Joenc
Member
I spent a stupid amount of time researching compact cameras to find the right combination of light weight, compact size, good image quality, and acceptable controllability in a camera to take backpacking where size and especially weight must be minimized. (I am not yet physically fit to the point of wanting to load up my 7D and lenses along with everything else in my pack for long trips.)
I ended up buying the Canon S120, and after eight months of regular use I am still very happy with my choice. Although cosmetically quite beat up from being schlepped all over creation in bags, backpacks, and back pockets, and from being dropped a few times, it's still alive and well.
My only real complaint is the short battery life, but spare batteries are cheap and lightweight so that's not a showstopper. Another slight annoyance is the ease with which the mode dial can be inadvertently turned - have to be careful to check it each time you wrestle it out of a tight pocket before beginning shooting.
Otherwise, I think this camera is a dynamite package of features and quality packed into a small and extremely rugged unit. I especially appreciate the fast startup - when I'm hiking and come across something I want to shoot, I don't want to be taking off my pack to haul out a bulky camera and then waiting several seconds for it to boot up. This one fits easily in the zippered net pouch on the front of my backpack's waist strap, and actually will power on, autofocus, and capture an image in about a second and a half total. (I just did it while writing this, to make sure my perception was not exaggerated. It was not.)
Image quality is great for a compact camera - though I've seen reviews complaining about noise reduction problems and such, I usually shoot Raw+jpg and do my processing from the raw images so I haven't had any trouble. But even when I've shot in modes that generated only jpg, I've not seen much of anything I'd call objectionable.
Mostly I shoot in Aperture-priority mode. I've not done a lot with the preset/scene modes, so can't offer much opinion on most of them. I have played with the HDR setting some for jpgs of very contrasty mountain scenes (dark valleys, bright skies, and normally-illuminated peaks) and it works as I expect, and does not produce the "overprocessed" effect that I see on a lot of HDR images.
All in all I'm very happy with my S120 as a pocket camera for rugged use. Two thumbs up.
-joe
I ended up buying the Canon S120, and after eight months of regular use I am still very happy with my choice. Although cosmetically quite beat up from being schlepped all over creation in bags, backpacks, and back pockets, and from being dropped a few times, it's still alive and well.
My only real complaint is the short battery life, but spare batteries are cheap and lightweight so that's not a showstopper. Another slight annoyance is the ease with which the mode dial can be inadvertently turned - have to be careful to check it each time you wrestle it out of a tight pocket before beginning shooting.
Otherwise, I think this camera is a dynamite package of features and quality packed into a small and extremely rugged unit. I especially appreciate the fast startup - when I'm hiking and come across something I want to shoot, I don't want to be taking off my pack to haul out a bulky camera and then waiting several seconds for it to boot up. This one fits easily in the zippered net pouch on the front of my backpack's waist strap, and actually will power on, autofocus, and capture an image in about a second and a half total. (I just did it while writing this, to make sure my perception was not exaggerated. It was not.)
Image quality is great for a compact camera - though I've seen reviews complaining about noise reduction problems and such, I usually shoot Raw+jpg and do my processing from the raw images so I haven't had any trouble. But even when I've shot in modes that generated only jpg, I've not seen much of anything I'd call objectionable.
Mostly I shoot in Aperture-priority mode. I've not done a lot with the preset/scene modes, so can't offer much opinion on most of them. I have played with the HDR setting some for jpgs of very contrasty mountain scenes (dark valleys, bright skies, and normally-illuminated peaks) and it works as I expect, and does not produce the "overprocessed" effect that I see on a lot of HDR images.
All in all I'm very happy with my S120 as a pocket camera for rugged use. Two thumbs up.
-joe
