Canon PowerShot S120 Review

October 8, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Canon PowerShot S120 is a pocket-sized camera that offers a lot of professional features. Aimed at the serious photographer looking for a capable compact, the Canon S120 features a high-sensitivity 12.1 megapixel 1/1.7-type CMOS sensor, 5x zoom lens with a focal range of 24-120mm and fast maximum aperture of f/1,8, new DIGIC 6 processor, fast auto-focusing of 0.1 seconds, and a 3-inch touchscreen LCD display with an improved resolution of 922K dots. The S120 also offers a maximum ISO of 12,800 at full resolution, built-in wi-fi connectivity, GPS functionality via pairing with a smartphone, 1080p movie recording at 60fps, full range of manual shooting modes, RAW format support and faster 12.1fps burst shooting. Also present are the innovative lens Control Ring, which enables users to adjust the settings of various functions by twisting the selector at the base of the lens barrel to the left or right, a built-in Neutral Density Filter, a 4-stop optical Intelligent Image Stabilizer with five-axis Enhanced Dynamic IS mode during movie recording, two new Creative Filters and improved HDR mode capabilities. Available in black or silver, the Canon Powershot S120 officially retails for £449.99 / €529.99 / $449.99.

Ease of Use

The Canon PowerShot S120 is outwardly almost identicalto the S110 model that it succeeds, so a lot of the comments that we made in that review apply equally to the S120. It's an understated yet handsome camera that looks a lot simpler than its extensive feature list might suggest. It feels solid at a body-only weight of 217g and measures 100.2 x 59.0 x 29.0 mm, so ever so slightly bigger and heavier than its S110 predecessor, slipping readily into a trouser pocket or handbag. The S120 is completely covered in a tactile coating which helps to improve handling, although there's no useful hand-grip on the front, just a rubberised thumb-rest on the rear.

The Canon PowerShot S120 maintains the same 12 megapixel count as its predecssor and the same CMOS sensor type. It does have a slightly faster 5x zoom lens then the S110, offering f/1.8 at the 24mm wide-angle setting and f/5.7 at 120mm telephoto, which translates into an additional third stop of light. The new f/1.8 maximum aperture allows for faster shutter speeds and shallower depth of field, although note that it's only f/1.8 at full wide-angle. The optically stabilized 5x zoom provides a four stop advantage and works for both still images and movies, and there's no less than six different modes of stabilisation that are automatically detected and applied by the camera, including a special five-axis Enhanced Dynamic IS mode for video.

There's a new 3-inch, 922-dot resolution LCD touchscreen on the back, an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port for easy hookup to a HDTV set, plus the new Digic 6 processor and exposure adjusting iContrast function which is now a standard feature across the Canon family. More surprisingly for a compact with a width not a great deal broader than your credit card, both RAW and JPEG capture are also offered.

Perhaps more predictably, point-and-shoot user friendliness on the Canon PowerShot S120 comes in the form of the fully automatic face detection, motion detection and Smart Auto scene detection technologies regularly found on Canon's snapshot compacts. There's also full 1080p movies at 1920x10800 pixels resolution available at 60/30fps complete with stereo sound, with full use of the optical zoom and thankfully continuous auto-focusing too, plus super slow-motion options (640x480 pixels at 120fps or 320x 240 pixels at 240fps) and a new Star Time-Lapse Movie mode for recording star trails.

Pared down to the essentials, which includes a quick start guide in the box and full manual on provided CD only, there's nothing initially about the Canon PowerShot S120 that feels extraneous or gimmicky. The most prominent feature of the S120's clean and rather serious looking faceplate is firstly the lens itself, and secondly the lens control ring that encircles it and turns with a series of satisfyingly audible clicks. Functions are attributed to a twist of the ring in conjunction with a press of the Ring Function button on camera's rear, with 8 available presets and a Custom option too.

