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Canon S95 Review

  • Overview
  • Alternatives
  • Canon S95

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    Main Features

    • 10MP - 1/1.7-inch CCD Sensor
    • ISO 80 - 3200
    • 28-105 mm F2.0-4.9 Zoom Lens
    • Optical Image Stabilization
    • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
    • 1.0fps continuous shooting
    • 195g. 100 x 58 x 30 mm
    • Replaced Canon S90
    • Replaced by Canon S100
    CHECK PRICE
    CHECK PRICE

    Canon S95 Overview

    Launched in November 2010 , Canon PowerShot S95 is a 10.0MP Small Sensor Compact camera with a 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized CCD sensor, built-in Image Stabilization and 3.8x zoom 28-105 mm F2.0-4.9 lens. Canon replaced the older Canon S90 with this model and later S95 was replaced with Canon S100. Follow the links to compare these cameras in detail:
    Compare Canon PowerShot S95 vs Canon S90
    Compare Canon PowerShot S95 vs Canon S100

    Canon S95 Review - Click for Table of Contents

    1. Overview
    2. Pros and Cons
    3. Sensor and Photography Features
    4. Physical Specs
    5. LCD and Viewfinder
    6. Connectivity, Storage and Battery
    7. Video
    8. Other Features
    9. Lens
    10. Photography Type Scores
    11. Alternatives
    12. Popular Comparisons
    13. Frequently Asked Questions
    14. Detailed Specifications

    Canon S95 is a member of Canon's Small Sensor Compact class cameras. Below you can see the latest models in this class and how their main specs have changed with each new model.

    Canon Small Sensor Compact Series History
    Model Release Date Sensor Max FPS Dimensions Weight
    Canon S200
    Compare
    2014 10.0MP - 1/1.7' 2.0 fps 100 x 59 x 26mm 181g
    Canon N100
    Compare
    2014 12.0MP - 1/1.7-inch fps 105 x 68 x 36mm 289g
    Canon S120
    Compare
    2013 12.0MP - 1/1.7-inch 12.0 fps 100 x 59 x 29mm 217g
    Canon G16
    Compare
    2013 12.0MP - 1/1.7-inch 12.0 fps 109 x 76 x 40mm 356g
    Canon N Facebook ready
    Compare
    2013 12.0MP - 1/2.3-inch 2.0 fps 79 x 60 x 29mm 195g

    Check the link below to compare specs of the latest cameras in this series side by side:
    Canon S200 vs N100 vs S120 vs G16 vs N Facebook ready


    **This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    Canon S95 PROs and CONs Review

    Now let's get in to more details of our Canon S95 review by analysing its specs and features and listing out its pros and cons compared to average competitor cameras in its class.

    PROs
    Image Stabilization
    RAW Shooting
    Face Detection Focusing
    461k dots LCD Resolution
    195g Light Body
    Manual Focusing
    Manual Exposure
    Fast 2.00 Lens at Wide
    AE Bracketing
    Report a correction

    Buy Canon S95 from AMAZON or B&H PHOTO


    CONs
    No Wireless Connection
    No Articulating Screen
    No External Flash Shoe
    No Full HD Video
    No Touch Screen
    No Built-in Viewfinder
    Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
    Max Sensitivity only ISO 3.200
    Only 9 Focus Points
    1/1600s Low Max Shutter Speed
    Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
    No Environmental Sealing
    Optical Zoom only 3.8X
    Slow Lens at Tele: f4.90
    Poor Low Light image quality

    Report a correction


    Canon S95 Physical Specs
    Canon S95 weighs 195 g (0.43 lb / 6.88 oz) and has external dimensions of 100 x 58 x 30 mm (3.94 x 2.28 x 1.18″). Considering that the average weight of Compact type cameras is 188g, its weight is about average in its class. With a thickness of 30mm, it also has an average thickness.
    Weight Comparison

    Compact Cameras

    Canon S95
    Min
    Average
    Max
    Thickness Comparison

    Compact Cameras

    Canon S95
    Min
    Average
    Max


    In order to give you a better idea about the real life size of Canon S95, we have added an image of how it looks next to a credit card and an AA type battery.


    Canon S95 Body Size Compared to a Credit card and a Battery
    Physical size of the Canon S95 Body Compared to a Credit Card and an AA Battery


    Now let's compare Canon S95 size with the camera that it replaced: Canon S90. Canon S95 has the same height and width with Canon S90. On the other hand, with a thickness of 30mm, it is 1mm thinner.


