If I were to buy a compact camera at this time of the year, what would it be? It won’t be a superzoom, that’s for sure, because I already have the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS, and furthermore, superzoom camera technology hasn’t changed much during the past one year. In other words, what you can get today is basically the same as what you can get a year ago.
So I would probably go for an ultra compact camera, something slim and sleek, like the new Canon PowerShot S90 or the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1, both of which offer high ISO capability.
The S90 combines a high sensitivity 10.0 Megapixel image sensor with Canon’s enhanced DIGIC 4 image processor which Canon says takes “maximum advantage of the available light, while substantially reducing image noise.”
The TX1 uses back-illuminated Exmor sensor which promises “improve shooting in low-light scenarios, enhancing image clarity and drastically reducing grain.”
Various reviews praise both compact cameras, especially the S90, for their high ISO performance, able to shoot usable image at ISO 1600.
Here is a technical comparison of the Canon PowerShot S90 and Sony Cyber-shot TX1.
Canon PowerShot S90 vs Sony Cyber-shot TX1
| Canon PowerShot S90 | Sony Cyber-shot TX1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor | 1./1.7" CCD | 1/2.4" Exmor R CMOS Sensor |
| 10 megapixels | 10.2 megapixels | |
| Image processor | DIGIC 4 with iSAPS technology | BIONZ |
| Lens | 3.8 optical (28 - 105mm) | 4x optical zoom (35-140mm) |
| f/2.0 - f/4.9 | f/3.5 - f/4.6 | |
| Image stabilisation | Shift type | Optical SteadyShot |
| Image sizes | 3648 x 2736, 3648 x 2048, 2816 x 2112, 2272 x 1704, 1600 x 1200, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 | Normal still (3648 x 2736, 3648 x 2432, 3648 x 2056, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1920 x 1080, 640 X 480; Panorama (7152 x 1080, 4912 x 1080, 4912 x 1920, 3424 x 1920) |
| Movie | 640 x 480 at 30fps, 320 x 240 at 30fps | 1280 x 720 at 30fps, 640 x 480 at 30fps |
| Shutter speed | 1-1/1600 or 15-1/1600 depending on the shooting mode | 2 - 1/1,250 |
| Shooting modes | Auto, Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Custom, Low Light | Intelligent Auto, Program Auto, Movie, Sweep panorama, Hand-held Twilight, Anti Motion Blur, Easy, Smile Shutter |
| Scene modes | Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night Snapshot, Kids & Pets, Indoor, Sunset, Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Aquarium, Underwater, Color Accent, Color Swap, Nostalgic, Stitch Assist | High sensitivity, soft sanp, landscape, twilight portrait, twilight, gourmet, beach, snow, fireworks, underwater, pet |
| Metering | Evaluative (linked to Face Detection AF frame), Centre-weighted average, Spot (Centre) | Multi, centre, spot |
| ISO sensitivity | AUTO, 80, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3200 | (Auto, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 |
| Contiuous shooting | 0.9fps | 10fps (10 shots) |
| Built-in flash | Yes | Yes |
| Special features | Sweep Panorama | |
| LCD monitor | 461,000 megapixels | 230,000 pixels |
| Price | US$429 | US$380 |