In this way, to take one example, users can elect to adjust focus manually, a distance slider appearing on the right hand side of the LCD screen and the central portion of the image enlarged as a further aid to accuracy. Other options for the ring function include changing the aperture, selecting the ISO speed, tweaking of exposure (+/- 2EV), manual adjustment of white balance, as a stepped zoom providing the equivalent of 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm and 120mm steps, changing the i-Contrast, or choosing one of the aspect ratios.

Canon PowerShot S120 Canon PowerShot S120
Front Rear

Apart from the enticingly tactile draw of the lens ring, the front plate of the Canon PowerShot S120 only houses an AF assist/self timer lamp window top left of the lens. The clever flash is housed within the top plate so that when it's raised it is at least a centimeter away from the lens in a cursory attempt to avoid the blight of red eye. There's also a very welcome dedicated button on the side of the camera for activating the pop up flash, rather than being done automatically via selection of the settings offered via the rear command pad/scroll wheel, as on the S110.

Moving to the top plate, we find at its foremost edge a shutter release button, encircled by a zoom rocker switch with front lip that has been squared off to fall into line with the width of the body and avoid distracting from the clean lines. There's just enough of it to achieve purchase with a fingertip, the lens traveling steadily and surely from maximum wide-angle setting to extreme telephoto in just under three seconds sound-tracked by a low operational whirr.

Also set into the Canon PowerShot S120's top plate is a tiny round on/off button, which proved annoyingly small in use. Press this with a fingernail and the S120 powers up for action in just under a second, rear LCD bursting into life soundtracked by a musical 'sting' and the lens barrel extending from its stacked hiding place within the camera's innards to its maximum wide angle setting.

Completing the top of the S120 is the Wi-Fi logo and tiny holes for the stereo sound and microphone. The wi-fi capabilities allow you to share images during playback via the Wireless button on the rear navigation pad. Simply enter a nickname for the camera and five more icons then appear, connecting the S120 to another camera, a smartphone, a computer, a printer and the internet respectively. Setup is relatively straight-forward for each scenario, although you'll need a basic understanding of the protocols involved. Note that you need to install the dedicated and free Canon CameraWindow app to connect the S120 to the world's most popular smartphone, or the Apple iPad, iPad 2 and fourth-generation iPod Touch), or an Android device.

The S120's wi-fi functionality is also employed to tag your images with GPS data recorded by your smartphone ( latitude, longitude, altitude and shooting time) via the Canon CameraWindow app, which effectively replaces a more coventional built-in GPS system. We actually prefer having GPS built-in to the camera rather than having to sync it with an additional device, so in this regard the S1200 doesn't compare well with rivals that offer this feature, although it does side-step the issue of negatively affecting battery life.

A half press of the shutter button and the Canon PowerShot S120 chooses a point of focus within a quarter of a second, AF point or points flashing in green accompanied by an affirmative 'beep'. Go on to take the shot and there's little if any discernible shutter delay, while full resolution JPEGS are written to inserted (optional) SD or SDHC card (there's no internal memory provided to fall back on) in just over a second, with RAW files - selectable in Program or one of the other four creative shooting modes - taking a mere fraction longer.

With the integral flash housed and hidden to the far left of the top plate (if gazing down on the camera), to the far right is a slightly raised shooting mode dial that's operated by the thumb. Rigid to the touch, it clicks into place at each of its ten mode settings with a definite clicking action. These comprise the creative grouping of Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual and a single Custom mode, plus separate Smart Auto, Scene, Creative Filters and Movie modes.

Canon PowerShot S120 Canon PowerShot S120
Front

Side

The beefed-up continuous shooting mode offers a very impressive shooting rate of 12.1fps for the first 5 frames and then 9.4fps for approx. 635 JPEGs. Note that acompatible SDHC/SDXC UHS Speed Class 1 memory card is required to achieve these speeds. The Creative Filters shooting mode contains 10 different options, including High Dynamic Range, Miniature and Toy Camera. In the High Dynamic Range mode the S120 combines three separate images to greatly expand the dynamic range and can be safely used hand-held. The new Star Mode captures starry nightscapes, star trails and creates star time-lapse movies, while Background Defocus mode achieves DSLR-style background blur.

