I recently purchased a new camera. I wanted some relatively cheap, but flexible and small.
Small is important because no matter how good the camera is, if it is too big to carry around then it is useless. The S100 fits in a shirt pocket.
It also has RAW capability as well as full manual control so when my skills grow, the camera will grow with me.
At $469 (with a 8GB SD card) it is not exactly cheap, but it is good quality. The lens goes down to f/2
Update: 🙁 Never used the camera much, ended up buying a Micro 4/3 Olympus camera and lenses. The camera died somewhere in Asia on a friends trip.
Specifications of the Canon Power Shot S 100 Digital Camera
| Sensor / Image Processor | |
| Effective Number of Pixels / Size | Approx. 12.1 MP High Sensitivity CMOS |
| Size / Filter Array | 1/1.7 inch / Primary colour filter / 4:3 |
| Processor | DiG!C 5 |
| Lens | |
| Focal Length (optical) | 5.2 (W) – 26.0 (T) mm |
| 35mm film equivalent | 24 (W) – 120 (T) mm |
| f/number | f/2.0 – 8.0 (W), f/5.9 – 8.0 (T) |
| Shutter Speed | 15 – 1/2000 sec. |
| Zoom / Image Stabiliser | Optical approx 5x; Digital approx 4x / Optical (Lens Shift Type) approx 4 steps |
| Shooting Functions | |
| AF System | Autofocus (Single, Continuous), Manual |
| Focusing Frame | Face Detect with movie support (*1, *2) Center (*3) Tracking AF, FlexiZone |
| Face Detection | Auto Focus, Auto Exposure, White Balance, Flash Exposure, Auto Red-Eye correction, Auto Focus Point Zoom, Face Self Timer (*4) |
| Other Shooting Functions | Servo AF, Auto Focus Assist Beam, Auto Focus Lock |
| Focus Range | Normal: 5cm – infinity (W), 30cm – infinity (T) Macro: 3cm – 50cm (W), 30cm – 50cm (T) |
| Continuous Shooting (Large/Fine) | Approx 2.3 shots/sec; High-speed Bust HQ Approx 9.6 shots/sec; AF Approx 0.8 shots/sec; LV Approx 0.8 shots/sec |
| Self-timer | Approx. 10 sec or 2 sec delay, custom, Face Self-Timer (*4) |
| Control/Balance | |
| Light Metering Method | Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, Spot |
| Exposure Control Method | Program AE, AE Lock available, Manual, iContrast, Program Shift, Safety Shift |
| Exposure Compensation | ± 3 stops in 1/3-stop increments |
| Sensitivity (Equivalent Film Speed) | Auto (*7) ISO 80/100//125/160/200/250/320/400/500/640/800/1000/1250/1600/2000/2500/3200/4000/5000/6400 |
| White Balance Modes | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom |
| LCD Screen | |
| LCD Screen | 3.0 type (3.0- inch) colour LCD monitor with wide viewing angle (approx 461,000 dots), Aspect ratio 4:3 |
| Flash | |
| Flash Modes / Flash Range | Auto, on, off, Slow Synchro / 50cm -7.0 m (W), 50cm – 2.3m (T) |
| Flash Exposure Compensation | ±2 stops in 1/3-stop increments |
| Selectable Shooting Modes | |
| Shooting Modes | Intelligent Auto (with Scene Detection), P (Program), Tv (Shutter Priority), Av (Aperture Priority), M (Manual), C (Custom), Special Scene (Movie Digest, Portrait, Landscape, Kids & Pets, Smart Shutter, High-speed burst HQ, Handheld Night Scene, Beach, Underwater, Foliage, Snow, Firework, Stitch Assist), Creative Filters (High Dynamic Range, Nostalgic, Fisheye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour Swap), Movie, iFrame Movie, Super Slow Motion Movie |
| My Colours | Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Colour |
| Image Recording Format | |
| Still image / Colour Space and Compression | JPEG Compression (EXIF 2.3 Compliant), RAW (CR2 (Canon Original)) / sRGB; Fine, Normal |
| Movies | MOV (Image Data: H.264; Audio Data: Linear PCM stereo) |
| GPS Log file | NIMEA 0183 message format compliant |
| Recording Pixels and recording capacity on a 4GB card | |
| Still Images and Capacity (at Fine Image Setting) | [16:9] Large: 4000×2248(1630), Medium 1: 2816×1584 (3094), Medium 2: 1920 x 1080 (6034), Small: 640 x 360 (24139); [3:2] Large: 4000×2664 (1386), Medium 1: 2816×1880 (2623), Medium 2: 1600×1064 (7099), Small: 640×424 (20116); [4:3] Large: 4000×3000 (1231), Medium 1: 2816×2112 (2320), Medium 2: 16000×1200 (6352), Small: 640×480 (20116), RAW: 4000×3000 (224); [1:1] Large: 2992×2992 (1652), Medium 1: 2112×2112 (3094), Medium 2: 1200×1200 (8046), Small: 480×480 (24139); [4:5] Large: 2400×3000 (2045), Medium 1: 1696×2112 (3771), Medium 2: 960×1200 (10057), Small: 384×480 (30174) |
| Multiple Aspect Ratios | 16:9, 3:2, 4:3, 1:1, 4:5 |
| Movie Frame Rate | Full HD: 1920×1080 24fps (14min 34sec), HD: 1280 x 720 30fps (20min 43sec), 640 x 480 30fps (43min 43sec), iFrame HD 1280×720 30fps (13min 35sec), Super Slow Motion Movie: 640×480 120fps (12min 58sec), Miniature effect: 640×480 6fps (3hr 43min 30sec) |
| Other Operations | |
| Playback Operations | Blink Detection, Red-eye Correction, Slideshow, My Category, Favourites, Index, Resize, Magnified, Advancing and Reversing through magnified images, Jump, Auto Rotate, Rotate, Histogram, Overexposure Warning, Smart Shuffle, iContrast, Focus check |
| File Operations | DPOF – Print Order/Image transfer; Movie – unnecessary scenes can be erased; Recording Length per Clip – until file size reaches 4GB9 |
| Video / Audio Output | Yes (*10) |
| Interface | |
| Supported Operating Systems | PC: Windows 7 (including SP1), Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3; Mac: OS X v10.5 – v10.6 |
| Computer I/F | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (mini-B compatible), HDMI mini connector |
| Video / Audio Output | PAL or NTSC selectable / Stereo |
| Memory Storage | SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card |
| General Features | |
| Battery | NB-5L |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 98.9 x 59.8 x 26.7 mm (ex. protruding parts) |
| Weight | Approx. 173g (Camera body only) |
* Specifications subject to change by the manufacturer without notice
Disclaimers
1. AF frame can be moved and fixed to specified face
2. If no face is detected, AiAF (9 point) is used
3. AF frame size is selectable – depends on shooting mode
4. When number of detected faces increases, the shutter is released at 2 sec delay. However if no face is detected for 30 seconds or more, the shooting operation will start automatically.
5. Control to incorporate facial brightness in Face Detect AF
6. Fixed to center / Linked to AF frame
7. Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode and subject brightness
8. Camera automatically sets the optimal speed according to shooting mode, subject brightness and subject movement and camera shake. The ISO speed is relatively higher than Auto.
9. Even if the file size has not reached 4GB, the recording stops when the recording time reaches 1 hour. For lesser capacity memory cards, the recording stops when the card becomes full or reaches 1 hour.
10. Compatible printer required for direct printing