Ever since it’s announcement I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Canon PowerShot S100. It’s younger brother the S95 was released just one year ago, and is still considered to be one of the strongest performing point and shoot cameras on the market. There is a huge market share for compact-sized cameras that are made for the average person who wants quality photos with great affordability. Hopefully the S100 will not disappoint us as we take it apart and compare it to many of its competitors.
Some of the many improvements that have been made on the S100 over the S95 include a wider lens, a faster processor, a new sensor, and GPS functionality. All of these new features are aimed at creating a faster and more entertaining camera. To me, these types of usability upgrades are mainly focused at making the camera very easy to use, and enjoyable for someone to use on a regular basis, further proving my point that these are dedicated yet average cameras. The only problem that is apparent off the bat would be the pricing; while similar cameras can stay under the radar by pricing themselves against the low-mid end cameras, the S100 is $429.99 so it is not cheap in any respect. We may see some problems arise from the fact that the S100 will be competing in a completely new bracket with the all new price, meaning it will have to perform significantly better to once again ‘wow’ us to the point of recommending it.
Some of the first features to note in the S100 include the upgraded screen and lens, two clearly important features in a digital camera. Unfortunately the first mechanical downside that we come upon is the screen itself, and while it is large enough for comfortable viewing purposes, we find that the quality of the screen tends to unclearly represent the true quality of the photos. This could be attributed to one of two things, neither of which are really positive. The first possible reason for including a rather lacking screen would be to put more money into the regions that matter, like the lens, so as to take better pictures. It could be argued that most people will only be viewing the pictures on a tiny camera screen for temporary viewing purposes, and anyone looking to save, frame, or show off their pictures will be moving the shots onto a computer or some other viewing source. From experience testing the S100, I can personally say that the camera takes high quality and enjoyable photos, the colors are crisp and the clear, for a point and shoot of this nature these are the main qualities and Canon has succeeded in that manner. Overall a great camera that takes fantastic shots compared to many of it’s low-end competition, we would love to see a better screen included with the next model of the PowerShot, but nevertheless a fantastic option that should be considered if you are engaging in the purchase of a new family or recreational camera this holiday season