    Canon S95 vs Canon S90 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
    Comparison image of Canon S95 and Canon S90 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

    Below you can find the comparison of the weight and thickness of Canon S95 with its main competitors:

    Canon S95 Size Compared to Main Competitors
    Model Weight vs S95 Thickness vs S95
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S100
    Compare
    198g 3g heavier 28mm 2mm thinner
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S90
    Compare
    195g equal weight 31mm 1mm thicker
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S110
    Compare
    198g 3g heavier 27mm 3mm thinner
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S120
    Compare
    217g 22g heavier 29mm 1mm thinner
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon G12
    Compare
    401g 206g heavier 48mm 18mm thicker
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon G9 X II
    Compare
    206g 11g heavier 31mm 1mm thicker
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Panasonic LX5
    Compare
    271g 76g heavier 43mm 13mm thicker
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Sony RX100
    Compare
    240g 45g heavier 36mm 6mm thicker

    Weather Sealing

    Canon S95 doesn't have any environmental sealings on its body so you got to be extra careful to protect it against water and dust. If you shoot under these conditions very often, consider checking Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing page.

    Canon S95 Lens

    Canon S95 features a 28-105 mm F2.0-4.9 3.8× zoom lens. Lens has a good wide angle capability starting at 28mm, and 105mm on the tele end means that the medium telephoto angle is also well covered, only lacking the reach for wildlife and sports.

    Wide Coverage

    Compact Cameras

    S95
    Widest - Olympus TG-850 iHS
    Average
    Telezoom

    Compact Cameras

    S95
    Longest - Canon SX520 HS
    Average

    Providing a max aperture of f2.00 at 28mm, this lens is remarkably fast on wide end, but only moderately fast at the tele end with max aperture of f4.90.

    Max Aperture at Wide

    Compact Cameras

    S95
    Fastest - Leica D-Lux 6
    Average
    Max Aperture at Tele

    Compact Cameras

    S95
    Fastest - Ricoh GR Digital IV
    Average

    S95 is equipped with Optical image stabilization system which is very handy especially at lower shutter speeds. Canon S95's lens also has a Manual Focus Mode.

    Canon S95 Sensor and Photography Features

    Canon S95 has a 10.0MP 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Digic 4 processor. You can shoot at maximum resolution of 3648 x 2736 pixels with aspect ratios of 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. S95 has a native ISO range of 80 - 3200 and it can save files in RAW format which gives you a wider room for post processing.

    Canon S95 is not the highest resolution Small Sensor camera. GoPro Hero9 Black with its 23.0MP sensor is leading in this class. Check the comparison of Canon S95 vs GoPro Hero9 Black or take a look at Highest resolution Compact cameras list.

    Canon S95 DxOMark Sensor Scores

    DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. Canon S95 sensor has been tested by DxO Mark and got an overall score of 47 for its image quality. You can find the details of their analysis of Canon S95 here.

    Let's look at how the size of the Canon S95's 1/1.7-inch sensor compares with other standard sensor sizes.

    Canon S95 Sensor Size Comparison
    Comparison image of Canon S95 Sensor Size with other standard sensors



    Canon S95 LCD

    Canon S95 has a Fixed Type 3.00-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 461k dots. Both the screen size and the screen resolution is up to the standards of this class.



    Unfortunately Canon PowerShot S95 doesn't have a Selfie friendly screen. If this feature is important for your shooting style, check here the list of Best Compact Cameras with Selfie Friendly LCD screen.


    S95 doesn't have a viewfinder and no option for external viewfinder. Lack of a viewfinder can be problematic especially under strong light where visibility of LCD screens goes down dramatically. If you need a Compact camera with a built-in viewfinder in a similar price range, consider Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III (Compare) or Canon PowerShot G5 X (Compare).
    Alternatively, check here the list of all Compact cameras with viewfinder..

    Canon S95 Connectivity, Storage and Battery

    You can connect S95 to compatible devices via its HDMI port or USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) port.

    Canon S95 Features Compared to Main Competitors
    Model Max Video Battery Life Wi-fi Bluetooth NFC
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S100
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 200shots No No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S90
    Compare
    640 x 480 shots No No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S110
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 200shots Yes No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon S120
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 230shots Yes No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon G12
    Compare
    1280 x 720 370shots No No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Canon G9 X II
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 235shots Yes Yes Yes
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Panasonic LX5
    Compare
    1280 x 720 shots No No No
    Canon PowerShot S95 Camera Sony RX100
    Compare
    1920 x 1080 330shots No No Yes

    Canon S95 Video Features

    With Canon S95, you can record your videos at a highest resolution of 1280 x 720 at 24 fps and save in and H.264 formats. 1280 x 720 is a low video resolution by todays standards. If video quality is important for you, we recommend you to look at cameras with Full HD, even better 4K / Ultra-HD resolution .

