Anyone have the Canon S90 as an everyday camera?

printergirl

Just wondering if anyone has the Canon S90 for everyday walk around camera use. I have been impressed with the reviews I have been reading on it (and the G11, which share the same MP and sensor) and was considering it as an everyday use camera for throwing in my purse or jeans pocket. I love my DSLR but it is a little much to carry ALL THE TIME.

Wondering if anyone else has used this camera and their thoughts on it. Any other small pocketable P&S anyone would recommend (below $500 please). I am so spoiled by the quality of a DSLR now, I'm afraid I will be dissapointed with anything less. But, at the same time, I know I am missing great shots by not having a camera with me every time I leave the house.

I am amazed that I can carry my DSLR with me every day for a week and have nothing to shoot, but then sure enough, the one time I leave home w/o it, for a short trip even, I miss a great shot.

With a small camera, I could put it in my purse and forget about it until I need it.

kdog

Yeah, I was pretty much in the same boat as you. Wanted a good little pocket camera, and the G11 was too big. So I sprang for the tiny S90, and I'm really diggin' it. It's got all the features my DSLR has, like AEB, timer, RAW, manual exposure, etc.

Wanna see a couple of pics?

After a full day of travel and shooting, we had stopped to take one last look at this canyon. My DSLR and tripod were stowed away, it was after sundown, and I was too tired to break it all out again. So I grabbed the S90 out of my pocket and snapped this shot. Hand held, and darker out than you would think.



Sometimes when you're running errands, there's no time for any real photograph. But suddenly you see a beautiful sunset. Couple of quick grabs on two different days.

I believe this one was a 3 shot HDR with the camera resting on a fence post.


This one was out the car window.


I'm really enjoying it as you can see. I bring it everywhere now, because you just never know.

-joel

ChatKat

s80
I had the S80 and I was amazed by that one too. I sold it just about a week ago so I could get the G11 to shoot in RAW format if I wanted to. So far that is a great little pocket gem.

craig_d

I've had my eye on the S90, G11, and the Micro-4/3 cameras from Olympus and Panasonic for a while now. Based on reviews and samples, I can't say I'm ready to invest in any of them. The S90 and G11 seem to be very good for small-sensor pocket cameras, but in a side-by-side comparison the Micro-4/3 cameras slaughter them. There is a review of the G11 at Luminous Landscape, and down near the bottom of it there is a side-by-side comparison of the same scene shot with the G11 and with the Panasonic GF1. The G11 shot is okay, but the GF1 shot is quite obviously sharper and more detailed. This is not exactly a surprise, since Micro-4/3 offers a much larger sensor than the G11, but still, it really shows what you give up going for the P&S.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/g11.shtml

After reading Kirk Tuck's review of the Olympus E-P2, I have this awful temptation to buy one just to put vintage 1960s Olympus Pen F lenses on it...

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-long-final-rambling-review-of.html

kdog

ChatKat wrote:

I had the S80 and I was amazed by that one too. I sold it just about a week ago so I could get the G11 to shoot in RAW format if I wanted to. So far that is a great little pocket gem.

Course the S90 shoots RAW too...

Photoskipper

had the similar thought before but yet find one P&S good enough yet. May consider S90 again.

Keep the old 300D (Rebel) with a 19-200 lens in a small dry box in the car boot everyday. Need to rush to the car when I found something worth to take. Still missed some shoots occassionally.

ziggy53

I take a FujiFilm Finepix "F" series P&S for those occasions when a bigger camera is too much. I'm pretty happy with the F40fd and my son took one with him in the service. It is working out nicely for a compact.

If I had to replace it with another P&S today I would probably choose a Fujifilm Finepix F70EXR. I see then for sale at around $240USD and the images they produce are very nice. Extra modes just for the camera enthusiast too.

Photoskipper

Waiting for a all weather tough P&S with good IQ and RAW file.

Seeing more companies moving into that segment, hope some companies may come out with something like G11 but water-proof and shock-proof body.

It is difficult to use the D-SLR with L-lens for storm chaser and sea-side wave watching or snow-board game.

jonh68

I have one and love it.

Mav

Surprised no one has mentioned the LX3 yet - is it not considered in the same league?

printergirl

Mav wrote:

Surprised no one has mentioned the LX3 yet - is it not considered in the same league?

I looked at the one as well, but it is larger, like the G11, my other choice. I figured if what I was looking for was something really small, which is it, I would try the S90.

jonh68, are those from the S90? Stunning. Especially the last one. I love that.

