The Scene Recognition works quite well in most environments, producing spot-on exposures when detecting the correct scene. However, in testing the camera occasionally misinterpreted shooting conditions and applied settings for the wrong scene.
The Control Ring can work with the Control Dial, each changing different functions such as shutter and aperture
Performing well in most conditions was Face Recognition, as you can actually choose face you want to focus on with the camera automatically adjusting the white balance and the exposure – particularly useful to avoid washout flash portraits. Despite Canon’s claim that the feature is able to recognize up to 35 faces per frame at almost all angles, its performance is not always efficient in profiles. Blink Detection is included too and adds to the sophisticated and accurate portrait technology offered by such a small camera.
The real crowd pleaser though, is the S90’s low light capabilities. There’s an incredible amount of detail preserved in the nighttime shots. Apart from the brighter lens, the optical Image Stabiliser (IS) works wonders in reducing camera shake and image blur. This, coupled with the noise reduction processing, delivers the best available light performance we’ve seen see in a compact camera.
If you want to be truly nocturnal, the Low Light shooting mode stretches the sensitivity to a whopping ISO 12800 while dropping the resolution to 2.5Mp – a clever compromise, if high resolution is not an issue.
At the other extreme, Intelligent Contrast – available in most recent Canon models – automatically improves detail in dark areas without affecting correctly exposed areas in high contrast situations. Among its more professional features advanced options like Exposure and Focus bracketing. Added to the picture the user takes in manual mode are two more shots taken with slightly different camera settings to compensate for shooting mistakes in the original.
While not the longest of zoom lenses, it's wide-angle f/2 aperture is ideal in low light
Focus bracketing is useful in situations with limited depth of field, such as macro photography, where one may want to make a series of exposures with different positions of the focal plane and then choose the one in which the largest or more significant portion of the subject is in focus.
COMMENTS
Price? Yikes.
Holy crap, you unfortunate British-dwellers are getting ripped off on this one; it's $429 plus tax (so about $500) in the States - hell, even in Canada we only get ripped off an extra hundred bucks ($529). I love mine but I'm not sure I'd have paid nearly $1,000 for it.
If you want a viewfinder and a grip (and a flash hotshoe), then you want the closely-related G11 - http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_g11_review/ . The S90 is for those of us who want top-class image quality but don't want the bulk and weight those features add.
For those talking about shutter lag - it's pretty decent on this camera, not SLR level, but good. And against all the shots you may miss on a compact due to shutter lag, I place all the shots you may miss on a DSLR due to not being able to fit it in your pocket. Which, for me, would be all of 'em. This isn't meant to replace a DSLR, it's meant to be the best camera you can get for the situations where you don't have a DSLR (or micro 4/3) with you (or for people who don't want a DSLR at all as they know they'd never take it anywhere).
re: Pics or it didn't happen
I think you will find there's a court injunction preventing publication of those tiger "photos"...
Why did they kill the Powershot Pro?
I love my Powershot Pro1 - a totally awesome camera that still embarrasses DSLR's, four years or more on! Professional level lens, full on manual, and all. Now *that* is what Canon need to do again, not a quirky retro compact like this one!
Shutter Lag...
...is the one thing I could never reconcile myself to with compacts which is why I bought an SLR a couple of years ago and never looked back. So many missed shots with compacts and their shutter lag :( I got used to the bulk and weight of an SLR very quickly so when there's a compact with SLR-like focus speed and shutter delay, that'll be news. Until then, this is just another compact with the failings thereof. RAW, face recognition, low-noise at high ISO are meaningless unless you get the shot.
