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Canon PowerShot S90 Digital Camera

Canon PowerShot S90 Digital Camera

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Key Features of the Canon S90 :
  • Ultra compact digital camera with 10-megapixel Resolution.
  • Bright f/2.0 lens, great for shooting in low light conditions or using a shallow depth-of-field.
  • Wide-angle 3.8x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-105mm) with Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer.
  • Full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW + JPEG.
  • Face Detection; Motion Detection Technology automatically reduces blur.
  • Large 3" PureColor LCD II screen for bright, accurate color and wide viewing angle.
  • Captures images to SD/SDHC, MMC/MMC Plus/HC MMC Plus memory cards.
  • DIGIC 4 Image Processor for superior image quality and improved functionality
From the Manufacturer

Canon’s storied S Series gets a revitalized new leader in the slimmer, lighter, new PowerShot S90, the perfect everyday camera for people who are serious about great photography. Image quality is superb thanks to the new High Sensitivity System and higher ISO speeds, plus an exceptionally bright f/2.0 lens that makes portraits and low-light shots come to life. Photography enthusiasts will love the new control ring at the base of the lens barrel, designed for intuitive, pro-style manual control.

Canon PowerShot S90 highlights


PowerShot S90 Highlights

New 10-megapixel sensor coupled with Canon’s DIGIC 4 Image Processor
The PowerShot S90 employs a newly developed, 10-megapixel High Sensitivity System by combining a powerful CCD sensor and Canon’s DIGIC 4 Image Processor. Thanks to this technological advancement, the S90 is dramatically more sensitive than cameras with identical megapixel counts, and delivers spectacular images with minimal noise. Increased sensitivity demands a higher ISO speed, and the PowerShot S90 delivers with a new maximum setting of ISO 3,200. Blur and camera shake are notably reduced for the ultimate in sharpness and clarity.

In addition, a new Low Light mode lets you capture images in an astonishing range of conditions. The camera automatically adjusts the ISO speed from ISO 320 to ISO 12,800 in relation to ambient brightness, subject movement and camera shake.

Compact and pocket-sized camera for everyday use for the advanced amateur
Serious photography buffs never want to miss a shooting opportunity, and that means keeping a high-quality camera on hand at all times. With a robust feature set that meets an advanced amateur’s exacting standards, the compact PowerShot S90 fits the bill. The S90 boasts an incredibly slim profile and lightweight body for pocket-sized convenience, yet packs in advanced capabilities that make every image memorable. It’s the perfect take-along complement to your camera collection.

Canon PowerShot S90 highlights
Bright f/2.0 lens, great for shooting in low light conditions or using a shallow depth-of-field
The S90 sports an f/2.0 aperture, perfect for creating enticing portraits, by drawing attention to the face and blurring the background with its impressively shallow depth-of-field. The Macro setting lets you get even closer. The large aperture also does more. It lets you capture more nuances in low light shooting by using more of the available light. You’ll be ready for anything with a lens aperture larger than even many professional sizes.

Customizable control ring for easy access and operation of manual settings
Focus, Exposure, ISO, Step Zoom, or White Balance can now be adjusted more precisely than ever with the S90’s new control ring. It’s even more intuitive and quicker than the usual 2-button control and the S90 lets you decide which function the ring will adjust.

Canon PowerShot S90 highlights
3.8x optical zoom in action
Wide-angle 3.8x optical zoom (equivalent to 28-105mm) with Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer
The PowerShot S90 features Canon's precision 28mm Wide-Angle Lens that allows you to shoot any scene from wide-angle to telephoto. It lets you capture more in every frame, so everyone fits in a family gathering shot. When it's time to take a closer look, a 3.8x optical zoom (35mm equivalent 28-105mm) greatly minimizes camera shake and maximizes the brilliance of every detail. The camera uses a USM (Ultrasonic Motor) for high-speed, quiet, energy-efficient lens movement with precise control. Focal length is conveniently indicated on the lens barrel.

Full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW + JPEG
The PowerShot S90's RAW mode lets you shoot images without JPEG compression. It gives you clearer images and complete creative control in editing. RAW images are transferred directly to the computer where they can then be edited using image adjustment software or a processing application to adjust your images as you please. The camera can also be set to allow the simultaneous recording of both RAW and JPEG images while shooting.

Also, with 25 Shooting Modes including 17 Special Scene Modes, you're ready for whatever shot comes your way.

Canon PowerShot S90 highlights
Large, 3.0-inch PureColor System LCD
Large 3.0-inch PureColor System LCD
With a high resolution stemming 461,000 dots, a high contrast ratio and a wide viewing angle, the PowerShot S90 captures the more subtle variations of color in a scene to make all your images truer to the real thing. The LCD’s multiple coatings prevent visual interference from dust, scratches and reflection.

