Best Ever Pocketable Digicam...Today ONLY

UPDATE, 4:02 p.m. Central Time: Too bad. They appear to be all gone now. The price has gone back up to $330.

Wow—talk about a "Deal of the Day."

Steal of the day, should be.

The cute-as-a-bug, great-handling, wee little Canon S95—possibly the very, very best pocketable digicam that exists (at least if you're among the many people who like the S95's specs better than those of the S100 that's replacing it)—for the rock-bottom price of $229.

Click here to see the page.

The deal is for today only, and beware—Amazon sometimes sells out when these daily deals are popular, so they might not have it available all the way till midnight.

UPDATE: Note also that, when you buy the camera, you can get the custom, stitched, real leather case shown below for only FIVE DOLLARS more. Again, while supplies last. (Thanks to Stephen Gillette for pointing this out.)

Right down our alley.

Mike
(Thanks to Jim Kofron)

P.S. Abject apologies if you just bought this the other day for the then-bargain price of $299—I don't control these things, and I never know what's coming. Amazon doesn't announce the daily deals in advance. —Yr. Hmbl. Ed.

P.P.S. But no, I am not refunding you the $70!

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Jamie Pillers: "Mike, Thanks for the heads-up. I've just lost my S90 on a recent trip. I jumped on this offer! These little Canons produce superb results for such a small device. Highly recommend them."

Featured Comment by Mandeno Moments: "I have the S95 as a carry-everywhere, partly influenced by the review here on TOP. The main thing that I dislike is that it's f/dark at the long end, but that's inevitable with a tiny camera so I'll forgive it that. I found that there's no need to add a grip to the front because I use two hands when shooting.

"The screen is so good—even in full sun with polarised sunglasses—that I can live without a viewfinder. If you have polarised sunglasses the screen will go black in portrait format.

"The user interface is excellent, although perhaps the Ricoh GX100 I had was better in that regard. Unlike the GX100, the S95 isn't noisier than a baby with colic and the image quality is very pleasing. The S95 and G12 are the first small-sensor cameras I've seen that give a sense of realism, of 'being there,' when viewing the photos.

"I also carry the S95 when going out with a DSLR: it gives me a video option, it gives me a silent and discreet option, and sometimes it saves carrying the massive, heavy wide angle lenses that APS-C demands.

"I also have the G12 and recommend that for people who want a compact but don't need pocketability. However, the S95 is a superb pocket camera and the first such one where I felt that what I gained from it far outweighed the inherent compromises.

"It's also the first camera I've had that's pleasing to look at. Oh dear...."

Comments

[Stephen Gillette]

Astounding. And a "fitted leather case" for five bucks more? This is crazy-good!!

[Jamie Pillers]

Mike,
Thanks for the heads-up. I've just lost my S90 on a recent trip. I jumped on this offer! These little Canons produce superb results for such a small device. Highly recommend them.

[John Holland]

So ... is this the most desirable camera on the planet?

[Mandeno Moments]

I have the S95 as a carry-everywhere, partly influenced by the review here on TOP. The main thing that I dislike is that it's f/dark at the long end, but that's inevitable with a tiny camera so I'll forgive it that. I found that there's no need to add a grip to the front because I use two hands when shooting.

The screen is so good - even in full sun with polarised sunglasses - that I can live without a viewfinder. If you have polarised sunglasses the screen will go black in portrait format.

The user interface is excellent, although perhaps the Ricoh GX100 I had was better in that regard. Unlike the GX100, the S95 isn't noisier than a baby with colic and the image quality is very pleasing. The S95 and G12 are the first small-sensor cameras I've seen that give a sense of realism, of "being there", when viewing the photos.

I also carry the S95 when going out with a DSLR: it gives me a video option, it gives me a silent and discreet option, and sometimes it saves carrying the massive, heavy wide angle lenses that APS-C demands.

I also have the G12 and recommend that for people who want a compact but don't need pocketability. However, the S95 is a superb pocket camera and the first such one where I felt that what I gained from it far outweighed the inherent compromises.

It's also the first camera I've had that's pleasing to look at. Oh dear...

[SeanG]

iPhone 4S. That is the best-ever pocketable digicam. Comes with internet, phone, and assorted software.

[Harrison Cronbi]

Gratuitous US/UK price grumble: Amazon.co.uk price: 244. Pounds. So roughly $366.

But I shouldn't grumble, as I have the S90, and that absolutely wins the award for 'Best Ever Digital Camera I Have Owned That Can Fit In My Jeans Pocket'. I'm sure the S95/S100 are just as nice/nicer, but I don't need either right now.

Nominations in the 'Best Ever Film Camera I Have Owned That Can Fit In My Jeans Pocket'? Ricoh GR1s, Olympus XA, Contax T. And the winner is...

How often would you say you get asked when that 'Small Cameras We Love' post is going to be published, Mike? :)

[Nicholas Condon]

Do not need this camera... Do not need this camera... Do not need this camera...

(deep breaths)

Almost had me there. An XZ-1 shows up with that kind of discount, and I'm likely to have real problems.

