Canon S90 Review (with some comparisons to the Canon 40D)

I have had my new Canon S90 for about two weeks now, and purchased it to use when carrying my 40D around was just not practical. As you can see from the above photos, the two cameras are completely different animals. The 40D, with the 17-85mm USM IS lens, hood and strap, weighs 1413 grams, while the S90, with strap, weighs 199 grams!

I think it would be fairly obvious, but I will say it anyway. The 40D, with the options of all the specialised lenses available, should and will always produce superior images. But having said that, images from the S90 have proved to be more than acceptable. Some comparative images can be seen here and here.

Ok - regarding the S90:

Pros:

• Compact size – fits easily into shirt pocket

• Versatility with control button options – loads of ingenious designs for so small a camera

• Screen – brilliantly clear

• RAW image capability (though at this stage no Adobe DNG Converter – version 5.6 still produces images that are too saturated and noisy). The Digital Photo Professional software supplied with the camera works well enough, but I would obviously prefer to use Adobe Camera Raw as this is what I am used to
  

• Fully manual control if required, with Av and Tv options as standard

Cons:

• Images still contain fair amounts of noise, even at low ISO settings – but more so with landscape shots than with close-ups

• The control ring at the rear of camera is a bit too easy to move inadvertently, and whichever setting it controls at the time needs constant checking to ensure it hasn't changed
  

• The pop up flash is located where fingers of left hand would normally be placed, but one can get used to that

• Very little depth of field comes through on images, even though f-stops range from f/2 to f/8

• Images generally are too bright. I have the camera constantly set at an exposure of minus two-thirds of one stop, and this works well

• The lack of a viewfinder (I do really miss this, but am learning to cope)
  

Summary:

I've waited a long time for this camera. I wanted a compact that could take RAW images, one that could slip into my top shirt pocket, and one that allowed me lots of control over camera settings. This camera does all that, and very nicely, too.