The Canon PowerShot S120's Smart Auto functionality goes further than some rivals in comparing common scenes or subjects with not just five or six options, but 58 variables to deliver (21 in movies) - in theory - the most appropriate and optimal results. Click the mode wheel around to each subsequent setting and the name and icons of said mode appears on the camera's LCD with, in some cases, a brief text description of the best application for the particular mode. This suggests that the S120 can be used as readily by beginners as more seasoned digital camera users, the variety of shooting options to be found on the mode dial allowing first timers to move beyond their initial comfort zone as familiarity with the camera's workings grows over time. More experienced users can turn this Hints & Tips feature off.

With the back of the S120 largely swallowed up by the high-resolution 922K-dot, 3 inch LCD screen, the visibility of which proves more than adequate both indoors and out, a familiar array of controls is found shunted to the right hand side. Familiar, in that they ape those found on the G-series cameras to a fair extent, including the love it or loathe it scroll wheel surrounding the thumb operated four-way control pad.

The Canon PowerShot S120 has a touch focus/shoot option which is on by default. To switch it off, change the Touch Shutter option in the main menu. This becomes a touch focus screen and will lock onto the subject where you touched. Calibration of the screen isn't all too impressive and it really needs a touch pen which unfortunately doesn't come in the box. You have to use your finger, so the touch focus tends to miss smaller subjects.

Also available via the touchscreen are a means of toggling between the ISO speed and the exposure (here -/+ 2EV) via a soft dial on the right-hand side, best activated with your right thumb, with the camera's control ring then used to select the value that you want. It's a bit awkward to use as you have to keep your thumb on the soft dial whilst spinning the control ring, otherwise it switches back to the control ring's default setting.

In playback the touchscreen can be used to change the magnification of an image by spreading and pinching two fingers, and switch between images by swiping from side to side, just like on a smartphone. You can also adjust the LCD's touch sensitivity to your liking.

Located to the right of the screen is the rubberised thumb-rest, below which we find a pairing of buttons for changing the lens control ring function and a dedicated one-touch movie record button respectively. The Ring Control button can be more usefully assigned a different function, with no less than 20 different options to choose from. In conjunction with the customisable lens control ring, this makes it easy to tailor the S120 to your own specific way of shooting.

Canon PowerShot S120 Canon PowerShot S120
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

Beneath this is the control pad and scroll wheel combination. At points north, east, south and west we get options, in capture modes, for adjusting exposure compensation, flash settings, display options, and macro or manual focus, if not already using the front lens ring for the latter. The Tracking AF mode focuses on the subject in the centre of the frame and tracks them if they move, useful for keeping up with fast-moving or unpredictable subjects like children. If the camera is in playback mode, points north and south allow a series of captured images to be leapfrogged if hunting down a particular shot saved to card in a hurry, or alternatively deleting a duff capture.

In the centre of the control pad is the Function/Set button. Press this, and as we're used to from recent Canon compacts a toolbar appears down the left hand side of the screen, options highlighted or de-selected dependant on whether the user is in auto capture or one of the more fully featured creative capture modes. In Program mode, for example, selecting the ISO icon provides a slide rule across the bottom of the screen with ISO speeds set out incrementall and the user simply utilizes the scroll wheel or tabs between them to select the desired setting.

The other selectable options on the tool bar comprise white balance (which can detect scenes with two different light sources and apply area-specific correction in the Smart Auto shooting mode), Canon's familiar 'My Colours' effects modes, an exposure or focus bracketing option - whereby three successive shots are taken - single or continuous shooting modes, self-timer options, switch between evaluative, centre weighted average or spot metering, turn the new neutral density filter on or off to allow for larger apertures in bright conditions, select one of the five aspect ratios, choose the various image capture formats including RAW and/or JPEG, and set the movie size. Finally, the DR Correction option allows you to manually select the DR strength - off, auto, 200% or 400% - and if you want to turn Shadow Correction on.

