What is the best compact camera to use at gigs?

There are few harsher environments than a rock or pop concert in which test compact cameras. To test them in this way should only be done if you are NOT expecting great results. The lighting, the environment and the speed at which you need to work are almost designed to crucify a compact camera to the point where you’ll wonder why you took it at all and that you might as well use your iphone.

There are few harsher environments than a rock or pop concert in which test compact cameras. To test them in this way should only be done if you are NOT expecting great results. The lighting, the environment and the speed at which you need to work are almost designed to crucify a compact camera to the point where you’ll wonder why you took it at all and that you might as well use your iphone.

This is true to the point where testing them in such a way is bordering on downright unfair.So, with that, I have tested the Canon Powershot S90 and the Canon Powershot G10.

The Canon Powershot S90 and the replacement for our test G10, the Canon Powershot G11 are the best on offer from Canon.

The new G11 is a truly splendid camera with the same sensor and the Canon Powershot S90, namely fewer pixels than the G10 (presumably to deliver lower noise levels with fewer pixels per square centimetres) an ISO up t0 3200 compared to the G10’s 1600 rating and a 7 metre flash range. The numerous other benefits including a fold out screen for awkward angles and slightly less weight in the body.

The ‘gig’ scene tests the most serious DSLR equipment to the limit. So why am I testing two compacts on the English leg of Depeche Mode’s 2009 world tour?

The reason is anyone who’s been to a pop or rock concert in recent years will know that, thankfully, if not inexplicably, the public seem to be at liberty to take compact cameras into concerts. Burley security men used to be quite keen to stop people taking photographs. Also, as most people would only waste film and money with no shots to show for it, normal people rarely bothered.

As we all know only too well, with digital cameras people can see what they’re shooting and with some rudimentary knowledge of reciprocity and ISO you can make changes and improve your exposure. Also, with the proliferation of cameras on the tiniest of phones, maybe it’s also impossible to ban them. Personally I shoot a fair amount of live music and to do so I chose a Canon EOS 5D MkII with a variety of L series lenses as my weapons of choice. But this is hardly a compact and I can only use this gear if I have a press pass.

For a low level fellow like me this means shooting my favourite bands on a compact and despite the noise at high ISO warnings of others far cleverer than I, I still chose to buy a Canon Powershot G10 because I wanted it for other applications. It is a GREAT camera and I’ve used this a couple of times in low light and yes, the obligatory shutter lag makes any compact a pain and the G10’s noise is high but nevertheless for many other applications the G10 shines like no other camera in its class, including the Leica D-Lux4 (Panasonic Lumix LX-3) or the Nikon Coolpix P6000 which also perform similarly if not worse in low light. I had wondered if this decision had been an error and I subsequently looked into the G10’s replacement, the Canon Powershot G11 once it was announced.

More interestingly however, at the same time of the announcement of the Canon Powershot G11 came the announcement of the Canon Powershot S90, a smaller, sleeker and more pocketable camera, still with a Digic 4 processor and a lens ring which can be assigned to adjust practically any setting you want from focus to aperture or shutter speed. With this ring and the rear dial you have dual manual controls similar to that found on the 10/20/30/40/50D range upwards.

Not only this but the tiny S90 has a great deal more to offer than the G10 in many respects not least of which is far better control over ISO with 1/3 stop increments over the G10’s 1 full stop increments.

Of course both cameras offer built in flash ( G10 and 11 include a hot-shoe) but for the application of live music photography, switch it off and leave it off unless you only want to see whats a few meters in front of you.

I am not a professional camera tester. I just shoot a lot of live music and it is my belief that there are a number of key areas to look at if testing a camera for an environment such as this. Firstly, how good are the images (RAWs and even JPegs), what’s the cameras handling like, are the controls easy to find, what’s the lens like, shutter lag, focussing speed and are the other options in the menus easy to get to in a hurry? Or are there custom settings which will allow you to instantly access your base settings?

The band in question were Depeche Mode. I had shot them on the other three English dates of their their 18 month world tour and the two cameras were taken to the O2 Arena specifically with a view to finding out which one produced better images under the same conditions, the intention being to release the shutters at the same time with the same settings ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings.

