New Canon S100 - Just picked it up

Hello All,

Just got back from BestBuy, where I picked up the Canon S100. The battery is still charging, but after it is charged the plan is to take some comparison pictures with the Canon 550D, and we can see how it makes out.

I bought this camera for my wife, but it does have more advanced features (not to say my wife is a complete NOOB). These features are found in more expensive cameras, so it seems to be designed for the photo enthusiast as well. So, I look forward to using it in situations where I don't want to lug around the DSLR, lenses, and camera bag.

Here are some shots from a few minutes ago where I took the camera out of the box.

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Where in Tennessee? I was on vacation in Kingsport last year visiting my Brother in Law when everyone was out of the S95's, popped into their Best Buy and they had one! I had been wanting to look at one and was lusting after it pretty bad.

Pointless story really, it's a small world sometimes.

Enjoy your camera.

Sam wrote in post #13663430
Where in Tennessee? I was on vacation in Kingsport last year visiting my Brother in Law when everyone was out of the S95's, popped into their Best Buy and they had one! I had been wanting to look at one and was lusting after it pretty bad.

Pointless story really, it's a small world sometimes.

Enjoy your camera.

Sam,

I'm in Mount Juliet Tennessee, so that's probably 5 or 6 hours away from Kinsport. It's a small world eh?

Normally I wouldn't consider the S95 or the S100 because they are super compact cameras, and generally they don't favor as well as the SX or G series compacts. What caught my eye about the S100 is that is features the new Digic 5 series image processor, the same series processor that's in the new 6000 (estimated) dollar 1DX. Not to say that they are exactly the same, but being series 5 Digic there are going to be similarities such as really good noise reduction processing. The second item that caught my eye was the f/2.0 aperture on the wide end of the lens. So, I know the majority of shots taken are probably going to be on the wide end, so this should help to promote faster shutter speeds thus reducing blurry images. The tele end of this lens is rather small though - F/5.9, but my wife really doesn't zoom out too much, this shouldn't be a hinderence.

Besides those two things, I did take some time at BestBuy and play with the controls such as AV, TV, and manual mode as well as "manual focusing" the lens. So, I thought to myself that it is a kind of baby DSLR.

Regards,

David

David, the digic 5 processing may allow for better noise reduction in camera, and faster fps (which it does to some extent), however is a very minor point. the lens starts at 24mm, which is a nice advantage. the f2 aperture it shares with the s95 on the wide end, and in fact, it generally lags slightly behind s95 in terms of aperture at some focal length ranges.
On dpreview they went through 5 samples of the camera and found some image inconsistencies when it came to aberrations and sharpness. they did admit that most of these were not field relevant, but noticable in lab tests. I do agree with you that given its pocketable, and hence different from the G class for most. unfortunately, Canon does not seem to making much progress in its sensor technology, which is where the cameras can be improved the most. I also wonder how the focusing speed and shutter lag is on this.

davidc502 wrote in post #13663511
Sam,

I'm in Mount Juliet Tennessee, so that's probably 5 or 6 hours away from Kinsport. It's a small world eh?

Normally I wouldn't consider the S95 or the S100 because they are super compact cameras, and generally they don't favor as well as the SX or G series compacts. What caught my eye about the S100 is that is features the new Digic 5 series image processor, the same series processor that's in the new 6000 (estimated) dollar 1DX. Not to say that they are exactly the same, but being series 5 Digic there are going to be similarities such as really good noise reduction processing. The second item that caught my eye was the f/2.0 aperture on the wide end of the lens. So, I know the majority of shots taken are probably going to be on the wide end, so this should help to promote faster shutter speeds thus reducing blurry images. The tele end of this lens is rather small though - F/5.9, but my wife really doesn't zoom out too much, this shouldn't be a hinderence.

Besides those two things, I did take some time at BestBuy and play with the controls such as AV, TV, and manual mode as well as "manual focusing" the lens. So, I thought to myself that it is a kind of baby DSLR.

Regards,

David

I'm a long time SLR user, both film and digital so I always would get frustrated with the lack of control on most any smaller camera. Our kids are big enough to take backpacking now and I was really looking for something I could take with us other than my phone to take pictures with.

The manual control on the S95 took a couple of days to acclimate to for me but I love it now. I have my front ring set to zoom through the different preset focal lengths and I use the back wheel to set aperture and shutter speed.

The S95 has a programmable shortcut button too on the back, I usually have it set for AE lock if I am using an auto mode like AV or metering mode when I'm in M so I can get a better idea of exposure for the subject I'm shooting. On AE lock I can just get real close and lock the reading in...

Last year I primarily used the S95 and my SLR cameras sat in my closet. It's a good one. I've found that the sweet spot on mine for sharpness is around F4 but it performs fine at F2, especially for little 4x6 prints or websize pictures.

kevindar wrote in post #13663672
David, the digic 5 processing may allow for better noise reduction in camera, and faster fps (which it does to some extent), however is a very minor point. the lens starts at 24mm, which is a nice advantage. the f2 aperture it shares with the s95 on the wide end, and in fact, it generally lags slightly behind s95 in terms of aperture at some focal length ranges.
On dpreview they went through 5 samples of the camera and found some image inconsistencies when it came to aberrations and sharpness. they did admit that most of these were not field relevant, but noticable in lab tests. I do agree with you that given its pocketable, and hence different from the G class for most. unfortunately, Canon does not seem to making much progress in its sensor technology, which is where the cameras can be improved the most. I also wonder how the focusing speed and shutter lag is on this.

