Canon PowerShot S100: Conclusions

CONCLUSIONS
While the S100 supersedes the S95 in Canon's high-end digital compact lineup and bears a strong family resemblance to the earlier camera, it represents a fairly substantial upgrade rather than a more measured progression. Continuous shooting rates are faster and full 1080 HD video is on board, along with the latest generation sensor and processor. The zoom range of the lens has been expanded, as has the native ISO sensitivity range. A GPS tagging capability has been added.

The S100 powers up fairly quickly and focus acquisition in good conditions is relatively prompt; the camera predictably takes a bit longer to acquire focus in dim conditions. Shutter lag (or rather lack thereof) is good. The camera can be perfectly happy plugging along in full auto mode but also offers enthusiasts manual controls and the option to shoot RAW if they so desire. Still image and video quality is good. Battery capacity in the S100 is a modest 200 shots and the 180 dpi output of images is not optimal for either printing or e-mail.

Whether you're in the market for a shirt pocket portable compact digital that offers a RAW shooting capability and manual controls with which to express your creativity or simply a shirt pocket portable compact digital that offers ease of still and video image capture, the S100 just may be the answer in either event.

Pros:

• Good still and video image quality
• Good shutter lag performance
• RAW/JPEG shooting options, manual controls
• Compact size and light weight

Cons:

• Modest battery capacity
• Cost

Individual Ratings: *

Image/Video Quality 
Features 
Design/Ease of Use 
Performance 
* Ratings averaged to produce final score