Early Impressions

I was delighted to have finally received my Powershot S90, and without further adieu, let me say that this is one heck of a camera. It's not perfect -- you can take truly terrible pictures with it just like you can take terrible pictures with a D700 -- but when used properly, the camera turns out remarkable shots that make us find it hard to accept the images are coming from a camera that fits in your pants pocket.

What struck me first upon using it? First, it's size. This thing is small, and it's light, too. It's a bit smaller than my Panasonic TZ3 and TZ5, and it's lighter, too. (The camera uses a front and back metal construction with plastic on the top and bottom, but the Panasonic's, while also using metal, use a thicker gauge steel which adds a feel of sturdiness but also adds some weight, as well). The camera also has a high-quality feel to it. The buttons click and depress well (although the rear wheel is a bit too easy to turn, in my... Read more

Be warned, I am a self professed camera geek. I believe cameras are like surfboards; you need a quiver of surfboards/cameras for the right wave/job.

The Canon S90 is - by far - my new "go to" pocket camera and the one I will always carry with me in my flight bag. I have been using it for just about a month now and after a couple thousand shots, only now am I getting comfortable with its functionality. This is NOT the camera to buy your mother-in-law for Christmas. She will never speak to you again.

My other cameras are:

Canon 7D - with 'L' series lenses.
Pentax W60 (waterproof) - for surfing, sailing, biking, hiking, skiing and handing to the kids to beat each other with over the head.
Canon SD980 - which was my *quality* pocket camera but will now be relegated purely to U/W scuba photography (since I own the U/W case anyway and would live in fear that my S90 meets the same fate as my S80 and gets flooded shark diving in Tahiti)... Read more

Canon S90 IS is one of Canon high-end / advanced Canon Powershot compact camera. Its unique characteristics are slim, low profile body with great noise control in high ISO plus 28-105mm f/2-f/4.9 bright zoom lens. The other advantage is the camera is very pocket able. It fits in your jeans' pocket.

IMAGE QUALITY AND ISO

Canon S90 IS has 1/1.7' sensor size which is slighty smaller compare to its main competitor, Panasonic LX3 (1/1.63"). From my test, S90 IS image quality is very good across focal length but dynamic range (the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of an image) is limited . This is also a problem most of digital camera out there, but S90 is slightly worse compared to competitors.

However, regarding noise control and handling, S90 IS is excellent. The new algorithm works very well to reduce or erase most (if not all) chroma-noises which degrade image quality significantly. Image shot at ISO 1600 is very usable for regular... Read more