[Mike Plews]

I love my S95. This is a very sweet deal.

[mlmd]

Mandeno,
there are alternatives. Until recently the only serious one was the Olympus xz-1 which is fast and remains so through the telephoto end of the zoom range (now there's the X10 too--still slower than the Oly). See discussions on the CANON forum at DP review. It' pretty much settled that in raw mode this camera beats out the s95 by quite a bit. I've been using it and love the ability to zoom and keep the aperture wide. This allows you to stay at lower isos much more often thereby avoiding the noise at high isos that all P&S cameras have. The lens is amazing.
It's an underrated camera and, I think, a better one than the s95/100.
mlmd

[mlmd]

Add. as for the 'beauty contest' , the xz-1 though larger is far more beautiful. Reminds me of the classic Plaubel makina 67.
mlmd

[steve jacobs]

I've got the s95. My only problem with it is that it doesn't have a viewfinder. Seeing the screen in bright sunlight is a challenge. Otherwise, it's an amazingly competent camera given it's size.

[Rowan]

The S95 (or perhaps the S100)(heck, even the S90) would be my Fiat camera for sure...

[Jim Hart]

All gone.

"Due to high demand the Canon PowerShot S95 camera has sold out, but we have another great deal for you today. "

The new deal is a TV...geeze, too bad they couldn't "deal" the D700 or the E-P3 in lieu of the out-of-stock S95.

Or, perhaps, a rather good thing, considering the status of the exchequer. I don't need a TV (does anyone???).

Jim

[Steve Rosenblum]

With some of the money you save I highly recommend that you deck out your new S95 with Richard Franiec's Custom S95 grip as well as the LensMate filter adapter. The grip gives you a much better hold on the camera so it doesn't pop out of your hands like a slippery bar of soap, and the filter adapter allows you to easily attach a filter without appreciably increasing the size of the camera. It is a very slick design and works very well. I use it to mount a polarizing filter so that the photos I take in the mountains have beautiful skies and clouds that pop!

Grip: http://www.lensmateonline.com/store/S95S90grip.php?__utma=1.405116453.1324326759.1324326759.1324326759.1&__utmb=1.2.10.1324326759&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1324326759.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=lensmate%20s95&__utmv=-&__utmk=45001380

Filter adapter: http://www.lensmateonline.com/store/s90v2.php?__utma=1.405116453.1324326759.1324326759.1324326759.1&__utmb=1.6.10.1324326759&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1324326759.1.1.utmcsr=google|utmccn=%28organic%29|utmcmd=organic|utmctr=lensmate%20s95&__utmv=-&__utmk=107234690

[Bill Mitchell]

Justbought it. I hope that by clicking on your link that it's credited to your account, since i didn't click on your Amazon U.S. link.

[Soeren Engelbrecht]

I bought my S95 in March 2011 for around 579 USD. Now that the S100 is out, it is down to around 489 USD. Converted from Danish "Kroner" to USD, that is. We do have a 25% sales tax included in those prices, but still...

When I used to work for Nikon Denmark, we often found that the price that we paid Nikon Europe to get the stuff was HIGHER than street price in the US. That is, the US price included both distributor and dealer profits and was still lower than what we paid.

Weird pricing strategies, not ??

[Barry Burris]

Looks like the deal is over.

[Vance Cowan]

I saw the post first thing this morning but waited--now it's too late. Back to $299. My finances are quite frail so I try to avoid desire. But I desired this camera. Oh well.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

The $229 price is now history. The page now shows $329.95.

Ya snooze ya _______ .

[Nikhil Ramkarran]

After monitoring the prices of the S95 for over a year (by keeping it in my shopping cart) I finally pulled the trigger a couple weeks ago when it went to its then lowest price of $289.

I hate it when things like this happen, but given the quality of the camera (and that case, which I also got, for $14) the sting is remarkably mild.

[Sven W]

I'll second the S95 quality and versatility. I was the "second" shooter at a wedding, just this Sunday.

I should point out that there was no official / main photographer, just a few "designated" photographers with DSLRs.

[Mandeno Moments]

mlmd:
I seriously considered the XZ-1 when a donor offered the G12 or similar(love that fast lens), but the photos looked synthetic to me and the user interface gets poor reviews from people who like to take control. E.g., there's no way to prefocus and thus capture action.

The X10 looks very tasty (if it had the G12's vari-angle screen and it would likely be close to my ideal compact), but it and the XZ-1 aren't what I call pocket cameras.

Cameras are like clothes: what suits one doesn't suit another.

[Bill Rogers]

I bought an S90 as a "take-with" camera, but I will NEVER AGAIN buy a camera without an eye-level viewfinder. It can be an EVF or hybrid, but I must be able to hold the camera against my face to compose a photo. This old dog can't seem to learn this new trick.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Mine already arrived today (next day after jumping this short deal). I wasn't sure if I should wait for the S100 or if the S95 was enough of a value bump over my trusty old S90. But at $229 I could afford to take a chance. It looks like it was worthwhile in subtle ergonomics alone. Haven't checked image quality yet but I assume it's at least on par with the S90.