Canon S100 12.1 Megapixel Advanced Compact Reviews Roundup

On September 15 2011, Canon announced a premium compact camera - the PowerShot S100. It features a 12.1 Megapixels CMOS sensor, the same DIGIC 5 processor found in other high level Canon compact cameras and a fast and wide angle 24-120mm lens with 5x optical zoom. Additionally, the camera utilizes an f/2.0 lens increasing the camera's low-light performance while creating a shallow depth-of-field. Canon has opted to include a special lens control ring which behaves like the usual scroll wheels found on DSLRs. You can use the ring to control things like aperture, focus and shutter speed.

Full HD video is supported at 1920 x 1080 resolution at 24fps. The top ISO setting is now 6,400. On the back of the S100 is a 3-inch PureColour II G LCD screen for viewing back stills, video and composing shots. Finally, the S100 adds a built-in GPS receiver, to help you geocode your images as you take them. A map utility software is included with the camera to view the locations where images were captured. There's also an internal GPS logger to track the day's photographic route. The estimated selling price of the PowerShot S100 Digital camera is $429.99 and is scheduled to be available in early November.

Canon Powershot S100 Camera Reviews Roundup

PhotographicCentral: "All around I am pleased with the S100. It's a close to perfect compromise in handling and ultra small compactness. It retains a lot of external and internal control for the serious photographer, yet will shoot just as pleasantly in full auto for the beginner. The 5x 24-120mm focal range is also near perfect and from what I've seen optically, it's quite good. The S100 does macro, landscapes, low light, and street pho..." - Jan 03 2013 More »
digitalcameraHQ: "There's a lot to love about the S100, and as a highly functional compact it checks almost all the right boxes. Images are sharp and rich with detail in both good and bad lighting conditions, and the 24-120m lens is versatile enough to not feel limiting. The very good HD video is an added bonus, as is the inclusion of a GPS (although it didn't always tag the right location or find a signal). Usability is top-notch th..." - Jul 19 2012 More »
RegHardware: "However, this camera is designed to deliver the ultimate in compact quality - something which always suffers in any super-zoom configuration. At the wide-angle end, the lens opens up to a wide f2 aperture, allowing for some great low-light opportunities. This is assisted further by a maximum ISO speed of 6400 - up from 3200 in previous models. Unfortunately, things aren't quite so impressive at the telephoto end of..." - Mar 16 2012 More »
Imaging Resource: "At first the Canon S100 seems pretty similar to its predecessors. It certainly looks similar, despite the few cosmetic accents that don't appeal to me personally. Its odd color and strange grip put me off at first, but as I continued to use it and flesh out this review, it became clear that the Canon S100 is indeed a step above its predecessor, while maintaining most of the best parts about Canon's premium pocket ca..." - Feb 24 2012 More »	N/A
DPI: "The Nikon Coolpix S100 is a stylish little camera created with simplicity in mind. The camera has a big 3.5 inch touchscreen and 5X optical zoom, with just about everything save for the firing the shutter done via the touchscreen. While the screen is big, bright and responsive to touch, and Nikon has leveraged their experience in making touchscreen interfaces (having released at least one touch model per year f..." - Jan 16 2012 More »	N/A
MacWorld: "In my hands-on tests, I found that the S100 turns out excellent images; on a purely personal level, however, I thought the S95's CCD sensor (which is the same as the one found in the PowerShot G12) might deliver slightly better overall quality. With the S100, I found colors nicely saturated, and test shots appeared sharp and well detailed. Exposures were almost always accurate, with a slight tendency to blow ou..." - Jan 11 2012 More »
dpreview: "The S100 produces well-balanced JPEG images that are full of detail and color. In typical Canon style, minimal default chroma noise reduction in the S100 results in JPEG images that retain a good amount of low-contrast detail without appearing desaturated. Overall, the S100 is very competitive: it is capable of delivering very good image quality in an addictively small package, in a wide range of shooting environmen..." - Dec 23 2011 More »
Steve's Digicam: "Looking at our outdoor images, we see outstanding overall image quality; as was expected in the continuation of this powerful "S" line. The new 12-Megapixel High Sensitivity CMOS imaging sensor and DIGIC 5 imaging processor produce sharp, well exposed images with less image noise that with a standard CCD sensor. This HS system is not only more sensitive when it comes to capturing light, but it also allows..." - Dec 09 2011 More »	N/A
PhotoReview Australia: "Despite the new sensor, image processor and lens, the review camera delivered similar image quality to its predecessor. Shots taken in bright outdoor lighting often contained blown-out highlights, although shadow detail was usually well recorded even when -0.3EV of exposure compensation was applied to make highlight details recordable. (This wasn't always successful but applying 0.7EV of exposure compensation often..." - Dec 08 2011 More »
ePhotoZine: "Detail in images when viewed at full size have a good amount of detail in them when shooting at both ends of the lens. Images are well exposed and have excellent colour reproduction, although there is vignetting visible, particularly when shooting against light backgrounds. The lens has a minimum focus distance of just 1cm a takes an excellent, well detailed, macro image. There is no noise at ISO 100 with just a tou..." - Dec 06 2011 More »
