- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Canon Powershot S100
- 12 MP
- 5x f/2.0
- 1/1.8" CMOS
- 3" LCD
Released September, 2011
Rated 72% by by DPReview (Dec, 2011)The quality of video captured with the Canon S100 is quite good.
Conclusion Check out the Canon Powershot S100
First reviewed December, 2011
Features Key features of the Canon Powershot S100
12 MP
1/1.8"
Rated 79% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)The video is sharp if somewhat oversaturated (you can set it to a neutral color setting if that bothers you), and the audio sounds good.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 15.9 MP    | 20 MP |
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)While the 2MP increase in sensor resolution over the S95 is modest in terms of the additional detail that the camera can capture, the 20% increase in total pixel count does help to offset the effect of noise at a given display size/magnification..
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 12 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 3.5Mb.
sensor size
Powershot S100 by David-Pierce (Nov, 2011)The S95 had a larger-than-average sensor (though still small compared to DSLRs or Micro Four Thirds cams), and 3.8x optical zoom on a bright, f/2.0 lens that extended from 28-105mm.
Powershot S100 by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)First off, I don't think it's fair to compare the s100 to DSLRs, APS-C, Four Thirds cameras.
wide angle lens
Powershot S100 by Thomas-G-Lavaty-Jr (Feb, 2012)With the S90 I would often have trouble getting the focus to lock when doing wide-angle landscape shots.
Powershot S100 by Richard-Wanderman--rwanderman (Dec, 2011)The S90 was a spectacular camera, the S95 improved on it and I was very much looking forward to this camera because of improvements with ergonomics and the extra 4mm in wide angle at 24mm.
aperture size
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)The function ring around the lens is a particularly effective control point, offering quick access to controls like shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
Powershot S100 by 77muggle (Jan, 2012)If only they had made it a little bit better with a wider aperture it would be appreciated as it's size is a great benefit over the competition.
zoom range
| 0x | 5x  | 20x |
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)The S100's lens covers a useful range of 24-120mm (equivalent), which is far from the most versatile of any current raw-shooting compact camera, but significantly more useful than the S95's 28-105mm (equivalent) zoom.
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)The image stabilisation system works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range.
body size
99 x 60 x 28 mm
111 x 68 x 46 mm
107 x 76 x 40 mm
Powershot S100 by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)But none of these competitors are comfortably pocketable-this means that the s100 has practically no competition for it's size as a truely pocketable semi-pro camera.
Powershot S100 by Lawrence-Low--cigardds (Apr, 2012)I am sure that a small camera like a Leica could take better photos, but that is out of my budget.
Performance Real world tests of Canon Powershot S100
shutter lag
Powershot S100 by Daniel-Appleman (Oct, 2000)There are several things I especially like about this camera: It's fast - you can quickly browse through shots in memory, and the time between shots is very short.
Powershot S100 by David-Pierce (Nov, 2011)It can turn on and capture a photo in a little over two seconds, and only has about a quarter of a second of shutter lag.
battery life
200 photos
400 photos
350 photos
Powershot S100 by K-Gill (Nov, 2000)Quite simply, it is easy to use, and the battery life is better than most and it recharges fast.
Powershot S100 by RJ-Strain (Feb, 2012)Battery life is another issue - you'll want to pack some extras for a full day of shooting.
max continuous shooting
Powershot S100 by DPReview (Dec, 2011)A 4-channel readout system also improves the continuous shooting rate, up to 2.3 fps compared to the S95's maximum framerate of 1.9 fps.
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)The normal continuous shooting mode offers a still quite impressive shooting rate of 2.3fps.
DxOMark low light performance
Powershot S100 by Photography Blog (Nov, 2011)The Canon Powershot S100's maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography.
Powershot S100 by RonAnnArbor (Nov, 2011)Have had the new S100 for a week now, have taken about 1000 shots in all conditions (day, night, low light, high light) and I have to say that this camera is just about perfect.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
Contrast detection focusing system -
HD video -
10 fps -
Records the location of your photos automatically -
24 mm -
Create slow motion video -
250 ms -
For that film look -
Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas -
198 g -
28 mm -
99 x 60 x 28 mm
cons
-
1/1.8" -
10.08 fps -
461 k dots -
9 -
200 -
2,400 ms -
Sep, 2011 -
The screen is fixed in place -
78.26% -
No automatic stitching -
None -
1/2000 s -
15 s
Reviews Word on the street
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|---|---|
 |
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 | Rated by 109 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by A.-Schek (Dec, 2000) Rated 100% by by Donna-Roach (Nov, 2000) Rated 100% by by Richard-Burge (Dec, 2000) |
Lens
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 79% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)The addition of the grip inset makes a big difference in shooting comfort, and the control ring around the lens remains a nice interface convention.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 100% by by RonAnnArbor (Nov, 2011)Shots are sharp, clear, very little distortion across the range.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 80% by by Sheraz-A.-Choudhary (Nov, 2011)Some of these cameras are quite good and all of them provide faster lenses across the zoom range (the s100's size precludes a faster zoom lens).
Sensor
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 83% by by David-Pierce (Nov, 2011)The S100 does a solid job of getting crisp photos without the flash in low light, and it’s clean and clear all the way up to ISO 1600 (and still usable beyond), but all the way up the S95’s photos just looked a little brighter, and a little better.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 100% by by J.-Libertinoimage quality - i looked at probably about 20+ compact cameras, their sample pictures and sample shots of all of them at different ISO's: this canon had the best image quality of all of them bar the pricey fujifilm x100 (which was gorgeous but this is also not really a compact camera).
