Ultimately, the appeal of this camera is that it is the smallest on the market to feature Raw capture, and a less pricey alternative to the G11 – which has an identical sensor. The expanded ISO range, fast lens and high-resolution LCD screen only add to its appeal, and though it’s not perfect – and at times frustrating to use – it is capable of superb image quality. Had it been any dearer it would have found itself in the uncomfortable position of competing with other high-end compacts or even Micro Four Thirds system cameras. The fact that it isn’t means it can occupy a more comfortable territory further down, and thus having a broader appeal. I have no doubt that the S90 will be a popular compact camera – for the simple reason that it deserves to be.
Image Quality
Canon PowerShot S90 review – Image Quality
Image quality, on the whole, is excellent, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results the S90 is capable of producing. At lower sensitivities in good light, images are very clean, detailed and relatively sharp – comparable, in some cases, to the quality of an entry-level DSLR. Shadow areas do exhibit a little texture, though, and although the highest sensitivities exhibit much noise, noise control overall is excellent.
Chromatic aberrations, including slight purple fringing, are visible but controlled, and though there is a slight drop off in sharpness towards the corners and edges of the frame, overall sharpness is impressively maintained. White balance is generally fine, though I found certain scenes lit with tungsten light to be a little too warm.
On occasion it produced noticeably cold images outdoors, even in warm, autumnal sunlight. It did, however, balance images shot under a mixture of daylight and tungsten, with surprisingly accurate results.
My only other reservation is with control over distortions; while the lack of barrelling is satisfactory in JPEGs, examining the camera’s corresponding Raw files shows just how much of this can be attributed to in-camera processing, rather than the design of the lens itself.
At lower ISO settings and in good light, images display plenty of detail and sharpness
View more Canon Powershot S90 sample images
Score
Score in detail
-
Features 90
-
Image Quality 95
-
Design 80
-
Performance 95
-
Value 90