Digital Camera Resource Page: "The Canon PowerShot S100 is a premium ultra-compact camera that offers a lot more than your typical point-and-shoot. It has a solid, well-built metal body that looks good in black (and okay in silver), and well-placed controls. One of its unique features is a customizable ring around the lens, which can be used to adjust exposure, ISO, the zoom, and much more. Speaking of lenses, the one on the S100 is an upgrade ov..." - Dec 03 2011 More »	N/A
Camera Labs: "Canon's PowerShot S100 builds upon its predecessor to become one of the best pocket cameras for demanding enthusiasts. It keeps the full manual control, RAW files, bright f2.0 lens (at wide angle), detailed 3in screen and genuinely pocketable body, but broadens the zoom range to 5x, upgrades the movie mode to 1080p with zooming and continuous AF not to mention slow motion and miniature options, accelerates the conti..." - Nov 28 2011 More »
Photography BLOG: "The Canon PowerShot S100 may look a lot like its popular predecessor, but a brand new sensor, processor and lens combine to produce a more versatile, faster, better specified and more capable pocket camera that makes an ideal everyday shooter for DSLR and CSC owners. Only a significant price increase, lack of control over the flash and poor battery life prevents us from giving the S100 our coveted Essential award.&n..." - Nov 25 2011 More »
CNET US: "Despite a slight bump up in resolution, the S100 maintains the excellent photo quality that contributed to the S95's popularity. Exposure and metering, color accuracy, and tonal range are good, and the lens is relatively sharp; there's some distortion but less than you'd expect given its minimum focal length of 24mm-equivalent. Given its size (and its relatively small sensor) it delivers excellent JPEG quality up to..." - Nov 18 2011 More »
ePhotoZine: "Handheld nightscene mode records 4 photos and combines them into one shot, if anything is moving such as cars in the shot shown then you will get an image with ghosting. HDR is similar in that it will take a number of shots (3 shots) and combine them for increased dynamic range, however the camera doesn't appear to use the high speed (10fps) shooting mode and shoots much slower, meaning a tripod is recommended. ISO..." - Nov 17 2011 More »
Digital Camera Info: "Following in the footsteps of the excellent S95, Canon once again strikes gold with the PowerShot S100. It's a camera that fulfills the promise of every ultracompact: to cram an astounding level of power into a tiny, portable body. From now on, it is likely the S100 will be the point-and-shoot by which all others are judged. Changes from the S95, where they exist, aren't too drastic. It would be fair to call th..." - Nov 13 2011 More »	N/A
TechRadar: "With a launch RRP of £439, there's no denying that the S100 is a little pricey. Some of its main rivals can be picked up for anything up to around £100 less. However, the S100 is a well-engineered camera with plenty of features. In terms of manual control, Canon has got it right with the S100. The lens control ring is handy, and the incorporation of manual focus - plus the new FlexiZone AF feature - means the..." - Nov 11 2011 More »
Pocket-lint: "The S100's lens has a wide range and is easy to use. A seven level 'step zoom' is also available to rapidly jump between focal lengths in double time (pre-set to 24, 28, 35, 50, 85, 100 and 120mm). Close-focusing is fine at the 24mm wide-angle setting where subjects can be as near as 3cms from camera. Although a claimed 30cms from lens is achievable at the 120mm setting, this is much harder to reproduce when ou..." - Nov 03 2011 More »
Photography BLOG: "The new range of compacts from Nikon are certainly shaping up to be some of the most exciting we've seen from them in recent times. Based on looks alone, the S100 should be a pretty basic model with mediocre functions and performance results. But what the S100 has brought is flashy good looks, forward thinking technology and fabulous image results. We're astounded by the image quality. The ISO results are excellent..." - Oct 04 2011 More »
CNET UK: "Throughout our tests, colours in each of our shots were well rendered and true to the originals. The aqua used on the sponsored London bicycles below is Barclays' corporate colour. Both it and the green of the trees in this shot match the originals. This was a pleasant surprise. Throughout the time we spent shooting with the S100, we were concerned that the colours would turn out to be far too vivid. When viewe..." - Sep 26 2011 More »
KenRockwell: "The Canon S100 is a 1-year newer version of the extraordinary 2010 Canon S95, which in turn was a 1-year newer version of 2009's Canon S90. The Canon S100 adds a slightly broader zoom range, GPS and 1080/24p video over the S95, and that's about it for significant additions. This is easy: if you already own an S95, you don't need the S100. If you don't have an S95, of course get the S100. If money matt..." - Sep 18 2011 More »	N/A
dpreview: "Externally, the S100 looks very much like its immediate predecessors. The original S90/S95 design worked very well, and sensibly Canon hasn't done a lot to change it. The excellent multi-functional 'Lens Control Ring' that can be used to change a wide range of settings is still in place, and is accompanied by a rear dial / 4-way controller that according to Canon has been tweaked to make accidental settings changes..." - Sep 16 2011 More »	N/A

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