Welcome to the first of many posts in what will be a regular series of tips on everyday photography. I’m going to start with one of the most common questions we get asked by friends and family: What camera should I buy? The answer depends a lot on your budget, and for the most part, budget cameras are largely the same.
I’m going to approach it differently and answer What point and shoot camera would we buy?
First, some history: one of the first digital point and shoot cameras I loved was the Canon S60. Compared to many cameras of its vintage, it took good pictures, had a decent zoom, and a usable manual exposure mode. Unfortunately it was pretty bulky, and the sliding lens cap was somewhat annoying to use.
When I started looking for a replacement, I wanted a camera that did everything my S60 did, but had better low light performance, easier to use manual controls, and actually fit into a pocket. Squeezing that all into a point and shoot would be no small feat.
I originally considered the Panasonic LX-3, released in 2008. It’s a great camera, and delivers on almost all of the promises (it even has a hot shoe!). Unfortunately, Panasonic can’t seem to make enough of them (Panasonic hasn’t had to deal with a blockbuster camera before, and seems a bit surprised at the demand), so they’re very hard to find, and tend to be priced over MSRP.
Months dragged on. I decided to take my chances and wait for an answer from the other manufacturers the next season. And this fall, Canon was happy to oblige with the Canon S90.
I’ll start with what I love: small, compact, great lens, decent reach on the zoom, and good low light performance. The S90 has arguably the best image sensor in a point and shoot (shared with the G11, its bigger, bulkier, sibling). That means it takes great pictures, and does it even when it’s dark outside. It one-ups the Panasonic LX-3 by adding a longer zoom (28-105mm vs. 24-60mm on the LX-3, excellently close to one of my favorite lenses on my SLR, the 24-105mm f/4L IS USM).
It’s pièce de résistance is the novel control dials they’ve added to the camera: a big one around the lens, and a smaller one on the back buttons. Together, you can jump to full manual control and make adjustments quickly – something that’s absolutely critical if you don’t want to miss a moment.
In a sentence, it’s the best “enthusiast” point and shoot camera that I’ve used, period. If you’re in the market for a good, solid, camera that’s going to last you for several years, the S90 is an excellent contender. We’ve had ours for several months, and have been nothing but pleased with it (make sure you have an 8GB card too).
Here are a few of the better reviews we’ve read on the camera, full of juicy technical details and links to retailers:
