S95 review in 2022 - great low cost photographic tool

Thanks for the post!  I've standardized on used S95's for the time being as our travel cameras.  Just a nice combination of inexpensive, nice controls, reliable performance, and decent output.

Re: exposure consistency, I find center-weighted metering most reliable, with exposure comp at -1/3, and MyColor custom settings at -1 for contrast, saturation, and red; all others at 0.  I adjust exposure comp when necessary but often find the -1/3 setting optimal anyway (and exposure is hard to judge from the camera's screen).

Aperture-preferred (Av) is a good choice, sticking to f4 or lower(wider) to limit diffraction, but Program (P) is also very well thought-out by the Canon engineers and will give you roughly the same results.

I typically use AutoISO limited to ISO 500.  Program (P) mode favors wide aperture and low ISO, so again, P mode is choosing the settings I would normally prefer anyway.  I'm assuming other modes are reluctant to raise ISO too, but I haven't tested them.  ISO's above 400 are really iffy, at least when viewed at large sizes, and you're losing crispness and saturation, but I trust the camera to choose lower ISO's if at all possible (and it seems to).  The shots it takes at ISO 500, with aperture wide open, slow shutter speeds, with IS hopefully saving the shot, are sometimes OK; I'll snap a few of them, hoping one turns out.

This review is so helpful and so well-written. I keep buying copies of either this or the S100, and they are wonderful until they poop out. Still, so easy to carry around in a pocket, and my current one lives in my daily backpack. I also have an LX5, an RX100, and a Pentax MX1 in the point and shoot category. I love them all for different situations.