Buy a PowerShot S95 ten Megapixel Compact Camera - six mm-22.50 mm - Black (7.six cm 3" LCD - 3.8x Optical Zoom - Optical - 3648 x 2736 Picture - 1280 x 720 Video - QuickTime MOV - HDMI - PictBridge)
Buy a PowerShot S95 Black Digital Camera (10MP, 3.8x Opt, SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMCplus Card Slot)
The Canon PowerShot S95 will be the successor on the preferred S90, a pocket-sized camera that provides loads of pro elements. Aimed with the severe photographer seeking a capable compact, the brand new Canon S95 qualities enhanced handling and larger amounts of manual handle. The revolutionary lens Handle Ring, which allows end users to alter the settings of a variety of capabilities by twisting the selector in the base in the lens barrel towards the left or most suitable, now gives you alot more versatility, while the picture stabilisation process incorporates Hybrid IS solutions for sharper macro shots. A new in-camera Superior Dynamic Array mode aids to capture high-contrast scenes, Multi-Aspect shooting with 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, sixteen:nine and four:five formats allows you to get resourceful, and there’s 720p HD 24fps movie recording with stereo sound. Qualities retained from the previous model include the same 10 megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3.0 inch LCD display with a resolution of 461K dots, three.8x, 28-105mm zoom lens with fast maximum aperture of f/2.0, full variety of manual shooting modes and RAW format support. Available in black, the Canon Powershot S95 also gets a lower price tag than the S90, officially costing £399 / €479 / $399.99.
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Canon PowerShot S95 Review Introduction Ease of Use
The new Canon PowerShot S95 is outwardly almost identical to your S90 model that it replaces, so a whole lot of the comments that we made in that review apply equally to your S95.
The S95 feels like a point-and-shoot digital camera that, to use crass MTV parlance, has been 'pimped'. Interpreted another way, it's like a bulkier G-series digital camera that has been shrunk to further manageable proportions. It feels solid even at its body-only weight of 193g when gripped in the palm - if missing an actual grip - and measuring 99.8 x 58.four x 29.five mm is slightly slimmer than its predecessor, slipping readily into a trouser pocket or handbag. The S95 now elements the same tactile coating as the EOS 7D DSLR, which aids to improve managing in the absence of a hand-grip.
Like the S90, the S95's identically 'modest' 10-megapixel sensor indicates that Canon is continuing to call a halt to the race for additional megapixels in preference to improving said sensor's ability to perform better at higher ISO settings. Thus the S95 supplies the ability to shoot at maximum ISO 3200 at full stills resolution, with, a lot more unusually still, a plethora of incremental 1/3 stop adjustments available between the lowest ISO 80 setting and this top option. Canon suggests its f/2.0 lens has been fitted to allow in twice as much light as a significantly more standard issue f/2.8 aperture optic, allowing for faster shutter speeds and shallower depth of field.
Other specifications of note on the S95 include a 28mm wide-angle setting, optically stabilized 3.8x zoom providing a four stop advantage claims its manufacturer, with the addition of Canon's Hybrid IS program which assists to prevent image-blur during macro shooting when any slight movement become further pronounced.
There's a 3-inch, 461-dot resolution LCD in the absence of the G11's additional optical viewfinder, an HDMI (Large Definition Multimedia Interface) port for easy hookup to a HDTV set, plus Digic four processor and exposure adjusting iContrast function now a standard feature across the Canon family. Further surprisingly to get a compact with a width not a great deal broader than your credit card, both RAW and JPEG capture are also offered.
Perhaps more predictably, point-and-shoot user friendliness on the S95 comes in the form on the fully automatic face detection, motion detection and Smart Auto scene detection technologies regularly found on Canon's snapshot compacts. Something that was glaringly missing from the S90 - HD video capture - has been rectified on the S95, with 720p movies at 1280x720 pixels resolution available at 24fps complete with stereo sound. Unfortunately there is no optical zoom available during recording, only 4x digital, and no auto-focus either, which limits what can be achieved and doesn't compare well to some of your S95's main rivals.
