S90 sample pics and review

[Garion]

Thanks Garion for the great review!
And the Kata bag. May I know where you purchase the bag?

I like you stated that "it has to be stressed that this is NOT a DSLR replacement - its never meant to be one" Totally agree.

Thanks!

Re. the Kata pouch - I got mine from Parisilk, however it was the last one left there...not sure when new stocks coming in. You can try checking shops like TK Foto and Orient Photo as I do believe they sell Kata bags and pouches too.

Congrats on getting it finally! I am serious thinking of getting it too as a backup cam for my 40D. How much you pay for it and where?

Happy shooting!

Thanks! I bought mine at Parisilk at about $665 incl. GST. - came with the free Canon pouch and Pendrive brand 8GB SD card, however I swapped mine for a Sandisk one after top up a bit more.

Its just a fun camera to use...so much lighter and smaller than a DSLR. As long as your expectations are reasonable, you will be happy with it. Problem is many ppl who want to buy this cam compare it directly to DSLR's output - as mentioned it should never be compared to DSLR as they are both on entirely different levels. Just get one, use it and be happy.

thanks for the reviews! much appreciated.

Nice review

Thanks, no prob. There aren't many user reviews out for this cam so thought I'd add in mine.

My view:
The camera will benefit the most if you're comfortable with shutter speed, aperture, iso, etc.
RAW files can be processed in Lightroom 3 (Beta) using the Beta profile.

LR 3.0 Beta still does not have the ability to correct for the barrel distortion of S90 at wide angle, which from samples posted by others seems quite significant. Especially for building shots. Another way perhaps open in Adobe PS using ACR and use PS to correct it. (I have not tried this yet - not sure if current ACR version can open S90 RAW files)

What I don't like:

Cannot use your hand to force the pop-up "built-in flash" to close. Must select "flash off" in the menu to electronically bring the "built-in flash" down.

The flash is fully electronically controlled, and can be quite startling if your finger is positioned directly over it when u activate it. 1st time I try the display set at Vivocity it happened to me, I was so surprised I nearly dropped the cam lol. Prefer the manual toggle switch style of Panasonic LX3's pop-up flash (which can be manually depressed after activation)

 

[Simon_84]

What I don't like:
Cannot use your hand to force the pop-up "built-in flash" to close. Must select "flash off" in the menu to electronically bring the "built-in flash" down.

thanks for the info, i was wondering how come the flash cannot bring up manually when i can't find a button to raise the flash unit like lx3.

 

[cichlid]

Hi all

How is the macro performance of the S90?

Can fit the Raynox DCR 250 on it?

Thanks!

 

[Garion]

Hi all

How is the macro performance of the S90?

Can fit the Raynox DCR 250 on it?

Thanks!

Macro mode on S90 is average really....the closest MFD from lens to subject is around 4-5cm only.

Unfortunately, the S90 has no adapter mount for attaching filters and WA converters. Its bigger brother the G11 has that, so it may be a better option. Or you can also consider the Panasonic LX3, which also allows for attachments.

 

[raffaelo]

has anyone tried doing a 'write' speed test using different memory cards? does a higher speed memory card improve the time it takes to save an image? i seemed to notice that there's a bit of lag in file saving when i tried it out at vivocity.

 

[anglim]

There is a website testing ISO from 100 to 12800 of FujiFilm F200EXR.
http://www.photoxels.com/fujifilm-f200exr-image-quality.html
Imho, S90 edges out.

Well this web above only shows how bad F200EXR when stretched to maximum ISO without bringing in other cameras for comparison. Maybe you can consider making more objective identical pictures comparison of F200EXR with S90 at http://www.dkamera.de/testbericht/fujifilm-finepix-f200exr/bildqualitaet.html and remember to select the correct 2 cameras and ISO800.

F200EXR 1/80, F9.0 JPEG (left) with 28mm @ ISO800 vs S90 1/320, F5.6 RAW (right) with 28mm @ ISO800 :