DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

Ever "rediscover" a gem that still defies the odds?

Started Jul 25, 2018 | Discussions thread
Rock and Rollei Senior Member • Posts: 2,903
Re: Compare S70 To S90?

Hike Pics wrote:

What are your thoughts in comparing the S70 to the S90? Is there much IQ difference and/or feature difference. I had been thinking about getting an S70 (decent used prices) but if there is a bit of a difference I'll look around for an S90.

They feel like they're from totally different generations.
I still remember how excited I was by the S70  - it was the first digital compact that did what I wanted a compact to do, that is be pretty small, give me control, and produce reasonable quality. Those 7.2 megapixels produced some nice images, especially in good light. It was pretty usable at ISO 400, which for a compact was fairly unusual at the time, and coming from a slide film background, that was fine with me.  I was never over keen on the sliding design, and if it didn't lock in place (which it often didn't because I got the strap in the way), it didn't turn on. Battery was a fairly bulky, old-fashioned thing (they all were, then) and it used Compact Flash cards, which was a benefit at the time, because so did my DSLR. The body was fairly thick, which made it less pocketable than I would have liked. But it was miles better than anything else on the market for my needs. It replaced an Ixus 500, which had a better size, but worse everything else.
It has an optical viewfinder, but it's pretty poor, and the screen is fairly tiny.
Overall, the S70 feels like an early digital camera, albeit a very good and refined version.
The S90 still feels like a current model, though. In good light, IQ is only slightly better, at normal priint sizes or on screen, anyway, but by ISO 400 it has pulled away, and does ok at 1600. Images also enlarge far better.
The controls are much nicer, in fact everything about it is better really, except arguably not having an optical viewfinder - but the S70's isn't a huge loss. Handling is much improved with the Franiec Grip (which is a stick-on piece of machined aluminium).
If you want to try the S70 as a piece of history, and are happy taking pics mostly in good light, you'll enjoy it. If you want a serious and tiny picture making tool, the S90 fits the bill a lot better.

 Rock and Rollei's gear list:Rock and Rollei's gear list
Canon EOS 5DS R Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Canon EOS R Canon EOS M6 II Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM +29 more
Post (hide subjects) Posted by
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow