Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100
Pro digicam Pro digicam, Compact
September, 2011

Summary Canon S100

Prices Price
Camera only $299
all S100 prices
Score Snapsort rank
Within its price range #1 of 4 Among similar cameras #5 of 25
details details
Specifications Key specs
Zoom Help 5x Screen size Help 3.0"
Aperture Help f/2.0 Screen resolution Help 461k dots
Wide angle Help 24 mm Movie format Help 1080p @ 24fps
see all specifications
Canon Powershot S100Canon Powershot S100

Replacement

Canon has replaced the Powershot S100 with the S110.

Canon PowerShot S110
Canon PowerShot S110 announced September, 2012
Startup delay Much less startup delay
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity

Compare the new Canon S110 vs the S100

Videos

Power for passionate photograp...

Canon PowerShot S100 Review - ...

How a Digital Camera is Made
Power for passionate photographers - the Canon PowerShot S100 and PowerShot SX40 HS
  • Sample video
  • Zoom
  • Autofocus
  • Manual focus
 Canon PowerShot S100 Review - The Best Compact Camera
  • Review
  • Image quality
 How a Digital Camera is Made
  • Review
  • Promo

Browse all Canon S100 videos

Pros

The Canon S100 vs other recent pro digicams

Wide angle Great wide angle lens Help
24 mm
Size Really small Help
Compact 99x60x28 mm
Supports 24p 24p movies Help
For that film look
Thickness Thin Help
1.1"
Popularity Very popular Help
Among snapsort users
High-speed framerate High speed movies Help
240 fps
Continuous shooting Rapid fire Help
10 fps
Weight Very light Help
198 g
GPS Built-in GPS Help
Great for travel
Lowest price Inexpensive Help
$299.00

Cons

The Canon S100 vs other recent pro digicams

Low light performance Noisy at high ISO Help
153 ISO
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
6,400 ISO
Startup delay Longer startup delay Help
2400 ms startup delay
Screen flips out Fixed screen Help
Less flexible
Screen type Screen type Help
LCD
Announced Old Help
September, 2011
Viewfinder Can only preview photos on the screen Help
None
External flash No external flash Help
Less expandable
Longest exposure Short exposures Help
15 seconds
Screen resolution Low resolution screen Help
461k dots
Panorama Lacks in-camera panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Focus points Fewer focus points Help
9
Autofocus contrast detection autofocus Help
slower focusing
External mic jack Lacks an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic
Battery life Shorter battery life Help
200 shots
3D Doesn't take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Fastest shutter speed Slow shutter speed Help
1/2000 of a second

dxomark

DXOMark

Appearance

front photo of the Canon Powershot S100back photo of the Canon Powershot S100angle photo of the Canon Powershot S100

Discussion What do you think about the Canon Powershot S100?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of this camera here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 17 comments

Me (10:04 PM, March 17, 2013)
Forget canon. May be feature packed but I have never owned a canon product that hasn't broken down, and the same with three different friends that bought slr's for travelling. All broke down with differing faults. One friend ended buying a cheap Nikon cool pix when his top of the range slr left him stranded in Asia. That camera is still going strong years later. Nikon are the Toyotas of the camera world, not always particularly exciting but darn reliable!
 
Avatar for SurfSwitch SurfSwitch (1:25 AM, June 08, 2012)
Honestly, no. It is about the best point and shoot on the market, but with only a 5x optical zoom, it's not ideal for long range shooting. I'd go with either the Nikon P510 or Canon SX40 if you're not going with a full blown DSLR and telephoto lens. 
 
Avatar for Christopher Huber Christopher Huber (10:43 PM, June 06, 2012)
anyone know if this camera is any good taking shots of birds at max zoom? (hawaii trip)
 
Avatar for SurfSwitch SurfSwitch (6:21 AM, April 21, 2012)
Hands down the best camera I have ever used, especially for low light. Battery life is the only real concern, but I always carry a spare, and if you don't use the flash you can easily get 4-5 hours out of it. I did over 600 shots at a concert last night and still had 2/3 battery life left. Compact, amazing LCD display, fast, and feature PACKED. The below image is straight from the camera, zero editing. Just a simple auto-mode click. 
 
Rnchaim (4:08 PM, March 19, 2012)
hi im looking for a compact camera i dont mind if its a  litle larger than the canon elph series my main desire is fast shooting and decent indoor pictures as i have right now the canon sd890 is and the indoor quality is awful can someone please direct me thanks
 
Waseem (3:18 PM, February 18, 2012)
I love this camera. It has all the ingredients a good camera should have; HDR, GPS, SMOS Sensor, IS and high ISO. In this price I would rate it better than NEX-7. Just imagine, such a campact camera with all tools one wondrs to have in a good camera that also at affordable price. I wish if it has a little bigger sensor.
 
Fernando (0:18 PM, December 30, 2011)
When the lens retracts it pulls all that dust and dirt in with it. :(
 
Fernando (0:16 PM, December 30, 2011)
I own the Powershot SD780 IS. Absolutely love this camera. I liked the way I could easily carry it in my pocket.
However after about a year the sensor filled up with dust. All my pictures are flawed. Cleaning costs about the same amount I paid originally for the camera. Will be looking into other models that offer waterproof and dustproof.
 
Daggymac (10:11 AM, December 30, 2011)
I am dissapointed with video frame rate. Why not 1080p 30FPS??? WHY? I dont get it, instead of smooth super quality video you will get jerky video with great quality. I cant even watch videos with 24FPS. Next - why not 720p 60FPS??? WHY? S100 is for sure great camera for taking sill pictures, but it will be bestseller if this camera could be used as camcorder. Hey Canon, if you read this, consider my "wish list" :)
 
hyperman (11:19 AM, December 24, 2011)
SDHC or SDXC are the ways to go. https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/sdxc_capabilities/using_sdxc/
 
jen (7:46 PM, December 22, 2011)
I just received my camera - an early Christmas gift.  This is the first time that I've owned a digital camera that did not come with a memory card.  I'm wondering what route to go - it looks like there are 4 choices:  SD, SDHC, SDXC and Eye-Fi cards.  Any advice or clarifications on the differences between these options would be helpful.
 
Danyal Aydin (2:16 PM, December 17, 2011)
I am thinking really hard, between   canon s100  and sony nex5 (it costs 499 now)  I have the sony tx10 which disappointed me, very low picture quality, its not even close to 16 megapixels...
 
udell85 (9:09 PM, November 25, 2011)
fail... the specs are wrong more than a few times on this camera. check the canon website. the most important would be the 1/1.7 inch and 12.1 megapixel sensor.
 
Toño (1:25 AM, November 17, 2011)
Love 'da camera! It is really, really the best camera I've ever owned! It's software is so well designed that even when you only have to dials, you can quickly compose on the go.
 
Horrocks_tom (8:12 PM, November 11, 2011)
There's no comparison: http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-S100-vs-Nikon-P7100
 
Diampra (10:41 AM, October 19, 2011)
Hi snapsort,
      I'm confused between Canon S95/S100 and Nikon P7100. Both are good but P7100 looks solid. I want Zoom also but should not blur at Max zoom. Also please suggest me other camera also within this range.
Requirement: 1) very good picture quality. 2) very good image stabilizer.
                     
 
Bongstasy25 (4:36 AM, September 16, 2011)
New Blood line for the S-series... any idea when it would be available in Canada?