Canon PowerShot
G9
 vs
Canon PowerShot
S95

Updated (September, 2011): Compare the Canon PowerShot G9 vs Canon Powershot S100

Canon PowerShot S95

70
"Image quality is still excellent, with a usable ISO range of 80-800 and fast f/2.0 maximum aperture, albeit only at the wide-angle lens setting, making the S95 very well-suited to low-light, hand-held photography."
photographyblog.com | talking about the S95's iso-noise
"Something that was glaringly missing from the S90 - HD video capture - has been rectified on the S95, with 720p movies at 1280x720 pixels resolution available at 24fps complete with stereo sound."
photographyblog.com | talking about the S95's video-quality

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S95

Sensor size
 Large sensor
1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
Supports RAW
 Shoots RAW
Better editing
Aperture
 Wide aperture
f/2.0
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
47.0
Color depth
 Great color depth
20.4 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
11.3 EV
Canon PowerShot G9

43
Runner-up

Canon PowerShot G9

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot G9

Sensor size
 Large sensor
1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
Supports RAW
 Shoots RAW
Better editing
True resolution
 High true resolution
12 MP
Macro focus
 Great macro
1 cm
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Tunnel
External flash
 External flash
Better lighting

differences

Advantages of the Canon G9
True resolution Much higher true resolution 12 MP vs 10 MP
Help
 Capture more than 20% more detail in your photos
Macro focus Significantly better macro capability 1 cm vs 5 cm
Help
 Focus on subjects 5x closer to the lens
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Tunnel vs None
Help
 A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
Fastest shutter speed Significantly faster max shutter speed 1/2500s vs 1/1600s
Help
 Around 40% faster max shutter speed
Canon PowerShot G9 Learn more about
the Canon G9

Advantages of the Canon S95
Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 35 mm
Help
 20% better wide angle
Aperture Significantly wider aperture f/2.0 vs f/2.8
Help
 At its widest zoom, the S95's lens captures slightly more light (1 f-stop)
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality 47.0 vs 35.0
Help
 More than 30% better image quality
Supports 24p Supports 24p Yes vs No
Help
 Get that real film feel
Dynamic range More dynamic range 11.3 EV vs 10.1 EV
Help
 1.2 f-stops more dynamic range
Color depth Better color depth 20.4 bits vs 18.8 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.6 more bits of color
HDR Has in-camera HDR Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 461k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 2x higher resolution screen
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 12,800 ISO vs None
Help
 Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Size Smaller 99x58x29 mm vs 106x72x43 mm
Help
 Around 50% smaller
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 3,200 ISO vs 1,600 ISO
Help
 The S95's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Weight Significantly lighter 193 g vs 370 g
Help
 Around 50% lighter
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 24fps vs 1024 x 768 @ 15fps
Help
 Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video at a higher frame rate
Low light performance Slightly lower noise at high ISO 153 ISO vs 146 ISO
Help
 The S95 has a slight edge (0.1 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Thickness Thinner 1.2" vs 1.7"
Help
 More than 30% thinner
Canon PowerShot S95 Learn more about
the Canon S95
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot G9 Canon PowerShot G9
43 vs 70
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot S95
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot S95.

advice

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similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Sensor size Very large sensors Help
1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
Aperture Wide aperture Help
G9:f/2.8
S95:f/2.0
Supports RAW RAW support Help
Better editing
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
G9:35 mm
S95:28 mm
Movie format Poor movies Help
G9:1024 x 768 @ 15fps
S95:720p @ 24fps

Compared to recent pro digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.
Longest exposure Short max exposure time Help
15 seconds
External mic jack Neither has an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic
Screen flips out No flip-out screens Help
Less flexible
Screen type No OLED screens Help
LCD
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
G9:230k dots
S95:461k dots

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$356 - $430
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Macro focus Slightly worse macro focusing
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot S95
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$390 - $496
Screen flips out Has a screen which flips out
Battery life Has a significantly longer battery life
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot S95
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$350
Sensor size Has a much larger sensor
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot S95
Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$148 - $179
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Macro focus Slightly worse macro focusing
Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot S95
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Travel zoom

$239 - $307
Zoom Has slightly more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Macro focus Significantly worse macro focusing
Sensor size Has a much smaller sensor
Compare the PowerShot SX230 HS vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the PowerShot SX230 HS vs the PowerShot S95
Canon PowerShot S90

Canon PowerShot S90

Pro digicam
Low light performance Is slightly less noisy at high ISO
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Compare the PowerShot S90 vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the PowerShot S90 vs the PowerShot S95
Fujifilm Finepix X10

Fujifilm Finepix X10

Pro digicam

$599
Sensor size Has a much larger sensor
Low light performance Is significantly less noisy at high ISO
Lowest price Is much more expensive
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the PowerShot G9
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot G9 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot G11

Canon PowerShot G11

Pro digicam

$672
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen
True resolution Much lower true resolution
Screen size Smaller screen
Compare the PowerShot G11 vs the PowerShot G9
Canon PowerShot G10

Canon PowerShot G10

Pro digicam
Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Movie format Lower resolution movies
Size Slightly larger
Compare the PowerShot G10 vs the PowerShot G9

Canon PowerShot S95 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Olympus XZ-1

Olympus XZ-1

Pro digicam

$499 - $500
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Screen type Has an OLED screen
Overall image quality Significantly worse image quality
Supports 24p No 24p support
Compare the XZ-1 vs the PowerShot S95
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Travel zoom

$319 - $330
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Sensor size Much smaller sensor
Supports RAW No RAW support
Compare the Cybershot DSC-HX9v vs the PowerShot S95
Nikon Coolpix P300

Nikon Coolpix P300

Pro digicam

$299
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Sensor size Much smaller sensor
Supports RAW No RAW support
Compare the Coolpix P300 vs the PowerShot S95

appearance

Canon PowerShot G9 Canon PowerShot S95
Canon PowerShot G9 Canon PowerShot S95
Canon PowerShot G9 Canon PowerShot S95

discussion

Showing 2 comments

Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (6:04 PM, January 31, 2011)
Hi Stan, thanks for pointing that out. The site has a mistake in it that we're going to fix, it calculates the difference as a percentage of the smaller value, e.g. 1.7-1.2 = 0.5, and 0.5/1.2 is approx 50% (if you round up!)
 
Stanw (0:01 AM, January 24, 2011)
Hi - just checking if your maths is correct; "Thickness,Thinner;1.2" vs1.7" = Around 50% thinner". the difference of 0.5" is about 29% thinner I believe?