Up Close and Personal with Janet and the S95

I'm back again with some more concert pics taken with the Canon Powershot S95. If you missed my original posts about this camera you can catch up by checking them out here and here. Unlike with the Brittany concert, I've been a fan of Janet Jackson for as long as I can remember!

I knew this concert was coming and it was one of the main reasons I wanted a "concert camera". 

 

One key component to getting good shots with any point and shoot at a concert is that you have to also have great seats.

 

Having already shot one concert with the Powershot S95 I felt a little more confident this time around. 

Continue reading “Up Close and Personal with Janet and the S95”

A Night With Britney and the Canon Powershot S95

As promised I'm back to do a second look at the Canon Powershot S95 that I first talked about here. As a reminder I'm a Nikon shooter and use Nikon DSLRs. However, for a small point and shoot (pocket size) that shoots RAW I turned to the popular Canon Powershot S95. My main use for this camera will be for those times when DSLRs are NOT ALLOWED and I want something better than the camera on my phone. For me that will be mostly concerts. I'm not a huge Britney Spears fan, but I got the chance to go to her concert with a friend. Otherwise this event would not have been on my radar (get it? Radar). I looked at this as the perfect opportunity to give the Canon Powershot S95 a good test during a live concert.

 

Great little RAW performer

I'm speaking of the S95 of course! What did you think I meant? As I suspected, anyone in the audience that even attempted to raise a DSLR and shoot was immediately tackled by security and asked to put it away. However, if you have a point and shoot or camera phone they didn't say a word.

The only time security approached me was when (I guess) they mistakenly thought that my flashing battery warning was the video record indicator and he said "no video recording." I assured him that I wasn't shooting video and I was able to continue shooting uninterrupted. 

 

What I learned

 

The S95 has the basic modes you'd expect in a higher end P&S including Program mode, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual. The S95 also has a specific low light mode and when I tried this mode it was as I suspected that with the dark backgrounds and bright concert lights the camera was ofter confused and over exposing areas of the shot.

 

This was especially the case when the subjects were dressed in white, wearing white wigs and against a white backlight. This is where I was glad that it had a Manual mode as I was able to dial in the settings I wanted. 

 

As with most point and shoots you are limited by the small glass in the lens. This was no different and unless you're reasonably close to the subject, you just won't get the clarity that you are used to from a DSLR. However, with that said I was impressed with what I got from such a small camera.

It was MUCH BETTER than the shots I took with my iPhone 4 (as I would expect it to be). 

 

The other thing I learned was that there is a definite lag from the time you press the shutter, see the resulting shot and are ready to shoot again. While you can probably cut this time down by turning off the display of the shot you just took, it would be challenging to use this in a fast paced shooting scenario. I'm sure I missed a few good shots with the time it took the camera to be ready for the next shot. It's not the end of the world, it just takes some getting used to.

I will definitely be ordering a second battery. While I had tons of room left on my memory card, the one battery gave out after about 3 hours of continuous shooting/reviewing. 

 

Recommendations

 

 

I will always prefer working with my Nikon DSLRs and great Nikkor lenses. I will always carry my smartphone and use it in a pinch to capture the moment when I don't have my DSLR. However, when I know that I'm going into a situation where DSLRs are not permitted and the smartphone camera isn't going to be good enough, the Canon Powershot S95 will be in my pocket.

 

You can get the Canon Powershot S95 for $399.95 here from B&H and for $393 here from Amazon (note: prices fluctuate on Amazon)

I bought a New Point & Shoot Camera

 

I thought my days of buying point & shoot cameras were over. I've written posts here in the past where I stated that I either use my DSLR or my smartphone. I really don't see much of a need to have a point & shoot camera. Recently I discovered a need and a great way to solve it all at the same time. There are situations where you want to take the best photo that you can, but at the same time DSLR or "pro" level cameras aren't allowed in. A classic example of this is concerts. If you walk in with a nice big lens and DSLR, chances are you'll be turned right back around and told that "you can't bring that in." However, you see a sea of cellphones and point & shoot cameras going off all night long. While I have certainly taken my share of concert photos with my iPhone 4 (for my personal enjoyment), I would like something better. This lead me to seek out the smallest, most full featured point & shoot camera that I could find.

 

This shot of his royalness was taken with the iPhone 4 and while it came out OK, I was sitting there wishing I had something better for this moment.

 

The Canon PowerShot S95

The S95 is one mean little machine. Not only does it offer full manual mode, but it also shoots in RAW. Best of all it can easily slide into a pants pocket without a big bulge. Whoa! Wait a minute, did you say Canon? Yes I did. Does this mean I've switched from Nikon? No it doesn't. As a matter of fact let me answer a few questions now:

 

Q. Did you switch from Nikon to Canon?

A. No not at all. Actually I've owned and used cameras from both manufacturers for years. With the exception of a couple of Sony video cameras, I almost always went with Canon for my video needs (pre-DSLR video). My DSLRs have all been Nikon and most likely will continue to be. However, I've always liked the feature set of the Canon P&S cameras. So to answer your question, I use the best tool to fit my needs. Neither company has ever paid me a dime, so I don't "have to" use either one or I can use either one.

 

Q. Wasn't the iPhone 4 a good enough camera?

A. For my day to day P&S needs I'll most likely still reach for the camera that's on my belt and that's my smartphone. However, when I want the image to count, I do want to use a "better" camera and that means either my DSLR or now my S95. 

 

Q. Why didn't you go with the G12?

A. The G12 is a fine camera and probably beats the S95, the only problem I have with the G11 is that it's about twice the size and does NOT easily slide into a pants pocket. 

 

Q. How do you think the S95 image quality compares to other cameras.

A. This is more of an announcement post than an official review. The honest truth is that while I've had the camera for a few days now I haven't done much more than charge the battery and set it up. Sure I've taken a test shot here and there to make sure it works, but haven't even looked at the images on my computer yet. So I'll have to do another post once I have some "real" images to look at and then you can be the judge.

 

Q. Doesn't shooting manually defeat the purpose of a "point and shoot?"

A. Yes if all you want to do is "snap a picture". At that point my iPhone 4 is good enough. However, when the built-in scene modes and program modes aren't capturing the image I want, then I love having the ability to switch to manual and dial in my own settings.

 

Q. Why do you need RAW?

A. Nice try, but I'm not going to get into a RAW vs. JPG debate here. If you use one over the other great! Use what you want. 🙂 However, I prefer to shoot in RAW for maximum image quality and not having things like white balance burned into the file. While I could have certainly lived with JPG only, having the option of going to RAW is what pushed me to the S95.

 

Q. What don't you like about the Nikon Point and Shoots?

A. Nikon used to offer a Point & Shoot (the P6000) that shot in RAW. However, they no longer offer that model, nor did they replace it with one that does. Otherwise, their point and shoot cameras are probably just as good. Also even if the P6000 was still around it's more on the same size/form factor as the larger Canon G12.

 

Q. Seems like you won't be using this camera very often?

A. You're probably right. It hasn't left the table since I unboxed it. However, I like having the option of a better camera than my iPhone if and when the opportunity presents itself. 

 

Stay tuned for some sample shots. I have a couple of concerts coming up soon!

 

You can get the Canon Powershot S95 for $399.95 here from B&H and for $393 here from Amazon (note: prices fluctuate on Amazon)