Canon S90 Sample Shots

Canon's Korean website has published some additional sample shots taken with the forthcoming S90 digicam. There's no direct link, but here are a couple of ISO 80 samples with corresponding details. At pixel-peeping magnifications the pictures do have that characteristic small-sensor "watercolor" look, but also show excellent detail, good corner performance, and virtually no purple fringing.

The S90, you'll remember, is Canon's answer to the popularity of the perpetually back-ordered LX3. It (the S90) has a lens that's ƒ/2 at the wide end, the same sensor as the G11, and simple and businesslike controls, including a new ring dial to which various functions can be assigned.

It ain't out just yet, but we think we approve.

Mike

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Comments

[Chad Thompson]

I just hope the guys over at lensmateonline.com have a grip in the works. Like what the did for the G9, that would be nice.

[Joe in L.A.]

Any word on shutter speed/lag? That would be the decider for me.

[pbg]

I'll be getting one, it will be my first digital point-and-shoot. I think it's the prettiest I've ever seen. Glad now I didn't pull the trigger on an Elph on the 8 million times I almost did.

[Miserere]

Mike, how refreshing, you're talking about a camera I could actually afford LOL!

I hope these sell like candy; that should send the message to camera makers that photographers like cameras with manual controls. It was the S90 that had the marketing blurb about it being aimed at photographers, right?

[Bryce Lee]

The streetcar and the steam locomotive were where?

[georg]

Thanks for the samples. One observation, though: they always post the iso 80 sample shots. I think they are pretty irrelevant. Its hard to find a digicam that does bad in terms of sharpness or dynamic range at iso 80. ok, i guess the lens is kind of fine, but otherwise, no real info from iso 80 shots.

just my opinion.
cheers
georg

[Mike Johnston]

"The streetcar and the steam locomotive were where?"

South Korea, I assume.

Mike

[Carl Leonardi]

The sample shots on the Canon site look great for a camera this size-- Noise problem should not be a problem since even at ƒ/2 to ƒ/4 there is plenty of depth of field and if you need anything over 800 ISO I doubt you will be able to see the black cat in the coal bin your trying to photograph. Plenty of detail for prints to 11X14.
I have the Canon A640 10mp (because of the articulated screen and it takes AA batteries)-- The bottom line, it make some great images and I don't have a problem with noise--and if I do, it gets turned into B&W with the Tri-X look.
Now all I have to do is make a little red Leica sticker and put it on the S90. Hey it's all black and only I will know it's not a Leica. For the extra few $$ the G 11 also looks great.

[mooresome]

Japan. Katakana on side of train car in middle shot.

[triplight]

That watercolor look is the disaster known as Digic IV, Canon's first-ever misstep in JPG processing. I'm waiting for raw samples before drawing any conclusions, it does make a big difference even with small sensors.

[Ken N]

It's no M9.

[fjf]

"The streetcar and the steam locomotive were where?"

Cannot speak for the streetcar but the steam engine was built by the HK Porter company of Pittsburg PA for the Temiya Line later incorporated into the Hokkaido Coal Co.

The location is the town of Otaru on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The engine house is seen in this image:
http://www.geocities.jp/t_ishigaki/hokkaido/temiya/image/kikannko.jpeg

A description of the line can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temiya_Line

And venerable number 3 is seen here:
http://www.geocities.jp/t_ishigaki/hokkaido/temiya/image/3.jpeg

Don't ask me how I know this stuff. If only they built cameras the same way they built steam engines. Or perhaps not.

And congratulations on your anniversary Mike!!

[I'm Curious Grey Scale]

F4.9 at the long end. Uggh. Slow.

But genuinely pocktable unlike the LX3 and no lens cap on a string.

And 175 grams to the LX3's 227 grams.

The LX3 is 60 x 109 x 27mm.

The new Canon is 100.0 x 58.4 x 30.9mm.

Not too much difference. The Canon doesn't have an annoying lens cap on a string but it still has that lens mount that sticks out.

[hugh crawford]

I don't know where they are, but the "entrance" sign is in Chinese not Korean.

[Steven Halpern]

I think it's Japan. Looking at the writing in the photos, I see none of the Korean Hangul characters, and the blue and white direction signs in the top photo, even though I can't read them, look like Japanese signs to me.

[Dennis Ng]

It looks more like it is in Japan. There is quite a bit of Japanese words in the few photos you posted and it is not Korean typical "key" like characters set. If you can give a link, I can double check.

[Dennis Ng]

Find it and there is some English words on the right side of the first photo. It is here http://wikitravel.org/en/Hakodate

BTW, while searching this I see a strange camera (TLR?) icon on the top left corner of this page http://www.welcome.city.yokohama.jp/eng/tourism/spot/spot1010.html

What is that camera?

[GC]

The signs in the streetcar picture show that the picture was taken in Japan.

No idea about the steam locomotive.

[Dennis Ng]

Not sure about the loco though

[Richard Alan Fox]

Count me in, I will have a new pocket camera and the S70 will be passed down to the children.

[kfarren]

Sorry, to my eyes those shots look really bland, especially for being shot at ISO80. I think a 'LX3 killer' it is not.

[Hugh Crawford]

The streetcar pictures are somwhere that they drive on the right hand side of the road and have Chinese signs. They don't do either in Japan but do both in China . The entrance sign on the streetcar is the giveaway.

[Dennis Ng]

The Chinese character are all Japanese. Some of these did not mean anything in China.

Many of the Japanese culture has been originated from China including its written language (their language actually is very different from Chinese language; only borrow the word and in some cases just use the vocab. like we use de jure which is Latin. They still have to learn about 1,000+ Chinese characters (Kanji) to go to University (and in fact to read newspaper). I can read their Go magazine and go around their train station by mainly reading their Kanji.

China follows America with LHD and surprise to many (but see wiki on LHD and RHD Japan drive RHD like UK/Commonwealth.

Go to the Korea Canon site to check the actual picture; my info come from the real picture and is definitely in the Japan site for the first picture. BTW, it is a quite a puzzle to check which button to push and I wonder how Mike get these pictures (can read Korean language?) as there is no direct link you can go the pictures.

[Mike Johnston]

"BTW, it is a quite a puzzle to check which button to push and I wonder how Mike get these pictures (can read Korean language?) as there is no direct link you can go the pictures."

And the legend grows.

Mike

[YS]

Somehow, I'm a little disappointed. If it's like that at base ISO in bright daylight, what's it going to be like at ISO 400 indoors?

[Hazman]

You can refer here for more samples. Pictures look great for me, even at ISO800 and ISO1600..

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canons90_preview/