Many photographers were expecting to see Canon release a replacement to the G10 but few predicted the welcome move to the new low light proficient 10MP sensor. Even more of a surprise was to see this headline grabbing sensor released simultaneously in the compact S90. There are 3 features that really make the S90 stand out from the crowd, the aforementioned sensor, a wide angle 28-105mm lens with bright f/2 aperture at the wide end, and innovative ‘lens ring’ control. As with our preview of the Canon Powershot G11 we did not have the opportunity to scrutinise the results but from what we could make out on screen the shots certainly appeared class leading in terms of noise suppression. The S90 appears to be specifically targeting Panasonic’s LX3 which has won praise for its combination of 10mp sensor and fast wide angle lens.
Whilst trying the camera out it struck me how intuitive it was to use the ring control, especially if you’re used to using an SLR. The function of the lens ring can be set to control the ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, exposure compensation, focus or zoom. When used in the zoom function each click of the rotation zooms the lens in steps equivalent to 28mm, 35, 50mm, 85mm and 105mm. During manual exposure mode it’s possible to use the lens control ring and the rear dial to adjust the aperture and shutter speed. There is also a further ‘shortcut’ button on the back which can also be set to control a range of functions. The whole design of this camera works to improve handling speed which is one criticism often sited with the use of compact camera’s menu systems.
Other features worth noting are that the lens has Canon’s Image Stabiliser system built in, the LCD is 3” and the new Digic 4 processor for more advanced noise reduction. The camera is small and clean in design and feels solid enough.
The real key to this and the G11 will be how well the image quality holds up when we get final samples for testing. As soon as we do we’ll publish our review, fingers crossed that Canon have done well with this sensor because everything else so far is very positive.
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Gui de Basly, Park Cameras. |