Returning to the camera back, and below the control pad we find a final pairing of buttons for the self-explanatory Playback and Menu. A press of Menu brings up a trio of folders, for Camera, Setup and My Menu settings, in that order. It's via the first folder that the user can enable such settings as noise reduction, wind filter and auto red eye reduction/removal, as well as blink detection and adjusting the image stabilization mode to come into effect only when taking a shot, when panning the camera, or have it on continuously.

While the left hand flank of the S120, viewed from the rear, just has the pop-up flash release button, the right hand side features a hard plastic covered port for both an HDMI cable (not supplied in the box) plus the more regular combined AV out/USB out port (for which two separate cables are provided).

The base of the camera features a metal screw thread for a tripod attachment just left of centre and a sliding door with catch protecting slots for the provided lithium ion rechargeable battery and optional SD/SDHC card, both of which slot relatively easily into place. A battery life lasting 230 shots without flash isn't particular generous however, and any less would be downright alarming at this price point. As it was, after one days' extensive use our battery was back in the provided charger, so you'll want to take this or a spare battery away with you on any extended trip or visit.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 12 megapixel Superfine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Canon PowerShot S120 produces images of excellent quality. It recorded noise-free images at ISO 80-800, with some noise and slight colour desaturation at ISO 1600. ISO 3200 shows more obvious noise and loss of colour but still remains perfectly usable, and even ISO 6400 doesn't suffer too badly, although the fastest speed of ISO 12800 is worth avoiding. The RAW files were also very clean from ISO 80-800, although with a slight drop in sharpness and more noise at ISO 1600-12800 than the corresponding JPEGs.

The Canon PowerShot S120 handled chromatic aberrations well, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations and generally at the edges of the frame. The lens exhibits some degree of barrel distortion at the 24mm wide-angle setting, along with softening of detail towards the corners. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure, although there's noticeable vignetting at 24mm. The night photograph was excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds being long enough for most after-dark shots.

The image stabilisation system works very well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. Macro performance is good, allowing you to focus as close as 3cms away from the subject. The images were a little soft straight out of the Canon PowerShot S120 at the default sharpening setting and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Canon PowerShot S120. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

JPEG RAW

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

ISO 80 (100% Crop)

iso80.jpg iso80raw.jpg
   

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting. You can change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

Focal Range

The Canon Powershot S120's 5x zoom lens provides a focal length of 24-120mm in 35mm terms, as demonstrated below.

24mm

120mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

Chromatic Aberrations

The Canon PowerShot S120 handled chromatic aberrations very well during the review, with limited purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

chromatic1.jpg chromatic2.jpg

Macro

The Canon PowerShot S120 allows you to focus on a subject that is 3cms away from the camera. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the Canon Powershot S120 are Auto, On, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Slow Synchro and Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (24mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (24mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (120mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (120mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On or the Red-eye-Reduction settings caused any red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Canon Powershot S120's maximum shutter speed is 15 seconds, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds at ISO 80. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Anti Shake

The Canon PowerShot S120 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, we took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. Here are some 100% crops of the images to show the results.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Anti Shake Off (100% Crop)

Anti Shake On (100% Crop)

1/30th sec / 24mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
1/10th sec / 120mm antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

Dynamic Range Correction

The Canon PowerShot S120 allows you to manually set the amount of dynamic range correction, with four options available - Off, Auto, 200% and 400%.

Off

Auto

dynamic_range_01.jpg dynamic_range_02.jpg
   

200%

400%

dynamic_range_03.jpg dynamic_range_04.jpg

Shadow Correction

The Canon PowerShot S120 allows you to manually set the amount of shadow correction, with two options available - Off and Auto.

Off

Auto

shadow_correction_01.jpg shadow_correction_02.jpg

My Colors

The My Colors function menu option contains the now familiar range of colour options for tweaking the look of your images before shooting.

