Updated (September, 2011): Compare the Canon Powershot S100 vs Olympus XZ-1

Canon PowerShot S95

47

vs
Olympus XZ-1

43

Olympus XZ-1
Runner-up
 
 
 
 

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S95

Supports RAW
 Shoots RAW
Better editing
Supports 24p
 24p movies
For that film look
HDR
 In-camera HDR
Combines multiple exposures
 

Reasons to buy the Olympus XZ-1

Sensor size
 Large sensor
1/1.6" 8.3x6.2mm
Supports RAW
 Shoots RAW
Better editing
Screen type
 OLED Screen
Bright and vivid
HDR
 In-camera HDR
Combines multiple exposures
 
Differences | Recommendations | Similarities | Competitors | Appearance | Discussion

differences

Advantages of the Canon S95
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality 47.0 vs 34.0
Help
 Around 40% 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 10.4 EV
Help
 0.9 f-stops more dynamic range
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO 153 ISO vs 117 ISO
Help
 The S95 has a slight edge (0.4 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Color depth Better color depth 20.4 bits vs 18.8 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.6 more bits of color
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
Image stabilization Better image stabilization Lens vs Sensor shift
Help
 Less risk of blur
Size Smaller 99x58x29 mm vs 110x64x42 mm
Help
 More than 40% smaller
Weight Lighter 193 g vs 275 g
Help
 Around 30% lighter
Thickness Thinner 1.2" vs 1.7"
Help
 More than 30% thinner
Canon PowerShot S95 Learn more about
the Canon S95

Advantages of the Olympus XZ-1
Screen type Has an OLED screen OLED vs LCD
Help
 OLED screens are often brighter and more vibrant than typical LCD screens
Sensor size Larger sensor 1/1.6" 8.3x6.2mm vs 1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
Help
 Around 20% larger sensor
Panorama Can create panoramas in-camera Yes vs No
Help
 Stitches together multiple photos for a wide perspective
Aperture Wider aperture f/1.8 vs f/2.0
Help
 At its widest zoom, the XZ-1's lens captures marginally more light (0.3 f-stops)
Macro focus Significantly better macro capability 1 cm vs 5 cm
Help
 Focus on subjects 5x closer to the lens
Screen resolution Higher resolution screen 614k dots vs 461k dots
Help
 More than 30% higher resolution screen
Battery life Longer battery life 320 shots vs 200 shots
Help
 60% more shots per battery charge
Continuous shooting Shoots faster 7 fps vs 1.9 fps
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 More than 3.5x faster continuous shooting
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 6,400 ISO vs 3,200 ISO
Help
 The XZ-1's maximum light sensitivity is 1 f-stop better
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Longest exposure Much longer exposures 60s vs 15s
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 4x longer exposures
Lowest price Cheaper $332.95 vs $460.87
Help
 The best price we've seen is $128 cheaper (around 30% less)
Fastest shutter speed Faster max shutter speed 1/2000s vs 1/1600s
Help
 20% faster max shutter speed
Olympus XZ-1 Learn more about
the Olympus XZ-1
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S95 Canon PowerShot S95
47 vs 43
Explain scores
Olympus XZ-1 Olympus XZ-1
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot S95.

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Aperture Very wide aperture Help
S95:f/2.0
XZ-1:f/1.8
Sensor size Very large sensors Help
S95:1/1.7" 7.6x5.7mm
XZ-1:1/1.6" 8.3x6.2mm
Supports RAW RAW support Help
Better editing
HDR In-camera HDR Help
Combines multiple exposures
Lowest price Very expensive Help
S95:$460.87
XZ-1:$332.95
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Low light performance Above average noise at high ISO Help
S95:153 ISO
XZ-1:117 ISO
Movie format HD (720p) video Help
S95:720p @ 24fps
XZ-1:720p @ 30fps
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
28 mm
Zoom Poor zoom Help
S95:3.8x
XZ-1:4x

Compared to recent pro digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
S95:1/1600s
XZ-1:1/2000s
Viewfinder No viewfinders Help
Can only preview photos on the screen
Waterproof Not waterproof Help
Stay on land
True resolution Capture low resolution images Help
10 MP
Screen flips out No flip-out screens Help
Less flexible
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
S95:3,200 ISO
XZ-1:6,400 ISO
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S95:461k dots
XZ-1:614k dots
Dynamic range Poor dynamic range Help
S95:11.3 EV
XZ-1:10.4 EV
Overall image quality Low image quality Help
S95:47.0
XZ-1:34.0

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$299
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a slightly wider wide angle lens
Macro focus Slightly worse macro focusing
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the Powershot S100 vs the XZ-1
Canon PowerShot S110

Canon PowerShot S110

Pro digicam

$349 - $399
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a slightly wider wide angle lens
HDR Lacks a built in HDR feature
Macro focus Slightly worse macro focusing
Compare the PowerShot S110 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the PowerShot S110 vs the XZ-1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Pro digicam

$455
Wide angle Has a slightly wider wide angle lens
Shutter lag Has significantly less shutter lag
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX5 vs the XZ-1
Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100

Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100

Pro digicam

$648 - $760
Sensor size Has a much larger sensor
Low light performance Is much less noisy at high ISO
Lowest price Is much more expensive
Macro focus Significantly worse macro focusing
Compare the Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs the XZ-1
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

Pro digicam

$348 - $398
Aperture Has a slightly wider aperture
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX7 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the Lumix DMC-LX7 vs the XZ-1
Fujifilm Finepix X10

Fujifilm Finepix X10

Pro digicam

$394 - $549
Sensor size Has a marginally larger sensor
Low light performance Is significantly less noisy at high ISO
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the Finepix X10 vs the XZ-1
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS

Canon PowerShot SX260 HS

Travel zoom

$200 - $229
Zoom Has slightly more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
HDR Lacks a built in HDR feature
Macro focus Significantly worse macro focusing
Compare the PowerShot SX260 HS vs the PowerShot S95
Compare the PowerShot SX260 HS vs the XZ-1

Canon PowerShot S95 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot S90

Canon PowerShot S90

Pro digicam
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO
Shutter lag Less shutter lag
Supports 24p No 24p support
HDR Lacks in-camera HDR
Compare the PowerShot S90 vs the PowerShot S95

Olympus XZ-1 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Olympus XZ-2 iHS

Pro digicam

$499
Overall image quality Much better image quality
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO
Screen type Doesn't have an OLED screen
Sensor size Significantly smaller sensor
Compare the XZ-2 iHS vs the XZ-1
Olympus Stylus XZ-10

Olympus Stylus XZ-10

Pro digicam

$399
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Sensor size Much smaller sensor
Screen type Doesn't have an OLED screen
Compare the Stylus XZ-10 vs the XZ-1

appearance

Canon PowerShot S95 Olympus XZ-1
Canon PowerShot S95 Olympus XZ-1
Canon PowerShot S95 Olympus XZ-1

discussion

Showing 9 comments

Mike (6:51 PM, March 06, 2012)
I own and use both cameras. This is very odd advice. To address the low light issue first: The Olympus has a lens which is much faster, so the fact that the Canon has a sensor/processing engine about 1/3 stop less noisy is in no way going to lead to it having better low light ability (although the Olympus has a badly-designed exposure meter and requires between 1 and 2 stops of exposure compensation to be dialled in in low light). The Olympus lens is also optically slightly better than the Canon's in terms of corner sharpness, so if you know how to use it, is capable of slightly better image quality than the Canon. 
 
felipe (1:39 AM, February 14, 2012)
The canon feels like a toy camera, I had it for 2 weeks and took hundreds of pic. the image quality is very good but the olympus pic are great! I willl keep the olympus because is a lot more camera in any subject, the lens are incredible fast, 1.8f and 2.5f at max zoom, as far a low light situations the olympus is the king the canon shows more noise. 
 
Niunalias (9:00 AM, January 11, 2012)
I will pot to you whatewer you want that I will take better photos in low light with my xz-1 than you with your S95. (I have both cameras) and I can say to you that now I can shoot at 100-200 iso in practically all situations, raising to 400 in a candel situations, with the S95 I must raise till 800 to 1600. Iso 400 is fairy better than canon iso 800 not to mention iso 200 at xz-1.
This page is Canon powered ?
 
Guest (6:25 PM, December 04, 2011)
The Test is not fair at all.
For example: "At its widest zoom, the XZ-1's lens captures marginally more light (0,3 f-stops)"... noone is bothering about the wide end... as soon as u zoom in a bit, u got far smaller aperture at s95. You could write, that XZ-1 is only 0.5 f-stops slower at tele then Canon at the wide end. Sounds different, doesn't it?
And by the way: If snapsort cites dpreview.com, so please don't forget to mention, that S95 reached a score of 72% there (really good result, Silver Award) but the XZ-1 was even better with 74% (Gold Award)
The only real advantage of the canon is its smaller size.
 
Dexterus (7:16 PM, August 29, 2011)
yeah.. "should" Especially with it's dark F4.9 at longer end.
 
Charlie (2:10 PM, August 17, 2011)
I have had both and I sold the S95 because I like the colors that come out of the XZ-1 better. There's not much difference when it comes to handling the two - it's just a matter of getting used to your tool. I hate Photoshop so therefor the XZ-1 was the perfect choice for me. I just open the RAW file in Olympus Viewer 2 and save them as jpg's. Sometimes - if I've made a blunder - I change the white balance before I convert the file - thats all :) With the S95 there was always something I did not like and had to adjust :( You should try them both to see for yourself....
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (1:42 PM, May 06, 2011)
Snapsort recommends the Canon S95 because it has better image quality, it should take better photos in low light situations, it's smaller, lighter and cheaper.
Good luck in your search.
 
Nishith (1:22 PM, May 06, 2011)
i am considering Cannon S95 or Olympus xz-1. Can anyone advise which is better?
 
Eliedata (0:12 PM, February 05, 2011)
The XZ-1 sensor is 1/1.63" (not 1/1.7").