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 80% by by Thomas-G-Lavaty-Jr (Feb, 2012)So far I have been shooting JPEG because I haven't been able to get RAW Therapee to work with the S100 RAW files yet.
Image quality
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 100% by by amazon.com (Nov, 2000)The APS format cannot hold a candle to 35mm for overall picture quality, but the size and feel of the Elph made up for some of the lost points.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 80% by by Tiger (Jan, 2012)Although the photo image quality for both cameras was excellent, the video image quality was different.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 80% by by Sam-Trychin (Jun, 2000)and the ability to choose image quality settings (hi/low is enough for me) on a per-resolution basis, for a total of six combinations.
Video
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 100% by by Tablerock (Nov, 2011)The S-100 takes great pictures, with the super fast f/2 lens opening,a 24mm wideangle lens, the 12.1 CMOS for great HQ 1080p videos,a new sports burst mode like 9.6 fps (8 frames), great for the kids at soccer.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 83% by by David-Pierce (Nov, 2011)Video looks great, clear and accurate, but at 1080p you can only shoot at 24 frames per second; if you're shooting fast-moving subjects, that doesn't really cut it.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 20% by by Brett76On these sized models, the only reason is to provide faster video flow for HD.
Zoom
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 100% by by RonAnnArbor (Nov, 2011)The additional zoom range is a nice addition.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 72% by by DPReview (Dec, 2011)Unlike the S95 though, AF is possible, and the S100's lens can be zoomed during movie recording.
Canon Powershot S100 | Rated 79% by by c|net (Nov, 2011)With the S100, Canon addresses a few of these plus it adds some desirable new features: a wider-angle 24mm start to the zoom range, manual controls and zooming during video, and a built-in GPS.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 Most shots per battery charge Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 vs Canon Powershot S100 |
 | 2 | Canon PowerShot S110 Has a touch screen PowerShot S110 vs Powershot S100 |
 | 4 | Canon PowerShot G15 Highest resolution screen PowerShot G15 vs Powershot S100 |
 | 6 | Nikon Coolpix P330 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark Nikon Coolpix P330 vs Canon Powershot S100 |
 | 7 | Fujifilm XF1 Largest sensor Fujifilm XF1 vs Canon Powershot S100 |
 | 8 | Nikon Coolpix P310 Many more contrast-detection focus points Nikon Coolpix P310 vs Canon Powershot S100 |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
May 5, 2012
General travel and snapshot photography
I'm an experienced 35mm SLR photographer This is for travel, landscapes, buildings, family I favor high image quality and ease of use Movies not that important
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For vacation in europe, great image quality and easy to take around
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Speed between shots - daytime, indoors no flash, and nighttime flash
And what about focusing speed in these situations? Does it feel close enough to a DSLR in terms of speed?
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Hi, I am just a retired person who carries her camera with her everywhere. I have had a few pictures in the newspaper for what that is worth - these were taken with a Canon camera I had. Since...
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What is a good camera to purchase when you want clear pictures of your family - including rapidly moving children and pets??
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Answers Community Find out what the Sortable community is saying about the Canon Powershot S100
26
people have recommended the
Canon Powershot S100Top Canon Powershot S100 experts at Sortable
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10
- 14 MP
- 16x f/3.3
- 1/2.5" CMOS
- 3" LCD
6 more Sortable users recommended the Canon Powershot S100 over the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Beginner I
5
votes Larger sensor, fast action. good in natural light, great jpeg engine, a little wak on detail. watch out for the low zoom, pocketable, shoots raw. but you'll need a very steady hand to stablize...
- 0 comments
- May 5, 2012
- Reply to: General travel and snapshot photography
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
- 10 MP
- 3.8x f/2.0
- 1/1.6" CCD
- 3" LCD
1 more Sortable user recommendeds the Canon Powershot S100 over the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5.
View all discussions | View comparison 
Intermediate III
1
vote Hi John, you can't go wrong with either of these cameras, they are regarded as the best cameras in that size for image quality, low light shooting, and advanced features/controls. However, has a...
- 0 comments
- April 6, 2012
- Reply to: I want a camera to take on vacation.
Beginner II
1
vote After having the LX5 and changing to the S100 I much prefer the S100. I have to say I would far prefer to use a compact camera for macro over a M43rds camera, you can get closer and IMHO I don't...
- 0 comments
- June 18, 2012
- Reply to: Hiking in alpine areas - flower photography
Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100
- 20 MP
- 3.6x f/1.8
- Nikon CX EXMOR
- 3" LCD
It's a tie. Cast the deciding vote!
View all discussions | View comparison 
Intermediate III
2
votes I'm a prosthodontist and I use Nikon D90 with 60mm macro lens and LED ring light for my procedure photos. I have used point & shoot cameras in the past (Olympus C-5050) for macro work with mixed...
- 0 comments
- June 25, 2012
- Reply to: Macro for dental photos using either the CanonS100 or SonyDSC-RX100
Beginner I
0
votes This camera is awesome! The price difference is significant between the Sony and the Canon, and you won't be disapointed with the Canon. I Shoot with a T2i DSLR most of the time, but have the as...
- 0 comments
- November 21, 2012
- Reply to: Baby pictures for a first time mom