Off

Vivid

my_colors_01.jpg my_colors_02.jpg
   

Neutral

Sepia

my_colors_03.jpg my_colors_04.jpg
   

B/W

Positive Film

my_colors_05.jpg my_colors_06.jpg
   

Lighter Skin Tone

Darker Skin Tone

my_colors_07.jpg my_colors_08.jpg
   

Vivid Blue

Vivid Green

my_colors_09.jpg my_colors_10.jpg
   

Vivid Red

 
my_colors_11.jpg  

Creative Filters

The new Creative Filters shooting mode contains 10 different options, including High Dynamic Range, Miniature and Toy Camera. In the High Dynamic Range mode the Canon PowerShot S120 combines three separate images to greatly expand the dynamic range.

Off

High Dynamic Range

effects_01.jpg effects_02.jpg
   

Nostalgic

Fish-eye Effect

effects_03.jpg effects_04.jpg
   

Miniature Effect

Toy Camera Effect

effects_05.jpg effects_06.jpg
   

Background Defocus

Soft Focus

effects_07.jpg effects_08.jpg
   

Monochrome

Super Vivid

effects_09.jpg effects_10.jpg
   

Poster Effect

 
effects_11.jpg  

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon PowerShot S120 camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel Superfine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Canon PowerShot S120 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Canon RAW (CR2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 84.7Mb in size.

Product Images

Canon PowerShot S120

Front of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Front of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Turned On

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Side of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Isometric View

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Side of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Side of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Side of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Image Displayed

 

Canon PowerShot S120

Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Turned On

 
Canon PowerShot S120

Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Main Menu

 
Canon PowerShot S120
Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Function Menu
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Rear of the Canon PowerShot S120 / Ring Function Menu
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Top of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Bottom of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Side of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Side of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Front of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Front of the Canon PowerShot S120
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Memory Card Slot
 
Canon PowerShot S120
Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The Canon PowerShot S120 is a rather modest update of last year's S110 camera, principally making things faster and adding a few new features and shooting modes into the now familiar mix. We like the faster auto-focus and burst shooting speeds, while the slightly faster maximum aperture of f/1.8 helps in low-light situations, but overall there's not too much to tempt S110 owners to upgrade to this new model. This new model still lacks a useful hand-grip, the battery life continues to be pretty shocking, GPS is only available via pairing with a smartphone, and the price remains sky-high.

Image quality also remains excellent, thankfully, with a perfectly usable ISO range of 80-1600 and fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, albeit only at the 24mm wide-angle lens setting, making the S120 very well-suited to low-light, hand-held photography. It's also possible to capture the blurred backgrounds and sharp subject that most compacts struggle to achieve, while the 5x zoom offers a longer reach than some rivals, albeit with a somewhat inevitable increase in the maximum aperture to a rather slow f/5.7 at 120mm. Full 1080p video at 60fps with continuous auto-focusing, stereo sound and full use of the zoom is the icing on the imaging cake.

The price of the S120 is an eye-watering £449.00 / $449.99, up £20 in the UK, which puts it on a price-par with the class-leading Sony Cyber-shot RX100, itself bested by the RX100 Mark II, albeit at an even higher price-point. Despite the improvements, we still feel that the RX100 with its much larger sensor delivers even better results than the S120, making it our choice in the "pocketable compact camera for enthusiasts" sector of the market. The new Canon PowerShot S120 still remains one of the smallest premium compacts around, though, and is an excellent camera to boot, so it's still well worth considering alongside its main rivals.

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 3.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Canon PowerShot S120.

Canon PowerShot G15

The Canon PowerShot G15 is a serious camera aimed at the advanced amateur or pro looking for a carry-everywhere compact. Building on the success of previous G-series models, for 2012 the G15 principally adds a 12 megapixel CMOS sensor, faster 5x zoom lens, bigger and higher-resolution LCD screen, 10fps burst shooting and full 1080p HD video. £549 / €649 / $499.99 is an awful lot of money for a compact with a small image sensor - read our in-depth Canon PowerShot G15 review to find out if it's worth it.

Canon PowerShot S110

The Canon PowerShot S110 is a new compact camera that offers an extensive list of advanced features - ISO range of 80-12800, RAW support, full manual controls, built-in wi-fi, touchscreen interface and 1080p video - all in a slim and stylish body that you can easily fit in a trouser pocket. Read our in-depth Canon PowerShot S110 review now to find out if this is the best premium compact.