I ordered the S90 and it is due in today, so will post my thoughts after have tried it for a while. I really wanted something extremely pocketable. Although I am a female, I am not a large purse kind of gal, so I needed something really small to fit in my tiny cross body bags. I think the G11 or the LX3 would have been too big for me..don't get me wrong, they are still small, but about double the size of the S90. The manual controls and RAW shooting capability are the only reason I am even considering a P&S. That and the fact that it seems like every time I walk out of the house without my DSLR to run a short errand I miss a great opportunity to shoot!

jonh68

printergirl wrote:

I looked at the one as well, but it is larger, like the G11, my other choice. I figured if what I was looking for was something really small, which is it, I would try the S90.

jonh68, are those from the S90? Stunning. Especially the last one. I love that.

I ordered the S90 and it is due in today, so will post my thoughts after have tried it for a while. I really wanted something extremely pocketable. Although I am a female, I am not a large purse kind of gal, so I needed something really small to fit in my tiny cross body bags. I think the G11 or the LX3 would have been too big for me..don't get me wrong, they are still small, but about double the size of the S90. The manual controls and RAW shooting capability are the only reason I am even considering a P&S. That and the fact that it seems like every time I walk out of the house without my DSLR to run a short errand I miss a great opportunity to shoot!

All of them were from the S90, color mode set to vivid and shot in jpg. The colors are not enhanced pp besides what was done in camera.

Zerodog

jonh68 wrote:

All of them were from the S90, color mode set to vivid and shot in jpg. The colors are not enhanced pp besides what was done in camera.

I have seen some great results with the s90 and was temped a while ago. But an upcoming Kauai trip and this thread sent me looking at it again. It turns out, it was about time for me to cash in points on the old credit card. And as luck would have it the S90 was on the rewards site and I had enough points to get it. So, my new toy is on the way. I can't wait to see what it will do. And my girlfriend will love it. I really like feel of the G10/G11 in my hands. But The s90 is just SO SMALL. That is the point right? Small and light?

kdog

Zerodog wrote:

But The s90 is just SO SMALL. That is the point right? Small and light?

That was the point for me. But you do pay a price for it being so small. Those buttons are tiny. Still, I feel like I definitely made the right choice. If was was going to carry the G11, I might as well carry a DSLR.

Zerodog

kdog wrote:

If was was going to carry the G11, I might as well carry a DSLR.

That is exactly why I sold my S3. My DSLR with a 50 or 20mm prime on it was really close to the same size. And really took about the same effort to deal with. And the pay off for it is huge in quality. The s90 is a real deal P&S and doesn't pretend do be something else. It just has that sweet sensor and fast lens, making it so much more than a regular P&S.

printergirl

Zerodog wrote:

But The s90 is just SO SMALL. That is the point right? Small and light?

Yes, it is definitely small (though I have seen non-photographers claim it's not small enough )! I am still getting used to it, but I do have small hands. I haven't been able to put it through it's paces yet, but will when I get some time this weekend. If I decide it is a keeper, I will be ordering this grip by Richard Franiec. I have read some rave reviews about how it blends in so nicely with the camera and makes all the difference when you are carrying it and shooting with it. http://tinyurl.com/y86c2nh

colourbox

Mav wrote:

Surprised no one has mentioned the LX3 yet - is it not considered in the same league?

I think it is. I bought it even after the S90 and G11 came out. It is a very personal decision, though. I picked the LX3 because I wanted the wide angle, the near-constant F2, and the hotshoe for a remote trigger. After I bought it I found myself playing with the macro mode a lot, since I don't usually. I think the S90 is more pocketable, but I drew the line where I drew it. I enjoy the extreme number of manual controls and customizations, although many would find the LX3 more fiddly and button-crazy. I am sure the S90/G11 are as good or better, because they should represent technology that's one year newer than the LX3.

The funny thing is that all my other gear is Canon. But on this one point I chose a non-Canon.

The reason I didn't comment in this thread before you asked, is that the original post specifically asked about experiences with the S90.