As I stated before, the images were never going to be the stuff of Rock Music Photography heaven. They never will be on compacts shooting from the crowd. The point was to produce a comparison for people buying compacts who might like to use them in this environment. In fact the comparison shots at the end of this article are NEVER even going to represent what is possible even with compacts. Not even close. This is why I have included other Live Music Photography shots from the Canon Powershot G10 throught this article. These have all been treated in Adobe Camera Raw and had noise reduction software applied to them.

The Canon Powershot S90.

While charging the Canon Powershot S90 for the gig, I familiarised myself with its physicality. You can’t help but be impressed with its’ sleek design and wonder at its sheer economy of space. It feels very solid and also has a wonderfully large screen on the rear with 4 function buttons, one 4 way rocker, a set button and a dial.

The top of the camera consists of one dial, one rocker switch and two buttons. There is also a VERY well hidden popup flash which is beautifully triggered up and down from software. The front has the pop out lens surrounded by the ring control. When switched off the S90 is a sheer joy to behold.

After a short wait the battery was sufficiently charged. The S90 fires up with the familiar set of exquisite bleeps to match its design. I almost want one before I’ve even used it.

Handling the S90 proved to be more of a challenge. I am a dexterous individual and I did find the controls to be a little fiddly to start with, particularly the dial which I accidentally kept adjusting while going for the top function adjust button. With time the S90 would become second nature and I suspect a sheer joy to use, especially with its similarities to the ways in which other Canon equipment works. However, someone with larger hands or more sausage-like fingers may struggle at the outset and fail to get the best from this camera.

The Menu and Display buttons are placed beneath the dial and were intuitively perfect for an existing Canon Powershot user.

Live Music Photography with a compact

We were then off to East London’s ‘O2’ on the Southern bank of other River Thames to give the Canon Powershot S90 the least fair test of all, and that is shooting in ‘manual’ mode, in an extremely packed standing area at a very lively gig, a good thirty five feet from the front of the stage.

On the negative side, one of the first things I noticed is how difficult the S90 was to use in pitch black. Trying to change settings became a very slow process despite my knowledge of where the buttons were likely to be. This included the ‘on’ switch.

It was initially difficult change the exposure settings, especially holding it with one hand only. The smooth finish of the body also made me apprehensive of this expensive compact slipping out of my hand and under the feet of an exuberated crowd.

Of course this is all because this environment is simply not what this camera is designed for at all, and within a short while the Powershot S90 was easier to use although the proximity of the dial with many of the buttons I am sure means it would continue to be inadvertently adjusted in this environment.

The ring function is going to be VERY useful in this environment although I suspect this will doubtless be governed by what the function is set to and the subsequent reaction times that are experiences. The ring function will work well if used to control aperture or shutter speed but using it for focal length adjustments or focussing will introduce delays not welcomed in this environment.

The Canon Powershot G10 or Canon Powershot G11

The G10 and therefore the G11 on the other hand was a different story. The G10, though larger than the S90 is still a compact camera of retro appearance. The extra size makes is a more sure and connected experience but still without being overly large in any respect. As a result the G10 is already far more at home in this environment.

In addition to this the larger lens gives more reach and for a camera of this class the G10 stands up very well indeed in this environment. The real test will of course be its low light performance which is known to be below par at higher ISO settings. The question is how below par is it.

For this I took the comparison shots for pure image quality test reasons. The side by side comparison shots were very awkward to take simultaneously as the shutter is of course in effectively the same place, making taking a shot using only the left hand practically impossible. therefore the comparative compositions are not at all inspired. However, with the same settings, this revealed the interesting differences between these two cameras.

Both lenses were set to the longest focal length before the aperture closed down so the focal lengths vary while all other settings are the same.

