Canon PowerShot
S90
 vs
Canon PowerShot
SX210 IS

Updated (February, 2011): Compare the Canon PowerShot S95 vs Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Canon PowerShot S90

68

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S90

Aperture
 Wide aperture
f/2.0
Sensor size
 Large sensor
1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
Light sensitivity (boost)
 High ISO (boost)
12,800 ISO
Supports RAW
 Shoots RAW
Better editing
Canon PowerShot SX210 IS

47
"When shooting movies at wide-angle settings, the PowerShot SX210 IS uses an advanced Dynamic mode image stabilization system to greatly reduce camera shake that can occur when you are shooting while walking"
digitalreview.ca | talking about the SX210 IS's image-stabilization
"The 14 megapixel sensor combined with the camera's metering system offers good image quality from 80 to 200 ISO"
digitalreview.ca | talking about the SX210 IS's image-quality

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX210 IS

Zoom
 Great zoom
14x
Fastest shutter speed
 Fast shutter speed
1/3200 of a second

differences

Advantages of the Canon S90
Aperture Much wider aperture f/2.0 vs f/3.1
Help
 At its widest zoom, the S90's lens captures much more light (1.3 f-stops)
Sensor size Much larger sensor 1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm vs 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm
Help
 More than 50% larger sensor
Supports RAW Shoots RAW Yes vs No
Help
 Digitally develop your own photos with precise image control
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
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 461k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 2x higher resolution screen
Size Smaller 100x58x30 mm vs 105x59x31 mm
Help
 Around 10% smaller
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 3,200 ISO vs 1,600 ISO
Help
 The S90's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
Weight Lighter 198 g vs 220 g
Help
 10% lighter
True resolution Slightly higher true resolution 10 MP vs 9.8 MP
Help
 Almost the same
Thickness Slightly thinner 1.2" vs 1.3"
Help
 Almost the same
Canon PowerShot S90 Learn more about
the Canon S90

Advantages of the Canon SX210 IS
Zoom Much more zoom 14x vs 3.8x
Help
 Around 14x more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
 Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Lowest price Significantly cheaper $293.99 vs $535.65
Help
 The best price we've seen is $242 cheaper (around 50% less)
Fastest shutter speed Much faster max shutter speed 1/3200s vs 1/1600s
Help
 2x faster max shutter speed
Canon PowerShot SX210 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX210 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent compacts, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S90 Canon PowerShot S90
68 vs 47
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX210 IS Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot S90. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a pro digicam with a travel zoom.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonPowerShot S90
 Canon PowerShot S90 vs Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
CanonPowerShot SX210 IS
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
0
2
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
0
1
Vote Vote
Features Low light image quality Low light image quality
Lack of noise, sharp details
0
0
Vote Vote
Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
0
1
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
0
0
Vote Vote
Performance Image stabilization
Ability to reduce blur from hand shake
0
1
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent compacts

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Lowest price Very expensive Help
S90:$535.65
SX210 IS:$293.99
Thickness Quite thick Help
S90:1.2"
SX210 IS:1.3"
Weight Heavy Help
S90:198 g
SX210 IS:220 g
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S90:0.9 fps
SX210 IS:0.7 fps
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Size Large Help
S90:100x58x30 mm
SX210 IS:105x59x31 mm

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Travel zoom

$219 - $304
Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Size Is slightly larger
Aperture Has a much narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX230 HS vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the PowerShot SX230 HS vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot S95

Pro digicam

$369
Supports 24p Records movies in 24p
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$414 - $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
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Travel zoom

$305 - $379
Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Size Is slightly larger
Aperture Has a much narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$125 - $233
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Screen size Has a significantly smaller screen
Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Travel zoom

$127 - $245
Macro focus Significantly closer macro focusing
Lowest price Is slightly less expensive
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot SX210 IS
Nikon Coolpix P300

Nikon Coolpix P300

Pro digicam

$277
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Compare the Coolpix P300 vs the PowerShot S90
Compare the Coolpix P300 vs the PowerShot SX210 IS

Canon PowerShot S90 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Pro digicam

$707
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Weight Significantly heavier
Light sensitivity (boost) Worse boost ISO
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX3 vs the PowerShot S90
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$320 - $468
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Size Much larger
Weight Much heavier
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot S90
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$389 - $500
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Size Much larger
Aperture Significantly narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot S90

Canon PowerShot SX210 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7

Travel zoom

$285 - $361
Wide angle Better wide angle
GPS Has a GPS
Zoom Less zoom
Aperture Narrower aperture
Compare the Lumix DMC-ZS7 vs the PowerShot SX210 IS

appearance

Canon PowerShot S90 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon PowerShot S90 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS
Canon PowerShot S90 Canon PowerShot SX210 IS

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

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

Showing 3 comments

Avatar for Alex Black Alex Black (3:40 PM, May 02, 2010)
From what I've read the image quality in the SX210 is good. The zoom would definitely be nice.

I don't think the 10 and 14 megapixels make any difference at all. Two reasons: a) 6-8 megapixels is enough for most uses, even large prints b) cameras have reached a limit where adding more megapixels doesn't increase quality/resolution because the sensors are so small.

Yes I think to get good results with the S90 you'd have to read the manual and learn some :)
 
Guest (3:32 PM, May 02, 2010)
I haven't had time to read through properly, but from your description on s90, s90 sounds interesting. But without knowing how to play with the setting, I'll probably end up with normal results, rite?. I'm not sure how pictures from sx210 looks like but the zoom and fish eye effect thing caught my attention. my concern is just if the quality of picture from sx210 is good or just as same like my previous canon ixus (an old model, i drop it and thinking to repair). if it is about the same, i would prefer to buy s90. my main objective is just to buy a compact camera that is easy to carry around and take good pictures. does 10 and 14mega pixels makes big difference?
 
Avatar for Alex Black Alex Black (1:35 PM, May 01, 2010)
These are two quite different cameras.

I'd call the Canon SX210 a travel zoom, it is small but boasts 14x zoom, great for taking pictures of further away subjects, say your kids playing a sport, or animals on safari. It also does HD 720p movies, which would be great if you have a HD television to view them on.

I'd call the Canon S90 an advanced user camera - it hardly has any zoom which I think most people would find quite limiting, but it has a wide aperture (f/2.0) great for blurring the background and shooting in low light, also it has a larger sensor than most cameras, probably giving it better image quality overall especially in low light (high ISO).

I'd recommend the SX210 for most users, and the S90 for professionals looking for a point and shoot, or people who are into photography for photography's sake (e.g. want to play with the settings, take difficult low light shots etc).