Plemix

I have never thought of the resurrection of Canon’s S Series. (Yes, I thought the S Series had died as it has been four protracted years since the release of the late S80.) The release of S90 is thus a gospel to me. The heralded triumph of LX3 has testified the immense demand for compact camera with advanced features from the market. It is a surprise to see that it has taken so long for Canon to react to that. Canon S90 has finally arrived. It’s better late than never.

The package includes the S90 camera, a battery, a charger, a USB cable, an AV cable, a neck strap, a CD ROM and user’s guide.

The modest design of S90 is a plus. Its black understated professional-looking design has simply made the master statement that it does not want to distract the users from its powerful functions, so that a humble outlook would be an adequate match. Although it comes with delightfully portable dimensions (100.0 x 58.4 x 30.9mm) and weight (175g body), Even more compact than its main competition LX3. It does not sacrifice any of the shooting competence promised by the great line of S Series. It has the same large image sensor as the bulky G11 (1/1.7", 0.43 cm²) which makes sure the details are captured. DIGIC4 image processor is also on board to guarantee the ever-so-speedy operation. The Dual Noise Reduction system is a powerful tool to stop noise from kicking in during low light situation, just to name a few.

Like a professional shooters, G90 allows flexible manual adjustment. On the mode dial, you will find full manual mode, custom mode, aperture-prior mode, shutter-prior mode, program mode, AE mode, low-light mode, scene mode and movie. You can add your creative input and manipulate the image and make it your own.

There is a dedicated shortcut key (button with an S) for you to assign specific function to it which saves you some time fumbling through menu.

The flash will automatically pop up when needed unlike the previous IXUS 200IS whose flash will pop up whenever the camera is on. However, for docking in the flash, you have to choose “no flash” from the flash menu and cannot press it down by hand. That may cause a little bit of hassles.

One of the main features of the camera is the control ring round the lens. You can adjust the focus, shutter-speed, aperture, exposure compensation, white balance or ISO by simply rotating it, just like the operation of DSLR. Although it is not as wide as LX3’s 24mm wide angle, the focal length of 28-105mm is still very useful. It has also a f/2.0 (W) - f/4.9 (T) maximum aperture. The 3.8 optical zoom is winning over LX3’s 2.5x.

When you turn the control ring, to adjust the aperture for instance, there will be a scale appearing on the screen. The monitor is an impressive 3 incher just like its more high-end cousin G11. It is highly viewable and is definitely a performer.

The battery compartment is at the base. The battery life can endure approximately 220 shots which is fair enough.

Canon once again hit the mark with S90. It is compact and solid. It has impeccable features that help shoot great images like how a Canon camera is reputed with easy operation that can cater even beginners. LX3 has finally met its match.