Front Rear
Pared down to the essentials, which includes a quick start guide in the box and full manual on provided CD only, there's nothing initially about the S95 that feels extraneous or gimmicky. The most prominent feature on the S95's clean and rather critical on the lookout faceplate is firstly the lens itself, and secondly the aforementioned command ring that encircles it and turns with a series of satisfyingly audible clicks. Capabilities are attributed to a twist with the ring in conjunction with a press from the lozenge shaped 'ring function' button recessed into the camera's top plate (which has more logically switched places with the On/Off button).
In this way, to take one example, customers can elect to alter focus manually, a distance slider appearing on the appropriate hand side on the LCD screen and the central portion on the picture enlarged as a further aid to accuracy. Other options for the ring function include changing the aperture, selecting the ISO speed, tweaking of exposure (+/- 2EV), manual adjustment of white balance, as a stepped zoom providing the equivalent of 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 105mm steps, changing the i-Contrast, or choosing one with the new factor ratios. This expands on the S90's options and allows further customisation to suit your own shooting style.
Additionally if you opt for the Nostalgic mode hidden within the scene mode options, a continual twist on the lens ring in either direction will progressively de-saturate the colours in your picture to give the effect of ageing, with a full twist rendering the shot relayed on screen as black and white.
Apart from the enticingly tactile draw from the lens ring, the flat front plate of the S95 houses a stereo microphone within two holes the size of a pinprick, either side for the lens,
cheap windows 7 activation, plus an AF assist/self timer lamp window top left with the lens. The clever flash is housed within the top plate so that when it's raised it is at least a centimeter away from the lens in a cursory attempt to avoid the blight of red eye. Instead of a dedicated button for activating the pop up flash, this is done automatically via selection in the settings offered via the rear command pad/scroll wheel. Select the forced flash option and, technically, rather than popping up, the bulb instead rises majestically from the body with a low mechanical accompaniment… very cool.
Moving to your top plate, we find at its foremost edge a shutter release button, which is a little smaller than the S90's, encircled by a zoom rocker switch with front lip that has been squared off to fall into line with the width for the body and avoid distracting from the clean lines. There's just enough of it to achieve purchase with a fingertip, the lens traveling steadily and surely from maximum wide-angle setting to extreme telephoto in just under two seconds sound-tracked by a low operational whirr.
Also set into the top plate could be the previously mentioned ring function button,
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Front
Pop-up Flash
A half press for the nearby shutter button and the camera chooses a point of focus within a second or so, AF point or points flashing in green accompanied by an affirmative 'beep'. Go on to take the shot and there's little if any discernible shutter delay, though full resolution JPEGS are written to inserted (optional) SD or SDHC card (there's no internal memory provided to fall back on) in just over a second, with RAW files - selectable in Program or one with the other four imaginative shooting modes - taking a mere fraction longer.
With the integral flash housed and hidden to your far left in the top plate (if gazing down on the digital camera), to the precise is an inset shooting mode dial operated by the thumb. Rigid on the touch, it clicks into place at each of its nine mode settings, with a further definite action than the S90's dial. These comprise the creative grouping of Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual and a single Custom mode, plus separate Smart Auto, Low Light, Scene and Movie modes.
The Low Light mode boosts the ISO speed up to an equivalent ISO 12800, with the trade off being that resolution drops to a relatively lowly 2.five megapixels. The S95's Smart Auto functionality goes further than rivals in comparing common scenes or subjects with not just five or six options, but 28 variables to deliver - in theory - the most appropriate and optimal results. The new HDR mode works well, combining three separate images to greatly expand the dynamic variety, although you need to mount the S95 on a tripod to prevent camera-shake and fast-moving subjects appear as ghost outlines.
Click the mode wheel around to each subsequent setting and the name and icons of said mode appears on the camera's LCD with, in some cases, a brief text description for the best application for the particular mode. This suggests that the S95 can be used as readily by beginners as additional seasoned digital camera consumers, the variety of shooting options to be found on the mode dial allowing first timers to move beyond their initial comfort zone as familiarity with the camera's workings grows over time. A great deal more experienced end users can turn this Hints & Tips feature off.
With the back of your Canon S95 largely swallowed up by the three inch LCD screen, the visibility of which proves additional than adequate both indoors and out, a familiar array of controls is found shunted on the correct hand side. Familiar, in that they ape those found on the G11 to a fair extent, including the love it or loathe it scroll wheel surrounding the thumb operated four-way command pad.