Fujifilm X20

The Fujifilm X20 is a brand new premium compact camera with a large 2/3-type 12 megapixel sensor and a fast 4x optical zoom lens. Boasting impeccable build-quality, intuitive handling and a long-list of photographer-friendly features, is the Fujifilm X20 the ultimate pocket camera for the avid photographer? Read our Fujifilm X20 review, complete with full-size sample JPEG and raw images, videos and more to find out...

Nikon Coolpix P330

The Nikon Coolpix P330 is a new compact camera aimed at prosumers. The Nikon P330 features a 12.2 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, full manual controls, 1080p HD video recording, a 5x wide-angle zoom lens with a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, a high-resolution LCD screen, built-in GPS and 10fps burst shooting. Read our in-depth Nikon Coolpix P330 review to find out if this is the perfect pocket camera for the keen enthusiast ...

Olympus XZ-2

The new Olympus XZ-2 is a serious compact that's aimed at the enthusiast and professional user looking for a small yet capable camera. A 12 megapixel 1/1.7 inch CMOS sensor, fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, high-res 3-inch tilting touch-screen LCD, and a full range of manual shooting modes should be enough to grab your attention. Read our expert Olympus XZ-2 review, complete with full-size JPEG, RAW and movie samples.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 is the latest premium compact camera hoping to find a place in a professional photographer's pocket. With the fastest lens of any compact to date, the LX7 also offers an improved 10 megapixel sensor, full 1080p HD movies and an even better control system than the previous LX5 model. Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 review with sample JPEG, RAW and video files now.

Pentax MX-1

The Pentax MX-1 joins the growing list of premium compact cameras aimed at advanced users. Offering a large 1/1.7" 12 megapixel sensor, fast f/1.8 4x zoom lens, tilting 3-inch LCD screen and an appealingly retro design, does the Pentax MX1 offer enough to compete in this increasingly competitive market? Read our detailed Pentax MX-1 review to find out...

Samsung EX2F

The Samsung EX2F is a new pocket camera for serious photographers, sporting a super-bright f/1.4, 3.3x zoom lens, sensible 12 megapixel sensor and a swivelling 3 inch AMOLED screen. 1080p video, RAW shooting, ISO 80-12800, 10fps burst shooting, image stabilisation and full manual controls complete the EX2F's star attractions. Read our Samsung EX2F review to find out if this is the advanced compact camera for you...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Last year's RX100 premium compact camera proved to be a runaway success for Sony - can the new Mark II version improve on the original? Read our expert Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II review to find out...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is an exciting new premium compact camera. A large "1.0-type" 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.6x 28-100mm lens with a fast maximum aperture of F1.8, full 1080p high-definition video with stereo sound, high-resolution 3-inch screen, manual shooting modes, 10fps continuous shooting, ISO range of 100-12800, Raw support and fast auto-focusing are all present and correct. Read our in-depth Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 review to find out if it's the best pocket camera ever...

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR

Type 1/1.7 type back-illuminated CMOS
Effective Pixels Approx. 12.1M
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

Type DIGIC 6 with iSAPS technology

LENS

Focal Length 5.2 – 26.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 24 – 120 mm)
Zoom Optical 5x
ZoomPlus 10x
Digital Approx. 4x (with Digital Tele-Converter Approx. 1.5x or 2.0x and Safety Zoom¹). Combined Approx. 20x
Maximum f/number f/1.8-f/5.7
Construction 7 elements in 6 groups (1 double-sided aspherical lens, 1 double-sided aspherical UA lens and 1 single-sided aspherical lens)
Image Stabilisation Yes (lens shift-type), approx. 3-stop¹. Intelligent IS with 5-axis Enhanced Dynamic IS

FOCUSING

Type TTL
AF System/ Points AiAF (9-point, Face Detection or Touch AF with Object and Face Select and Track), 1-point AF (any position is available or fixed centre)
AF Modes Single, Continuous, Servo AF/AE¹, Touch AF
AF Point Selection Size (Normal, Small)
AF Lock On/Off Selectable
AF Assist Beam Yes
Manual Focus Yes, plus MF Peaking
Focus Bracketing Yes
Closest Focusing Distance 3 cm (W) from front of lens in macro