    S95 has a built-in Stereo microphone and a None speaker. On the other hand, Canon S95 doesn't have any connections for external microphones and headphones. If you need a Compact camera with external microphone connectivity, consider Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III or Sony ZV-1 in a similar price range.

    Also read:

    • Best Compact Cameras with Microphone Port
    • Best Compact Cameras with Headphone Port

    Canon S95 Other Features

    Max Shutter speed

    Canon S95 can shoot continuously at max speed of 1 fps and has max shutter speed of 1/1600 sec.

    Flash

    Unfortunately S95 doesn't have an external flash shoe so you are limited with the built-in flash.

    Focusing

    Canon S95 features a Contrast Detection autofocusing system. The AF system has 9 points to choose from.

    Canon S95 also features Face detection AF where it intelligently detects the faces in the frame and locks the focus automatically.

    What type of Photography is Canon S95 Good for?
    In this section, we review and score Canon S95 in 5 different photography areas.

    Canon S95 for Portrait Photography

    Canon S95 has a score of 43 for Portrait Photography which makes it an AVERAGE candidate for this type of photography. If Portrait is important for you, we recommend you to check our Top Compact Cameras for Portrait Photography list.
    Image Stabilization
    RAW shooting capability
    Manual Focus Mode
    Manual Exposure Mode
    Small 1/1.7 sensor
    Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
    No External Flash Shoe
    No Built-in Viewfinder
    Not so good Ergonomics&Handling

    Read the details of how we scored Canon S95 for Portrait Photography

    Canon S95 for Street Photography

    Canon S95 has a score of 77 for Street Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. If you are looking for a camera that is better suited to Street Photography, we recommend you to check our Top 10 Compact Cameras for Street Photography list.
    Manual Focus Mode
    Live-view
    Face-Detection Focusing
    Image Stabilization
    Fast Lens at Wide: f2.00
    28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
    RAW shooting capability
    Small Body
    No Built-in Viewfinder
    Small 1/1.7 sensor

    Read the details of how we scored Canon S95 for Street Photography

    Canon S95 for Sports Photography

    Canon S95 has a score of 24 for Sports Photography which makes it a POOR candidate for this type of photography. If Sports We strongly recommend you to check our Top Compact Cameras for Sports Photography list and consider these alternatives over theS95.
    Manual Exposure Mode
    Manual Focus Mode
    Image Stabilization
    RAW shooting capability
    Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
    Environmental Sealings
    Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1600s
    9 Focus Points
    Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
    No Built-in Viewfinder
    No External Flash Shoe
    105 mm Tele Lens

    Read the details of how we scored Canon S95 for Sports Photography

    Canon S95 for Daily Photography

    Canon S95 has a score of 68 for Daily Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. If you are looking for a camera that is better suited to Daily Photography, we recommend you to check our Top 10 Compact Cameras for Daily Photography list.
    Compact Body
    195g
    RAW shooting capability
    3.8X Optical Zoom
    Small 1/1.7 sensor

    Read the details of how we scored Canon S95 for Daily Photography

    Canon S95 for Landscape Photography

    Canon S95 has a score of 31 for Landscape Photography which makes it a POOR candidate for this type of photography. If Landscape We strongly recommend you to check our Top Compact Cameras for Landscape Photography list and consider these alternatives over theS95.
    Manual Exposure Mode
    Manual Focus Mode
    28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
    RAW shooting capability
    Small 1/1.7 sensor
    Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
    No Environmental Sealings

    Read the details of how we scored Canon S95 for Landscape Photography
    Canon S95 Alternatives
    In this section, we analyse how Canon S95 compares with other Compact cameras within a similar price range.
    Read a more detailed analysis of Canon S95 alternatives.

    Popular Comparisons of Canon S95

    Here is the eight most popular comparisons of Canon S95 amongst Camera Decision readers.

    Canon S100
    Canon S100
    Compare
    Canon S90
    Canon S90
    Compare
    Canon S110
    Canon S110
    Compare
    Canon S120
    Canon S120
    Compare
    Canon G12
    Canon G12
    Compare
    Canon G9 X II
    Canon G9 X II
    Compare
    Panasonic LX5
    Panasonic LX5
    Compare
    Sony RX100
    Sony RX100
    Compare

    Canon S95 Alternatives in Cameras

    It would also be interesting to compare Canon S95 with Cameras. Below we have listed 4 highest ranked cameras in Canon S95's price range.