What's in the Box
  • PowerShot S90 Body
  • NB-6L Battery Pack
  • Neck Strap WS-DC9
  • Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
  • USB Interface Cable IFC-400PCU
  • AV Cable AVC-DC400



Product Description
Canon's storied S Series gets a revitalized new leader in the slimmer, lighter, new PowerShot S90, the perfect everyday camera for people who are serious about great photography. Image quality is superb thanks to the new High Sensitivity System and higher ISO speeds, plus an exceptionally bright f/2.0 lens that makes portraits and low-light shots come to life. Photography enthusiasts will love the new control ring at the base of the lens barrel, designed for intuitive, pro-style manual control. A Wide-angle 3.8x Optical Zoom (equivalent to 28 - 105mm) with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer Full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW + JPEG for the ultimate creative control Large 3.0-inch PureColor System LCD for even greater true-to-life color reproduction Effective Pixels - Approx. 10.0 Megapixels Type - 1/1.7-inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Lens - Canon 3.8x optical zoom Lens Focal Length - 6.0 (W)-22.5mm (T) f/2.0-4.9 (35mm equivalent - 28-105mm) LCD Monitor - 3.0-inch TFT color with wide viewing angle Shutter Speed - 15-1/1600 sec. ISO Sensitivity - Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600/3200 Exposure Control Method - Program AE, i-Contrast, Manual; AE Lock, Program Shift, Safety Shift, Auto ISO Shift White Balance Control - Auto, Preset (Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater), Custom Built-in Flash - Auto, Auto w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash On, Flash On w/ Red-eye Reduction, Flash Off; FE lock, Safety FE, Slow Synchro Shooting Modes - Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C, Portrait, Landscape, Special Scene, Night Snapshot, Stitch Assist, Low Light, Movie Storage Media - SD/SDHC Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, MMCplus Card, HC MMCplus Card File Format - Still Image - Exif 2.2 (JPEG); Movie - MOV (Image - H.264; Audio - Linear PCM (Stereo)) Still Image - Up to 3,648 x 2,736 (Large); Movie - VGA 640 x 480 Dimensions (WxH



Canon S90 Photo Samples

Click here to view more samples.
These are actual photos taken with Canon S90.
Photos courtesy of Flickr and belong to respective users. To view a larger image click on thumbnail.

Compare Canon S90 with similar cameras

Name: Canon SD900 Panasonic DMC-TZ50 Panasonic DMC-LX3 Canon S90
Megapixels: 10.0 10.1 10.1 10.0
Optical Zoom: 3 X 3 X 3 X 4 X
Max Res: 3648 x 2736 3648 x 2736 3648 x 2736 3648 x 2736
LCD Screen: 2.5 " 3.0 " 3.0 " 3 "
Digital zoom: 4X Yes, Yes, Yes, 4x
Image stabilizer: No Yes, Lens Yes, Lens Yes, Lens
Media Card: SD / MMC card SD / MMC / SDHC card, Internal SD / MMC / SDHC card, Internal SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus
Battery: Lithium-Ion NB-5L battery & charger Lithium-Ion rechargeable Lithium-Ion rechargeable Lithium-Ion NB-6L & charger
Weight (with batteries): 205 g (7.2 oz) 265 g (9.3 oz) 265 g (9.3 oz) 195 g (6.9 oz)
Lowest Price: $324.95 $299.95 $395.95 $390.00
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Canon S90 User Reviews

Avg. Rating
4.5
Out of 5
This item is reviewed by 132 people so far.
Click here for complete reviews.

5
Out of 5
great fotos in ANY light. Quick shutter! Yay!
- Reviewd on: 3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM By: D. keenan
When I heard that I could own a point and shoot camera with a fast (2.0) lens for around $400 I was thrilled. No more waiting for the camera to focus while the shot
'went away'. This little camera takes such good pictures in any amount of light that it's a little like magic. The auto setting exposes perfectly every time in (again) any light situation. I shoot a lot indoors and outside at night and the pics are simply beautiful. If you are looking for these features, go!
4
Out of 5
Best small camera for low light photos
- Reviewd on: 3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM By: thReviewMan
I bought this camera because it is supposed to be able to take great low light pictures without a flash and it is much more portable than other cameras that do well in low light. This camera lives up to the expectations. It takes great pictures and is compact enough to bring almost everywhere. The button layout and ease of use is not the best, but it doesn't matter much because the great low light performance out shines all the other weirdness of this camera. I hate using the flash and now I hardly ever have to.
5
Out of 5
The Best Point-And-Shoot Camera
- Reviewd on: 3/10/2010 12:00:00 AM By: Avid Reviewer
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.

---
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!

5
Out of 5
best compact digital
- Reviewd on: 3/8/2010 12:00:00 AM By: stumblingblock
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.
2
Out of 5
A not a very good camera, a poor design !!!
- Reviewd on: 3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM By: Nelson Shoji Shishito
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.