Canon PowerShot S100 in the flesh, first impressions

After months of waiting and asking around, I finally found the Canon S100 that I’ve been looking for. This successor to the Canon S95 may not arrive in the Philippines until 2012 so I’m glad to be able to bring the first unit home.

Been looking for this since the last time I went to Singapore but did not have any luck. I am told that the local launch will still be on the first quarter of 2012 here in the Philippines (exact month still unknown).

Compared to the S95, the Canon S100 is thinner and smaller although I could not feel any difference in the weight between the two.

When the Canon S95 was launched here, the suggested retail price was about Php27,000USD 460INR 39,004EUR 438CNY 3,351 so I’m hoping the Canon S100 won’t cost that much.

The orientation of the buttons and controls at the top side are still the same. The shutter button on the S100 is now bigger and the Ring Function button is now gone (transferred to the back beside the LCD display). While the finish on the S95 is somewhat smooth, the one on the S100 is rougher (much like cast iron or sand-paper finish).

Up at the front, there’s a long strip of thin rubber on the right side of the lens barrel which is for the hand-grip. A dedicated button for video recording is now incorporated into the camera. Haven’t really used the features and functions a lot but so far, I am liking it much.

Canon Powershot S100 specs:
12.1MP CMOS sensor
1/1.7″ sensor size
Digic 5 processor
ISO 80 – 6400
24–120 mm focal length
5x optical zoom
4x digital zoom
3″ LCD display
f/2.0 – f/5.9 aperture
1/2,000 – 15s shutter speed
Built-in flash
2.3fps continuous shoot
1080p video recording at 24fps
SD/SDHC/SDXC
RAW + JPEG file format
HF-DC2 High-Power Flash (optional)
Built-in GPS

What I didn’t like about it is that Canon also changed the battery so you can’t use the one on the S95 for the S100.

The price in Kuala Lumpur is in the RM1,500 range but was able to haggle for just RM1,360 or Php18,800USD 320INR 27,158EUR 305CNY 2,333 (comes with a leather pouch too).

Am excited to take this for a one-on-one with the S95. Sample photos and full review to follow.

Disclosure: Canon Printers is an advertiser on this blog. The Canon S100 was bought by YugaTech’s own personal funds during his visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week.