    Canon S95 Conclusion and Scores

    Currently, Canon S95 has an Overall Score of 48/100 which is based on our evaluation of 69 different technical parameters. Our scores are dynamically updated whenever a new camera is added to our database or when we change our ranking algorithm and the maximum score is always 100. Canon PowerShot S95 is ranked #78 out of 631 in Compact cameras (Top 20 Compact), and ranked #525 out of 1240 in all Cameras (Top 20 Overall).

    #525 out of 1240 in Top Ranking Cameras
    #78 out of 631 in Top Ranking Compact Cameras
    #32 out of 262 in Top Ranking Small Sensor Compact Cameras
    #109 out of 740 in Top Ranking Small Sensor Sensor Cameras
    #360 out of 536 in Lightest Compact Cameras with Small Sensor sensor(195g)
    #244 out of 917 in Top Ranking Cameras with Fixed Type Screen

    Main Scores
    Imaging
    Features
    Value for Money
    Portability
    Overall Score
    Check our Smart Finder Tool to filter, sort and compare all digital cameras.

    Frequently Asked Questions about Canon S95
    Does the Canon S95 have Image Stabilization?
    Does the Canon S95 have RAW support?
    Does the Canon S95 have Weather Sealing?
    Does the Canon S95 have built-in GPS?
    What is the Max ISO of Canon S95?
    What is the Sensor Size of Canon S95?
    is the Canon S95 a Full Frame (FF) camera?
    Does the Canon S95 have Touch Screen?
    Does the Canon S95 have built-in Wireless?
    What is the Max Continuous Shooting Speed (fps) of Canon S95?
    What is the Weight of Canon S95?
    What are the Dimensions of Canon S95?
    Canon PowerShot S95 Detailed Specifications

    General
    Brand Canon
    Model Canon PowerShot S95
    Announced 2010-11-23
    Body Type Compact
    Lens
    Manual Focus
    Lens Mount fixed lens
    Lens Focal Range 28-105 mm (3.8×)
    Max Aperture F2.0-4.9
    Macro Focus Range 5cm
    Screen
    Screen Type Fixed Type
    Screen Size 3.00"
    Screen Resolution 461k dots
    Live View
    Touch Screen
    Viewfinder
    Viewfinder None
    Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder
    Viewfinder Coverage n/a
    Viewfinder Magnification n/a
    Photography Features
    Min Shutter Speed 15s
    Max Mechanical Shutter Speed 1/1600s
    Continuous Shooting 1.0 fps
    Shutter Priority
    Aperture Priority
    Manual Exposure Mode
    Exposure Compensation Yes
    Custom White Balance
    Image Stabilization
    Built-in Flash
    Flash Range 6.50 m
    Max Flash Sync 1/500s
    Flash Modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync
    External Flash
    AE Bracketing
    WB Bracketing
    Exposure Modes
    Multi-Segment
    Average
    Spot
    Partial
    AF-Area
    Center Weighted
    DxO Sensor Scores
    DxO Overall Score 47
    DxO Color Depth 20.4
    DxO Dynamic Range 11.3
    DxO Low Light ISO 153
    Report a correction

    Sensor
    Sensor Type CCD
    Sensor Size 1/1.7-inch
    Sensor Dimensions 7.44 x 5.58 mm
    Sensor Area 41.52mm2
    Sensor Resolution 10 megapixels
    Max Image Resolution 3648 x 2736
    Max Native ISO 3,200
    Min Native ISO 80
    RAW Support
    Autofocus
    AF Touch
    AF Continuous
    AF Single
    AF Tracking
    AF Selective
    AF Center
    AF Multi Area
    AF Live View
    AF Face Detection
    AF Contrast Detection
    AF Phase Detection
    Number of Focus Points 9
    Number of Cross Focus Points Unknown
    Video Features
    Video Resolutions 1280 x 720 (24 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
    Max Video Resolution 1280 x 720
    Video Formats H.264
    Microphone Port
    Headphone Port
    Connectivity
    Wireless Connectivity Eye-Fi Connected
    HDMI
    USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
    Physical
    Environmental Sealing
    Water Proof
    Dust Proof
    Shock Proof
    Crush Proof
    Freeze Proof
    Weight 195g
    Physical Dimensions 100 x 58 x 30mm
    Battery Model NB-6L
    Other Features
    Self Timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom)
    Timelapse Recording
    GPS None
    Storage Type SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MMCplus/HC MMCplus card
    Storage Slots 0


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