Updated (September, 2011): Compare the Canon Powershot S100 vs Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

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

Aperture
Wide aperture
f/2.0
Supports 24p
24p movies
For that film look
Sensor size
Large sensor
1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
HDR
In-camera HDR
Combines multiple exposures
Light sensitivity (boost)
High ISO (boost)
12,800 ISO
Weight
Light-weight
193 g
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

39

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Zoom
Great zoom
20x
Screen flips out
Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Macro focus
Great macro
0 cm
Viewfinder
Great viewfinder
Digital
External flash
External flash
Better lighting
Fastest shutter speed
Fast shutter speed
1/3200 of a second

differences

Advantages of the Canon S95

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)
Size Much smaller 99x58x29 mm vs 128x88x87 mm
Help
5.7x smaller
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.5"
Help
More than 20% larger screen
Supports 24p Supports 24p Yes vs No
Help
Get that real film feel
Sensor size Much larger sensor 1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm vs 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm
Help
More than 50% larger sensor
HDR Has in-camera HDR Yes vs No
Help
Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
Supports RAW Shoots RAW Yes vs No
Help
Digitally develop your own photos with precise image control
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
Weight Much lighter 193 g vs 600 g
Help
3.1x lighter
Thickness Much thinner 1.2" vs 3.4"
Help
2.9x thinner
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
Lowest price Much cheaper $340.00 vs $742.23
Help
The best price we've seen is $402 cheaper (2.2x less)
True resolution Slightly higher true resolution 10 MP vs 9.8 MP
Help
Almost the same
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 1.9 fps vs 0.7 fps
Help
More than 2.5x faster continuous shooting
Canon PowerShot S95 Learn more about
the Canon S95

Advantages of the Canon SX20 IS

Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Zoom Significantly more zoom 20x vs 3.8x
Help
Around 28.5x more zoom
Macro focus Significantly better macro capability 0 cm vs 5 cm
Help
Almost the same
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Digital vs None
Help
A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
Fastest shutter speed Much faster max shutter speed 1/3200s vs 1/1600s
Help
2x faster max shutter speed
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX20 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot S95
70 vs 39
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot S95. 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 super zoom.

advice

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I am considering either the S95 or the SX20 IS,
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by Randy-Roussel last month
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Not a beginner but no where near an expert. I enjoy taking pictures and making movies for the litt...

2 people recommend the Canon S95:

" I also agree with Alex.  The faster glass and larger sensor in the S95 will allow for faster shu..."

"Hi Randy, I'm recommending the S95, but you should consider its successor the S100. The S100 (and ..."

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Aperture Wide aperture Help
S95:f/2.0
SX20 IS:f/2.8
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Lowest price Very expensive Help
S95:$340.00
SX20 IS:$742.23
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
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S95:1.9 fps
SX20 IS:0.7 fps
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
28 mm
Movie format HD (720p) video Help
S95:720p @ 24fps
SX20 IS:720p @ 30fps

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$390 - $496

Battery life Has a significantly longer battery life
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is significantly heavier
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
Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Travel zoom

$239 - $307

Movie format Records higher quality movies
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Macro focus Significantly worse macro focusing
Aperture Has a much narrower aperture
Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$347 - $380

Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is much heavier

Canon PowerShot S95 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$356 - $430

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Sensor size Smaller sensor
Lowest price Slightly more expensive
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$350

Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Battery life Much longer battery life
Supports 24p No 24p support
HDR Lacks in-camera HDR
Olympus XZ-1

Olympus XZ-1

Pro digicam

$499 - $500

Screen type Has an OLED screen
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Overall image quality Significantly worse image quality
Supports 24p No 24p support
Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Travel zoom

$319 - $330

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Aperture Much narrower aperture
Supports 24p No 24p support
Nikon Coolpix P300

Nikon Coolpix P300

Pro digicam

$299

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Supports 24p No 24p support
Sensor size Much smaller sensor

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$420

Zoom Much more zoom
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Size Larger
Thickness Thicker
Nikon Coolpix P100

Nikon Coolpix P100

Super zoom

Screen size Much larger screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
External flash No external flash support
Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Super zoom

$644

Movie format Higher resolution movies
Screen size Significantly larger screen
Weight Slightly heavier
Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Super zoom

Size Smaller
Aperture Slightly wider aperture
Wide angle Much worse wide angle
True resolution Much lower true resolution
Nikon Coolpix L120

Nikon Coolpix L120

Super zoom

$180 - $229

Screen size Much larger screen
Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Aperture Narrower aperture

appearance

Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

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