Top Side
From the top then is a small piece of moulding extending from below where the mode dial sits on the top plate, a subtle protrusion provided under which rests the tip of your consumers thumb when gripping the camera for shooting handheld. This is still the only place on the digital camera affording much in the way of manually steadying the S95; as mentioned, though admittedly keeping things resolutely compact, there's no grip provided at the front or sides and is one of your few areas in which this model feels truly compromised.
With an indicator light to your left and a built-in speaker to the best of this thumb dip, below we find a pairing of buttons for earmarking images for direct print via a PictBridge enabled device and a dedicated playback/review button respectively. The Pictbridge button can be far more usefully assigned a different function, with no less than 20 different options to choose from. In conjunction with the customisable lens management ring, this makes it easy to tailor the S95 to your own specific way of shooting.
Beneath this will be the manage pad and scroll wheel combination. At points north, east, south and west we get options, in capture modes, for adjusting exposure compensation, flash settings, self-timer options, and macro or manual focus, if not already using the front lens ring for the latter. The brand new Tracking AF mode focuses on the subject in the centre of your frame and tracks them if they move, useful for keeping up with fast-moving or unpredictable subjects like children. If the digital camera is in playback mode, points north and south allow a series of captured images to be leapfrogged if hunting down a particular shot saved to card in a hurry, or alternatively deleting a duff capture.
In the centre of your manage pad will be the Function/Set button. Press this, and as we're used to from recent Canon compacts a toolbar appears down the left hand side with the screen, options highlighted or de-selected dependant on whether the user is in auto capture or one of your a lot more fully featured imaginative capture modes.
In Program mode, for example, selecting the ISO icon provides a slide rule across the bottom from the screen with ISO speeds set out incrementally in the following order: Auto, 80, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500,
cheap microsoft windows 7 serial, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200. The user simply utilizes the scroll wheel or tabs between them to select the desired setting.
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The other selectable options on the tool bar comprise white balance, Canon's familiar 'My Colours' effects modes, an exposure or focus bracketing option - whereby three successive shots are taken -single or continuous shooting modes, switch between evaluative, centre weighted average or spot metering,
microsoft office Professional 2010 32 bit, select one from the five facet ratios, and choose the numerous image capture formats including RAW and/or JPEG. Finally, there's a whole new DR Correction option which means that you can manually select the DR strength - off, auto, 200% or 400% - and if you want to turn Shadow Correction on.
Returning to your camera back, and below the command pad we find a final pairing of buttons for Display and the self-explanatory Menu. Press the former once and the user is rewarded with both a nine zone compositional grid and simultaneous RGB histogram being added to your on-screen info.
A press of Menu meanwhile brings up a trio of folders, for picture capture,
microsoft office Standard 2007 update key, set up and My Menu settings, in that order. It's via the first folder that the user can enable such settings as iContrast and auto red eye reduction/removal, as well as blink detection and adjusting the picture stabilization mode to come into effect only when taking a shot, when panning the digital camera, or have it on continuously.
While the left hand flank on the S95, viewed from the rear, is devoid of controls, the precise hand side functions a hard plastic covered port for both an HDMI cable (not supplied in the box) plus the more regular combined AV out/USB out port (for which two separate cables are provided).
The base in the digital camera meanwhile functions a screw thread for the tripod attachment just left of centre and a sliding door with catch protecting slots for the provided lithium ion rechargeable battery and optional SD/SDHC card, both of which slot relatively easily into place. A battery life lasting 200 shots without flash or 300 minutes of video isn't particular generous however, and any less would be downright alarming at this price point. As it was, after one days' extensive use our battery was back in the provided charger, so you'll want to take this or a spare battery away with you on any extended trip or visit.
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Entry tags
Canon PowerShot S95 Review, canon s95, s95 review, ten megapixel, 3.8x zoom, wide-angle, three inch LCD, manual, prosumer, compact, hd, 720p, hd video, hdmi, HDR, RAW
PhotographyBLOG is a member on the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Canon PowerShot S95 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples on the same digital camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.
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