Yes, these cameras are not as "nice" as a DSLR. However, what's important to remember is that the quality is so much closer to DSLR than you would get with A) a camera phone, or the pocket camera you refused to own because it wasn't "DSLR quality." The key is to USE your advanced compact's exposure controls, and if necessary its raw format, to avoid the "clipped contrasty snapshot look" that cheaper compacts have a reputation for. For photos where you don't need narrow depth of field and do have enough light, in many cases you won't be able to tell the difference without pixel-peeping; you can probably see that in the photos above. You can get great enlargements from today's compacts. (quote below from that link)

At one point I found myself looking at raw files on-screen and not being sure if I was looking at Hasselblad P45+ files or Canon G10 files. That includes at 100% onscreen enlargements...
...Over a two day period I invited photographers and local industry professionals to come to my print studio...In most cases I did not tell them what they were looking at, simply saying that I had been shooting with two cameras...In every case no one could reliably tell the difference between 13X19" prints shot with the $40,000 Hasselblad and Phase One 39 Megapixel back, and the new $500 Canon G10. In the end no one got more than 60% right, and overall the split was about 50 / 50, with no clear differentiator. In other words, no better than chance...Some viewers eventually figured out that the prints with the narrower depth of field were from medium format, while other photographers chose the G10 images because with its wider depth of field it created an overall impression of greater sharpness....

These high-end digital compacts are so much more capable than film compacts ever were...use them with no apologies.

jonh68

A cool effect from this camera is the starburst from light sources. Get this camera if you just want to have fun. Put in P mode, compose and shoot. If you need more, it has all the manual controls you need too.

Zerodog

Does it just starburst on its own? Or is it a setting? They look great BTW.

jonh68

Zerodog wrote:

Does it just starburst on its own? Or is it a setting? They look great BTW.

It just does it. I think it is a buy product of the lens blades. I can tell when it will because there will be a white vertical streak that will appear on the LCD. It looks like a malfunction and the picture will look really blown out. However, once the pic is taken, the censor adjusts and you get a great looking pic.

Take the first one for exmple. Imaging white lines going up and down at the point of the lights. Viewing through the LCD you would think it's going to be a bad pic.

It's just a matter of moving the camera a little until you see the line appear and then snapping the pic.

Zerodog

Cool!

Ridgetop

Very impressive little camera
I've been running mine through the paces over the past couple of weeks. Been my carry along camera on bike rides and just about anywhere else I carry it along. I'm very impressed by the ISO capabilities and the wider angle. I do hit the dial accidentally quite often and will find myself shooting + or - 1/3 without meaning to. Oh well, I feel it is worth the money spent.

Shot at 800 ISO handheld at 1/20th.



Just a random hiking shot from last weekend.

Grainbelt

a) plate shot needs a saturation boost

or

b)that prime rib was horribly overcooked.

colourbox

Grainbelt wrote:

a) plate shot needs a saturation boost

Well, first it needs a white balance shift...which is why I love that these little cameras that shoot RAW.

Ridgetop

Grainbelt wrote:

a) plate shot needs a saturation boost

or

b)that prime rib was horribly overcooked.

Lighting was horrible with a mix of yellow lights on walls, some sort of florescents on the ceiling, and some tungsten stuff behind me. Probably could use a saturation boost, but I think it did pretty good considering. My eyes saw everything with a slightly off yellow cast which would have made the meat look even scarier. Oh yeah, it was rare. I like my meat one step up from mooing.

Grainbelt

Ridgetop wrote:

Oh yeah, it was rare. I like my meat one step up from mooing.

You should try moose.

printergirl

Grainbelt wrote:

...that prime rib was horribly overcooked.

Haha. I was going to say it looked right about good for me!

printergirl

For those of you shooting with the S90, are you shooting raw exclusively? What settings are you using? I took some this weekend with it, but wasn't that thrilled with the results. I know once I get to messing with it some more, I can do better. However, I did get a pretty cool pic (unknowingly) with that really neat star burst effect mentioned above. (See between the trees.)



These came off the S90 also, but were edited is PS after the fact:





All photos were shot in JPG however, not raw. Will I see a bump in quality with raw shots instead?

ziggy53

printergirl wrote:

... Will I see a bump in quality with raw shots instead?

RAW files give you more processing flexibility, but it requires you to understand and use appropriate RAW technique. If all you do is capture in RAW and then process with default settings, you may not realize any improvement at all.

printergirl

ziggy53 wrote:

RAW files give you more processing flexibility, but it requires you to understand and use appropriate RAW technique. If all you do is capture in RAW and then process with default settings, you may not realize any improvement at all.

Sorry, Ziggy, I didn't mean to mislead...I guess I was more thinking out loud than anything. I am QUITE used to working with RAW files. It is ALL I shoot with my DSLR. I just haven't really messed with them on this point and shoot yet. I wanted to see what the camera did with it's in camera settings first. I was just curious how others were using it, being that in the end it really is still just a point and shoot with RAW capabilities.

jonh68

I am using jpg set in vivid mode. I usually use the camera for interesting color shots and vivid usually gets me the colors I want.