Canon PowerShot S95

The Canon PowerShot S95 ($399.99) is a compact digital camera that is capable of simple pointing and shooting, but also gives you the option to manually control different facets of photography to manipulate pictures to deliver the results you want. It has a 3.8x optical zoom and 10 megapixels of resolution. The DIGIC 4 Image Processor and f/2.0, 28mm wide angle lens helps the S95 perform better in low light situations. The S95 has a 3" pure color TFT LCD with a 461,000 pixel resolution. You can use the screen as a viewfinder, and as a way of editing photos after they're taken but before they're uploaded. There is a control ring around the lens that lets you manually zoom in and out, similar to bigger DSLR cameras. The ISO range of the S95 is 3200-12800 which means it is capable taking quality shots in high and low light situations. The Canon PowerShot S95 is also capable of capturing HD video in 720p with stereo sound. It has a 5 hour battery life and is rechargeable through the use of a lithium-ion battery.

There are a lot of different features in this camera. Some of them give you control of the scene, others take control for you so you don't have to worry about it. There is automatic Blink Detection which gives you a notice on the screen when someone was caught blinking when the photo was snapped. Face Detection stores information about commonly recurring faces and recalls that information when they appear in frame. This data is used to optimize camera settings so the faces in the picture come out the best way possible. Intelligent Contrast Correction is an automatic feature which adjusts the contrast setting of the camera on the fly as you prepare to take your next shot. Red-eye correction is pretty straight forward since it has been in cameras for a while now. This feature tries to remove red-eye before the picture is taken, but if it wasn't it does so afterward before the picture is uploaded. Optical Image Stabilization compensates for the shaking of the camera when you're holding it to make sure the image stays crisp and doesn't blur. This image stabilizing also occurs when shooting video. Motion Detection Technology can sense when there is motion in the picture and automatically turns on the Tracking Auto-Focus feature which keeps the moving object in focus as it moves around the frame. Hybrid IS compensates for angular shift and camera shake when close up. It uses an accelerometer to keep everything in focus.

When it comes to the options for manual control of the Canon PowerShot S95 there are several which are worth noting. It should first be noted that there are 26 shooting modes which give you some control but not fine-tuned control. In addition to the 26 shooting modes there are 18 special scene modes. These are setting adjustments optimized for different shooting situations such as landscape, portrait, fireworks, snow, etc. You can use the Smart Auto setting which automatically chooses one of these settings, or you can choose them yourself. This gives you control without having to mess with the little details. P Program is a mode that lets you access advanced exposure compensation features, so you can set them however you want. Tv Shutter-priority lets you select the shutter speed, while the camera selects the appropriate aperture that suits the shutter speed you've selected. Av Aperture-priority does the opposite in that you select the aperture and the camera tailors the shutter speed to what you've selected. There is also a custom self timer that lets you take up to 10 shots without the need of continually going back and resetting the timer. You determine the length of time before the shots, or choose from a few preset increments.

The Canon PowerShot S95 has a memory card slot which is capable of using SD, SDHC, SDXC, MultiMedia Card, MMCplus Card, and an HC MMCplus Card. Photos can be saved in either JPEG or RAW format. There is a mini HDMI output that allows you to display photos on the camera on an HDTV in HD. This feature is capable of showing up to 130 photos on screen simulataneously. In the box with the camera is the lithium-ion battery, a charger, wrist strap, AV cable, and USB cable.

Sources:
http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/digital_cameras/powershot_s95
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-s95/4505-6501_7-34154931.html