest DIGIC 5 processor, so just how well does this latest PowerShot perform?

Canon PowerShot S100 review - Features

The S100's features list is as long as your arm and is far from a quick reworking of the previous S95 model.

At the camera's core is a 12.1-megapixel, 1/1.7in CMOS sensor - the size is larger than an average compact camera and this is a crucial benefit to image quality. Indeed there are only a handful of compacts with such sensors, all of which are considered high-end models. Add to this Canon's HD system and DIGIC 5 processor - which Canon claims to be six times more powerful than its predecessor - and the S100 should produce top-spec images throughout its ISO 80-6400 range. As well as both Raw & JPEG still images the new CMOS sensor can also capture 1080p HD movies at 24 frames per second.

The latest processor also speeds things up meaning the S100 can shoot at 2.3fps (up from 1.9fps compared to its predecessor) or, when set to the High-Speed Burst HQ mode, an impressive 8 frame burst can occur in little under a second (at a 9.6fps rate).

Matched up with the sensor, the S100 has a 5x optical zoom lens that ranges from a wide-angle 24mm through to 120mm at the top end. While this may sound rather conservative, it's a brand new zoom that wipes the slate clean compared to its predecessor and, in context with the competition, is a rangier affair than its peers. An f/2.0 lens at the widest angle slips down to f/5.9 when at 120mm, meaning there's a dip of 1/3rd a stop of light at the longer zoom settings compared to the previous S95 but a rise in both wideangle and top-end zoom ability. A built-in ND (Neutral Density) filter can also be activated to cut back on three stops of light should the occasion call for it, and a 1/2000th fastest shutter speed means subjects can be frozen in action.

Also new for this release is in-camera GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) technology to track a shot's location and mark the EXIF data accordingly. The S100 also includes a GPS Logger tracking feature that can follow and plot your route via GPS, even when the camera is switched off. These routes can then be plotted on the provided Map Utility software.