Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 130
 The Best Point-And-Shoot Camera March 10, 2010
Avid Reviewer (San Jose, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The images shot by the S90 is simply phenomenal! It comes mighty close in quality to my DSLR camera, a Canon 450D. (for those unfamiliar with photography lingo, a DSLR, which stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera, is what professional and semi-professional photographers use). I wish to highlight a few points on this camera.
- Phenomenal Image Quality
Most point-and-shoot (or compact) cameras have sensor size of about 1/2.5. The S90 has a sensor size of 1/1.7, much larger than sensors on most point-and-shoot cameras. As a rule of thumb, the larger the sensor, the sharper and better quality the image. (By the way, the S90 has the same sensor size as the G11. My DSLR, a Canon 450D, has a sensor size of 1/1.6.)
With a larger sensor, the image quality of the S90 is simply superb! The images are sharp and there is very little noise in even moderately well-lit environments. Very few point-and-shoot cameras hold a candle to the image quality of the S90.
- Images In Raw Format
The S90 can capture images in JPEG and RAW format. Anyone who is serious or even semi-serious in photography should know how to manipulate images in the RAW format. (Note: there is an option to capture every image in *both* RAW and JPEG.)
RAW vs. JPEG : RAW is an uncompressed and unaltered image as captured by the camera. JPEG is compressed, and the image quality is reduced as a result.
RAW is one of the main selling points of this camera. A vast majority of point-and-shoot cameras do not have the ability to capture pictures in RAW format whereas ALL DSLR (such as the ) are able to capture images in RAW format. Most point-and-shoot cameras save the captured images as JPEG (.jpg) format.
RAW allows post processing. With the right software, you can create stunning images! To learn more about RAW, here's a list of books:
(1) Raw Workflow from Capture to Archives: A Complete Digital Photographer's Guide to Raw Imaging (Paperback), (2) Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS4, (3) Camera Raw with Photoshop For Dummies.
- Compact Size
Well, isn't that the whole point of a point-and-shoot/compact camera? The S90 fits comfortably in the the size of your palm. The S90 will fit in your shirt pocket. To quote an oft-cited saying, "the best camera is the one that's with you." The S90 is so compact, you can take it with you at all times.
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The S90 captures the best quality images I've ever seen in a point-and-shoot (or compact) camera. It is small enough you can easily take it wherever you go. I can't recommend it enough!
best compact digital March 8, 2010
stumblingblock (california desert)
I have progressed through several digital cameras, up to this one, which is clearly superior, no complaints whatever, shoots in RAW and has lots of features. If you are looking for the best COMPACT digital, this is it.
 A not a very good camera, a poor design !!! March 7, 2010
Nelson Shoji Shishito
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I just bought an S90 for me based on the reviews of the quality and some nice features like the lens aperture and the sensor used. For those technical features no one can say a word against canon.
If you a looking for a compact camera with very good quality and definition plus some manual features, this is it !!!
What is bad about this camera:
The way they had designed the flash makes it so delicate that I almost broke it on the first use. Any person will tend to put the finger over the flash causing it to lock the mechanism. Of course I learned and now changed the position I hold the camera. The issue is that you can't ask anyone to take a picture because his finger will be on the flash and if the flash activates it will lock, and eventually break the mechanism. It's amazing that canon did not realized that at design phase, this is a serious problem and create a weakness on the camera that limit the use in real life situations.
If you will be the only user you can adapt and take very good pictures.
In my case I'm very disappointed, after all this is a 400USD camera that's being rated one of the best.
I don't recommend to buy this camera due to reliability issues specially if your intent is also to ask other people to take pictures also.
 good craftmanship, poor picture quality, March 7, 2010
C. Lu
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this camera because I want something combining both the picture quality of my Olympus C4000 (which has very good pic quality, but pretty bulky )and portability of my Nikon Coolpix L4, and also can shoot good indoor light low pic for items my wife sell on-line. I should say the low-light close up pictures are very impressive, at least compared with the other 2, and with ISO 800, there is not much grains, and the pictures shot with regular 60W floor light looks like being shot under directly sun light, and details and density is pretty impressive with accurate color. however, to my great disappointment, the pros stop there, except that benefit, this sturdily and beautifully built camera (made in japan)with exhaustive features and settings can barely beat Nikon camera (4MP, bought 4 years ago for around $150)in terms of picture quality, especially in the density and feel of space. there is easily detectable flatness and softness in everything in pictures shot under various light conditions leading the pictures to a blurry pixels after zooming in a few times in PC screen. the different density and texture of material is almost non-existent in pics shot by this camera.
to me, this $400 so-call point and shoot only next to SLR is a joke considering the value and performance it offers. yes, as to the color accuracy, I can tell that the Nikon camera color is on cool side, while the Canon is on warm side, both of which are within acceptable range, but the picture quality of the latter is much much worse.
if you really like the features and craftsmanship of a Japan made camera, and believe will be very happy with slightly better pic quality than that of a good camera cell phone, you may still want to consider this. otherwise, as long as you're not completely blind to what a good picture should look like, I strongly suggest you stay away from it and try other choices, which, at the price range of $250-400, are available in abundance.
Extremely sharp photos March 5, 2010
Joseph Ferrare
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
We got this after returning a lower-cost Canon model because the pictures were too soft. The first shots we took with this were so sharp they could be embarrassing if you focus too closely on someone's face. Really sharp as a tack, as they say. We have an $800 Leica point-and-shoot here for comparison, and I'd give the nod to the S90 easily. Both are excellent, but this Canon is a bit better when it comes to sharpness. The best ones of that first batch were at ISO 320 with a flash, so there's probably a bit more performance in there. The ISO 800 shots were smooth and pretty noise-free, though a bit soft by comparison, obviously. Still, very usable. We have a DSLR and use a point-and-shoot for snapshots, but this thing seriously threatens the utility of our DSLR.
So far the ergonomic problems I've heard others bring up haven't caused us any problems. As you can probably tell we popped it out of the box, charged it and started shooting away. We've yet to take it out for an extensive field test.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 130
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