I do see what you're saying, but the S100 was upgraded in both CCD sensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor to a CMOS sensor and DIGIC 5 Processor. Those two items being changed out is fairly huge, and I should expect better noise control, FPS, HD video etc. Are just these two differences going to translate to marked differences in the final shots? Apparently DPReview doesn't think so, and had that been the only review I read, I might have gone with the S95. Having said that, the jury is still out as to how this camera, at least for my wife, is going to pan out long term.

Both S95 and S100 are really good compact cameras, and I'm sure the wife and I would have been happy with either.

P.S.

kevindar wrote in post #13663672
Canon does not seem to making much progress in its sensor technology.

It appears as far as the 1DX 35mm CMOS sensor goes, there is a big jump in ISO control and sensitivity. Instead of following Nikon with more and more mega-pixels, they actually dropped back from 21mp to 18mp. This has been a total shocker in the camera industry.

I had an S95 and now have an S100. The S100 is worth the change for me because of the wider angle lens. I like the little reach extension on the long end too, but the difference between 28mm and 24mm equivalent is MUCH more significant than the difference between 120mm and 140mm equivalent on the long end.

michaelnel wrote in post #13663809
I had an S95 and now have an S100. The S100 is worth the change for me because of the wider angle lens. I like the little reach extension on the long end too, but the difference between 28mm and 24mm equivalent is MUCH more significant than the difference between 120mm and 140mm equivalent on the long end.

Are you seeing any marked differences in the images the S100 produces over the 95?

David

davidc502 wrote in post #13663714
It appears as far as the 1DX 35mm CMOS sensor goes, there is a big jump in ISO control and sensitivity. Instead of following Nikon with more and more mega-pixels, they actually dropped back from 21mp to 18mp. This has been a total shocker in the camera industry.

I would certainly take a wait and see approach with 1DX. I hope what you say is true, but I have my doubts. I have always owned a canon, own a 5d2, and a 7D, and have owned many of their other bodies, as well as over 15K worth of lenses. However, canon has been lagging behind in dynamic range/shadow noise for a while now. Enough that I have recommended the Nikon 5100 over the t3i to a good friend of mine asking for camera advice. As for the Megapixel race, I think canon is taking a chapter out of Nikon's book actually. with the exception of d3x, the rest of Nikon line lags behind canon in MP count, with their d3s and d700, and even the newly announced 16MP d4 lagging behind 5d2, and 1dx.
As for if megapixels are inherently bad, or lead to a less efficient sensor, its a long raging debate. I can tell you that I am very happy that 5d2 has 21mp, but again, I shoot landscape, and often make 20x30 prints.
any way, I know we are way off topic now.

kevindar wrote in post #13663899
I would certainly take a wait and see approach with 1DX. I hope what you say is true, but I have my doubts. I have always owned a canon, own a 5d2, and a 7D, and have owned many of their other bodies, as well as over 15K worth of lenses. However, canon has been lagging behind in dynamic range/shadow noise for a while now. Enough that I have recommended the Nikon 5100 over the t3i to a good friend of mine asking for camera advice. As for the Megapixel race, I think canon is taking a chapter out of Nikon's book actually. with the exception of d3x, the rest of Nikon line lags behind canon in MP count, with their d3s and d700, and even the newly announced 16MP d4 lagging behind 5d2, and 1dx.
As for if megapixels are inherently bad, or lead to a less efficient sensor, its a long raging debate. I can tell you that I am very happy that 5d2 has 21mp, but again, I shoot landscape, and often make 20x30 prints.
any way, I know we are way off topic now.

No problems with being off subject... that's what we are here for - discussions. Like yourself I've been shooting for a while (1991), and have only supported Canon Cameras, so like yourself, there has been a lot of equipment over the years bought, sold or ended up broken. I'm sorry to hear the Nikon was recommended over the T3i because it's a fine camera. Yeah, Nikon can hold thier own, but to me Canon has alway had the edge when it comes to accurate color. For some reason the Nikon's color range always seems a little 'flat' to me compared to Canon. Had I started out with Nikon I'm sure it wouldn't be debatable for me, but I guess I'm justifying using Canon with this one example lol.

I see you have the 5D2, and you seem to have the right tool for the job as you are getting the true 35mm experience out of the sensor. I've never liked the 5D2 because of the way Canon held back on its feature set, but as far as landscape photography goes, there aren't very many better cameras that are better suited, unless you spend 20 thousand dollars for medium format body.

Anyhow, this is the first photo out of the S100. I did bump up the contrast some before posting. The exposure and white balance seem to be good from a automatic setting standpoint.

ISO-800 TV 1/50 sec. F/2

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great first shot! i love my S100. especially the wider angle and how it handles noise. it goes everywhere with me now, and i find i use it more than my 60D. congrats on your S100!!!

davidc502 wrote in post #13663835
Are you seeing any marked differences in the images the S100 produces over the 95?

David

No, not other than the wider and longer range of the lens. Otherwise, my unsophisticated vision doesn't see any difference.

I *have* had some bad images from the S100 and I don't understand why. I doubt it is the fault of the camera though.

Got my S100 delivered on Monday. Been taking it with me to work everyday. I've been doing a Project 365 on my site. Taking a picture everyday.

I love the quality of the images. A little post processing but awesome none the less

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iazybandit wrote in post #13664528
Got my S100 delivered on Monday. Been taking it with me to work everyday. I've been doing a Project 365 on my site. Taking a picture everyday.

I love the quality of the images. A little post processing but awesome none the less

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Nice shot iazybandit! Like the dog....


David

davidc502 wrote in post #13664595
Nice shot iazybandit! Like the dog....


David

Thanks David. Its a 5 month old French Bulldog. So hard trying to get a shot of him. Once I get close, he gets nosy and gets near the lens.

Those curious, I also made an unboxing video. I haven't tried the video yet.

http://www.youtube.com …x2G6K-b0XxeA&feature=plcp