This is the review of the latest Canon S95 digital camera. Fitted with an intelligently chosen 10-megapixel CCD sensor, the S95 delivers very good image quality in most shooting situations and the gamut of lighting conditions, with its performance truly impressive at lower ISO settings. An important addition that will, no doubt, please the enthusiast photographers, is that of a RAW capture mode. Not only does this open up a number of post-production options like exposure adjustment and white balance selection, it also allows for the highest-level of image quality retention which is most commonly found in the DSLR market. Another area in which RAW capture is beneficial is when using the S95 at a higher ISO. In general, performance is good up to ISO 800 but sensitivity can be pushed even further during use in RAW. It should also be noted that Canon has given users ISO increments of 1/3 of a stop which allows for much more flexibility than is normally seen at this end of the market.

Another headline feature of the S95 is its bright, 3.8x optical zoom lens that has a minimum aperture of f:2, and delivers a 35mm equivalent of 28-105mm focal length. At its initial focal length, the S95 allows use at faster shutter speeds even in low-light conditions, though the minimum aperture is variable and increases to f:4.9 when the lens is extended fully. If we are to be picky, this does reduce the overall benefit of the lens but still allows for great creative abilities, especially at 28mm, such as shallow depth of field.