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  1. #1
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    I've been looking at these new-fangled hybrid/CLC/MILC cameras (example: Olympus Pen, NEX..) which combine image quality (large DSLR-size sensor) with relatively small size.

    I definitely need a small camera to have with me all the time for moments when I don't expect to do photos. Currently it's the Canon S95, an "experts compact". It has a small sensor, therefore the image quality should be inferior. The S100 is just about to hit the shops. Should I go for it or for a MILC? Quandary..

    I just reviewed this years images:

    - 13% of this years images were done on the S95 (the rest on DSLR)
    - 20% of my favourite images this year were done on the S95, including my 2011 favourite

    Here's a selection. They are all very sharp, hardly any visible noise even on a 13x19 inch print for the night-time shot (1/20s f2.5 1250 ISO). But the highlights are often blown out and the image lacks beauty compared with a DSLR.

    1. The Queen visits Stratford-upon-Avon
    2. First view of Hungarian girls on my first evening in Budapest
    3. Self-portrait in a shop window in Budapest
    4. Garden of the Hotel-Dieu in Paris
    5. The Eiffel Tower last night
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011-4395-084.jpg   Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011-4427-008.jpg   Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011-4428-034.jpg   Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011-4466-006.jpg   Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011-4482-020.jpg  

    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

  2. #2
    Senior Member Anbesol's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    Should I go for it or for a MILC?
    I think so, definitely! Though they are not flat enough to stuff in most pockets like the S95 does, they are still many times smaller than DSLR, except you make no compromises on the image quality. Of course, the ability to attach additional older lens as you please should attract you as well, you can use all of those Nikon optics you already have. Because it doesn't pair the electronic circuits, the optics will use a manual aperture control and manual focus. Because the camera doesn't do those functions itself on the lens, the battery lasts many times longer, adn you are provided with a live view exposure feedback with DOF preview fully engaged and the metering still works (none of which can be said for any DSLR lens adapter). For macro shooting this is especially beneficial.

    For current models, if you want a hot shoe, you'd have to stick with Oly, or go above Panasonics GF3. If you don't mind no hot shoe, skies the limit, pick whatever. Except Nikon 1 or Pentax Q systems though, unless you are especially interested in paying more for less.

    *edit - the Olympus E-PM1 and Panasonic GF3 and Sony NEX C3 are basically the same size as the S95, except they have a much bigger lens that protrudes always. The newest oly 14-42mm keeps a very small profile though, and panasonic makes an electronic rokkor controlled 14-42 that retracts into a pancake lens.
    - Charlie

    Feel free to edit and repost my work as a part of your critique.

  3. #3
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    For years I used to carry around a Leica, a couple of lenses and a flash in a shoulderbag. This compact solution fits close to the body and is practical in cities. With a 24x36 SLR in a backpack it's like being a bull in a china shop.

    So I'm receptive to the idea of a smaller camera - as long as it gives me the same control as the Leica rangefinder.

    But then guess what - I discovered that my APS-C DSLR's with zoom lens are slim enough to fit in my Leica bag.

    - My DSLR's aren't so big. They fit in my life
    - The quality of the images that I get from the S95 is not that bad

    Still thinking about it..
    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

  4. #4
    Senior Member armando_m's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    Quote Originally Posted by Franglais View Post
    ... and the image lacks beauty compared with a DSLR.
    ...
    hmm ....

    I'm kind of looking for a high ISO small camera, while the Eiffel tower looks great,
    I would like more control on the DOF that I think a p&s can give

  5. #5
    Senior Member Anbesol's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    The S95 is no doubt an excellent camera for its size, it is still no MILC/CSC. CSC/Milc is not a compromise in image quality, only the sacrifice of a viewfinder. It essentially IS a DSLR without a viewfinder.

    I can go to a pawn shop and pick up a 135mm f/2.8 for ~ $50 (whatever brand I want) and the adapter for $20, I just saved $600 by ditching autofocus! Yes, you sacrifice AF, but you also skip 90% of the cost, and moreover if manual focus is ideal (as with macro), an MF lens still does that better too!