Comparison Shots

The first shots shown here ot the right display the longer achievable focal lengths of the G10 at the widest aperture. The S90 didnt have a sufficient lens to zoom any more without closing the aperture from f/2.8 tof/ 3.5. This is quite typical of the performance of the S90 in this environment with the G10 out performing it comprehensively. Sadly this image also shows what appears to be a ‘Moiré’ effect when photographing the repeating pattern of the rear display screens used by the band. While this was unfortunate in this image it was not apparent in any other shots on the G10 when used properly. An additional concern of this test was the S90 appeared to show very little of this effect and even seems to be performing some quite unwanted smoothing which detracts from the actual experience.The S90 seems to have blended these together on both its RAW files and JPegs. While this is an extremely unlikely subject, and this behaviour is expected and even required from a compact such as the S90, users should be aware that the S90 is performing potentially unwanted functions and making decisions which effect the artistic make up of an image.
	Canon Powershot G10
	Canon Powershot S90
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Thispair of images had had noise removal software aplied to them purely for the purposes of assisting us make a comparison in how the Canon Powershot S90 and Canon Powershot G10 handle colours, and on this front the S90 seems to be optically out-performed by the G10 in terms of producing images with more instant appeal, the RAW file for which needed less correction in Adobe Bridge in this instance. There also seemed to be a tendency in the G10 to emphasise the red channel more than the S90. If working with RAW files, this isnt a problem, especially if the issues are onsistent and can be replicated using development setting. It is however woth mentioning as many users are still operating in the dark ages of Jpegs. If this is the case for you, you should consider reading the Park Cameras article Raw Files and Raw Workflow. As you can see tot he right, the Canon Powershot S90's output for this file has very much more emphasised blues (as an interesting comparison to the Canon Powershot G10's affinity with the Red channel) In accuracy terms the G10 is far closer to the original scene but the S90 produces simplistically impressive images natively, while the Canon Powershot G10 will require work, in pure photographic terms is more appealing. This seems to be a not altogether unexpected turn of events.The Canon Powershot S90 (and therefore the Canon Powershot G11) will produce better images more simply through a better sensor. Hitting the requirements for the vast majority of users straight out of the gate. The Canon Powershot G10 seems to be a very high resolution, albeit noisier camera, which although is directly replaced by the G11, isn't actually in real terms, The G11 is a sideways move against the industry trend of more pixels, specifically to limit the noise levels introduced by smaller photo elements. So the three cameras I am discussing there are actually three VERY valid cameras in thier own right. Which one would I choose to take to a gig remains to be seen.
	Canon Powershot G10
	Canon Powershot S90
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This reveals again that the sensor in the Canon Powershot G10 produces colours which are more accurate to the original scene., in this environment albeit with the accompanying higher noise levels. The sensor in the Canon Powershot S90and therefore the Canon Powershot G11 will produce more domestically appealing images although it has on this occasion blown out some highlighted areas and would require more work in Adobe Camera Raw to correct it. For evidence of this look to the guitarist's (Martin Lee Gore) silver trousers. The seemingly natural favouring of the red channel previously experienced with the older G10 sensor can be see far more apparently here with the rear projection screen having a red or even magenta hue. The original scene was grey.	-
	Canon Powershot G10
	Canon Powershot S90
The two ‘black’ swatches here were samples from the same area on the same photograph from each camera. They indicate the difference in the way in which the Canon Powershot S90/G11 senso rand the Canon Powershot G10 sensor handle noise. The Canon Powershot S90 seriously out performs the Canon Powershot G10 here, with the Canon Powershot S90 generally producing a cleaner and blue'er image. The Canon Powershot G10 produces a much more accurate black with ofc ourse the noise. This would lead to more contrasty images aimed at the more domestic market. In comparison the G10, while noisier, produces more accurate images, if not therefore typically flatter, retaining more detail. Zooming in or course confirms this with the image to the right here from the Canon Powershot G10 being again more accurate and also more noisy. As stated at the start of this test. 1) The S90 is only a compact, and should not be seen as anything else 2) This is not a fair test on either camera. With this is mind it is easy to conclude that the S90 is an extremely good compact camera, ticking most of the boxes for the serious enthusiast and all of them for anyone else. If performs very well in harsh environments and as a day to day general use camera it’s going to take some beating. As with all cameras a longer and faster lens would always be welcomed. There is no doubt in my mind the best camera for this environment wil be the G11 despite is reduction in resolution over the G10. The G11 uses the same sensor as the S90 but of course will handle as a G11 but with a very useful tilting screen.
	Canon Powershot G10
	Canon Powershot S90