EXPOSURE CONTROL

Metering modes Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (centre or linked to Face Detection AF or Touch AF frame)
AE Lock Yes
Exposure Compensation +/- 3 EV in 1/3 stop increments
Manual and automatic dynamic range correction
Automatic shadow correction
ND Filter (3 stop)
AEB 1/3 – 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments
ISO sensitivity* AUTO, 80, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200, 4000, 5000, 6400, 8000, 10000, 12800

SHUTTER

Speed 1 – 1/2500 sec. (factory default)
250 – 1/2500 sec. (total range – varies by shooting mode)

WHITE BALANCE

Type TTL
Settings Auto (including Face Detection WB), Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, Underwater, Custom 1, Custom 2
Multi-area WB correction available in Smart Auto
White Balance Compensation
White Balance Compensation in Underwater mode

COLOUR MATRIX

Type sRGB

LCD MONITOR

Monitor 7.5 cm (3.0”) PureColor II G Touch screen LCD (TFT). Approx. 922,000 dots. Capacitive type
Coverage Approx. 100%
Brightness Adjustable to one of five levels. Quick-bright LCD

FLASH

Modes Auto, Manual Flash On / Off, Slow Synchro
Slow Sync Speed Yes. Fastest speed 1/2000 sec.
Red-Eye Reduction Yes
Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV in 1/3 stop increments. Face Detection FE, Safety FE, Smart Flash Exposure
Flash Exposure Lock Yes
Manual Power Adjustment 3 levels with internal flash
Second Curtain Synchronisation Yes
Built-in Flash Range 50 cm – 5.0 m (W) / 50 cm – 2.3 m (T)
External Flash Canon High Power Flash HF-DC2

SHOOTING

Modes Smart Auto (58 scenes detected), Hybrid Auto, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Custom, SCN (Portrait, Smart Shutter (Smile, Wink Self-Timer, FaceSelf-Timer), Star (Star Nightscape, Star Trails, Star Time-Lapse Movie), Handheld Night Scene, Underwater, Snow, Fireworks), Creative Filters (High Dynamic Range, Nostalgic, Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Background Defocus, Soft Focus, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect), Movie
Modes in Movie Smart Auto (21 scenes detected), Standard, Program AE, Portrait, Nostalgic, Miniature Effect, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Underwater, Snow, Fireworks, Super Slow Motion Movie
Photo Effects My Colors (My Colors Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Color)
Drive modes Single, Auto Drive, Continuous, Continuous with AF, Self-Timer
Continuous Shooting Approx. 12.1 shots/sec for up to 5 frames then approx. 9.4 shots/sec for 635 frames¹
with AF: Approx. 5.5 shots/sec²³
with Live View: Approx. 5.6 shots/sec²³

RECORDING PIXELS / COMPRESSION

Image Size 4:3 - (RAW, L) 4000 x 3000, (M1) 2816 x 2112, (M2) 1600 x 1200, (S) 640 x 480
16:9 - (RAW, L) 4000 x 2248, (M1) 2816 x 1584, (M2) 1920 x 1080, (S) 640 x 360
3:2 - (RAW, L) 4000 x 2664, (M1) 2816 x 1880, (M2) 1600 x 1064, (S) 640 x 424
1:1 - (RAW, L) 2992 x 2992, (M1) 2112 x 2112, (M2) 1200 x 1200, (S) 480 x 480
4:5 - (RAW, L) 2400 x 3000, (M1) 1696 x 2112, (M2) 960 x 1200, (S) 384 x 480
Resize in playback (M2, S)
Compression RAW, Superfine, Fine
Movies (Full HD) 1920 x 1080, 60fps/30fps (HD) 1280 x 720, 30fps, (L) 640 x 480, 30fps
Star Time-Lapse Movie (Full HD) 15fps
Super Slow Motion Movie (L) 640 x 480, 120fps, (M) 320 x 240, 240fps
Miniature Effect (HD, L) 6fps, 3fps, 1.5fps
Hybrid Auto (HD)
Movie Length (Full HD & HD) Up to 4 GB or 29 min. 59 sec.¹
(L and M) Up to 4 GB or 1 hour²
(Super Slow Motion Movie) 30 sec.
(Star Time-Lapse Movie) 8/6/4 sec