    You said the bulk of your shooting is DSLR, ~87%. I'd bet that if you had a CSC, that would become your primary shooter.
    - Charlie

    Feel free to edit and repost my work as a part of your critique.

  6. #6
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    Quote Originally Posted by armando_m View Post
    hmm ....

    I'm kind of looking for a high ISO small camera, while the Eiffel tower looks great,
    I would like more control on the DOF that I think a p&s can give
    Euhh.. the S95 looks like a point-and-shoot, you can use it as a point-and-shoot but I would call it an experts compact. It has lots of buttons and dials that give you control over what the camera is doing. Plus of course it shoots RAW (all my pictures are RAW processed in Lightroom).

    For instance for DOF - yes it has a short focal length lens therefore the DOF should be large. However it also opens to f2 at the wide-angle setting which is going to limit your DOF. On Program mode the camera tends to set the widest aperture possible (the lens is very sharp) to allow low ISO and high shutter speed. If you want to take control you just set Aperture mode and turn the dial (F2 to f8 maximum)
    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

  7. #7
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    Quote Originally Posted by Anbesol View Post
    ...

    You said the bulk of your shooting is DSLR, ~87%. I'd bet that if you had a CSC, that would become your primary shooter.
    Now this one made me think.

    When I was shooting film on the Leica in the street for my own amusement only I hardly used my SLR's.

    Times have changed. Internet and Facebook. I want to publish.

    - if I shoot on the street it's usually at an event where it is socially acceptable to do photos and I make myself visible so that I have the tacit acceptance of my subjects to be published. I use a big cobra flash a lot. DSLR's are very good with external flash whereas hybrids aren't
    - I shoot models a lot which means fashion or glamour and these are two areas where the beauty of the image is important i.e. big sensor, best lenses. The last six months I've been surrounded by guys with 24x36 sensor cameras and I'm going that way next
    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

  8. #8
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    The main difference (for me) between an S95 and a MILC (4/3) camera is the fact that you can easily slide the S95 in your pocket, no problem. Your 4/3 cameras are going to have a lens attached, even a pancake lens won't slide into your pocket as easy as the S95. For me, the S95 is truly a pocket camera, while the 4/3 cameras are just small, yet powerful.

    BTW, great shots with that S95, especially the Eiffel Tower!
    Last edited by groovehouse; 11-28-2011 at 01:01 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Anbesol's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    True that. But compact size doesn't need to be an all or nothing kind of thing. The size difference between a DSLR and a M43 camera is still quite significant, even though it doesn't quite fit in a breast pocket.
    - Charlie

    Feel free to edit and repost my work as a part of your critique.

  10. #10
    Be serious Franglais's Avatar
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    Re: Canon Powershot S95 = my best picture 2011

    Quote Originally Posted by groovehouse View Post
    The main difference (for me) between an S95 and a MILC (4/3) camera is the fact that you can easily slide the S95 in your pocket, no problem. Your 4/3 cameras are going to have a lens attached, even a pancake lens won't slide into your pocket as easy as the S95. For me, the S95 is truly a pocket camera, while the 4/3 cameras are just small, yet powerful.

    BTW, great shots with that S95, especially the Eiffel Tower!
    For me the main difference is that I would be prepared to do a professional shoot - or anything important - on a MILC camera but not on the S95. Unless I had no choice.

    On the S95 I'm just not sure if it's going to turn out right and even in RAW I can't get always get the image to look right. Check out the policewoman's face bottom left of the Queen picture - burnt out with no way of getting it back. Fortunately it's not an important part of the scene.

    The S95 is reserved for situations when I'm not expecting to do a photo. The Eiffel Tower shot was what prompted me to do the post. I've seen it like that before but I've never gone out with a "real" camera and a tripod to capture it. Saturday night I was driving into town, saw it, went shopping then on the way back I stopped off to see what I could do with the S95, hand held from the roadside. This is actually the last shot - after doing a bunch vertical at the 35mm setting I just did a couple of horizontals at the 28mm setting and finally it's what I prefer. I made an A3+ size print of it to see if I can live with it..
    Charles

    Nikon D800, D7200, Sony RX100m3
    Not buying any more gear this year. I hope

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