FILE TYPES

Still Image Type JPEG compression (Exif 2.3 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system and DPOF ver. 1.1 compliant), RAW, RAW+JPEG
Movies MP4 [Video: MPEG4-AVC (H.264), Audio: MPEG2 AAC-LC (stereo)]

DIRECT PRINT

Canon Printers Canon SELPHY Compact Photo Printers and Canon Inkjet Printers supporting PictBridge
PictBridge Yes (via USB or Wireless LAN)

OTHER FEATURES

GPS GPS via mobile (linked to compatible smartphone)
Red-Eye Correction Yes, during shooting and playback
My Category Image tagging feature
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Histogram Yes, live histogram
Playback zoom Approx. 2x – 10x
Self Timer Approx. 2 or 10 sec., Custom
Menu Languages English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Greek, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Spanish, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Simplified Chinese, Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Korean, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Farsi, Hindi, Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese

INTERFACE

Computer Hi-Speed USB (MTP, PTP) dedicated connector (Mini-B compatible)
Other HDMI Mini Connector (HDMI-CEC compatible) A/V output (PAL/NTSC)
Computer/Other Wireless LAN (IEEE802.11 b/g/n), (2.4 GHz only)¹

MEMORY CARD

Type SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS Speed Class 1 compatible)

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

PC & Macintosh Windows 8/7 SP1/ Vista SP2/ XP SP3
Mac OS X v10.6 – 10.8
For Wireless LAN connection to a PC:
Windows 8/7 SP1
Mac OS X v10.6.8/10.7/10.8.2 or later

SOFTWARE

Browsing & Printing ImageBrowser EX
Other Map Utility
Image Manipulation Digital Photo Professional for RAW development

POWER SOURCE

Batteries Rechargeable Li-ion Battery NB-6LH (NB-6LH battery and charger supplied)
Battery life Approx. 230 shots
Eco mode approx. 300 shots
Approx. 240 min. playback
A/C Power Supply Optional, AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC40

ACCESSORIES

Cases / Straps Soft Case DCC-1920
Travel Case DCC-2500
Waterproof / Weatherproof Case Waterproof Case (40m) WP-DC51, Waterproof Case Weight WW-DC1
Flash Canon High Power Flash HF-DC2
Power Supply & Battery Chargers AC Adapter Kit ACK-DC40, Battery Charger CB-2LYE
Other Canon HDMI Cable HTC-100, interface cable IFC-400PCU

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 10 – 90% humidity
Dimensions (WxHxD) 100.2 x 59.0 x 29.0 mm
Weight Approx. 217 g (including battery/batteries and memory card)

 

Zoom ¹ Depending on the image size selected.
Image Stabilisation ¹ Values at maximum optical focal length. Cameras whose focal length exceeds 350mm (35mm equivalent) are measured at 350mm.
AF Modes ¹ Some settings limit availability.
Continuous Shooting ¹ Sustained continuous shooting function requires compatible SDHC/SDXC UHS Speed Class 1 memory card, total number of frames captured varies depending on shooting subject.
² Under conditions where the flash does not fire.
³ Depending on memory card speed / capacity / compression setting.
Movie Length ¹ The following Speed Class memory cards are required for maximum record time: (HD) 1280 x 720 Speed Class 4 or above. (Full HD) 1920 x 1080 Speed Class 6 or above. (iFrame) 1280 x 720 Speed Class 6 or above.
² Depending on memory card speed / capacity / compression setting.
Computer/Other ¹ Wi-Fi use may be restricted in certain countries or regions. Wi-Fi support varies by device and region. For more information visit www.canon-europe.com/wirelesscompacts

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