From the day it was announced, I've been excited about the Canon PowerShot S100. Its predecessor, the S95, is still one of the best pocket-sized cameras on the market even a year after its release, and the S100 improves on many of its features ¡ª it's got a wider lens, a faster processor, a new sensor, and GPS functionality ¡ª while keeping the S95's litany of manual controls, great look and feel, and its promise of fantastic images even in poor lighting.
The small tweaks should add up to a noticeably better camera experience, but do they? At $429.99, the S100 is nearly in Micro Four Thirds or entry-level DSLR range, and we expect the S95's price to drop significantly as the S100 hits shelves. Is the S100 worth its premium price tag? I've been testing it by itself and alongside its competition ¡ª read on for our findings in the full review. HY116
Hardware / design
The term "point-and-shoot camera" has come to encompass shooters that wouldn't fit in anyone's pockets, ever ¡ª like Canon's monstrous PowerShot G12, for instance. The S100, however, is legitimately a compact, pocket-friendly camera, and a good-looking one at that. It's 1.05 inches thick and weighs 6.98 ounces, which make it slightly hefty but not problematically so, and it slips easily into a shirt or jeans pocket. The camera comes in black or silver, and has a metallic finish that makes it feel really solid. One of the few design additions is a tiny plastic bar running down the right side of the front, which acts as a mini-grip and make the camera a bit easier to hold in one hand. Otherwise, the design is virtually identical to the S95, and that's a really good thing.
Features
Canon doesn't include that many funky shooting features in the camera. There are, of course, the obligatory batch of scene modes ¡ª Snow, Fireworks, Portrait, and more ¡ª but otherwise there's not much to speak of. There's an HDR mode, and a cool but confusing panorama mode ¡ª it helps you frame and shoot a cool-looking panorama, but it's hard to figure out how to use properly. The first time I tried out the panorama mode, I wound up taking about 20 pictures and spinning all the way around three times in the process, before I realized you have to stop it manually. I, of course, did that in the name of testing.
GPS also comes built into the camera, which means you can geotag your photos. Most photo-management apps can plot your geotagged photos on a map, showing you where you were when you were shooting; it's a really awesome feature, especially if you're on vacation and want to remember where you were when you captured a particularly cool photo. Having GPS on all the time will massacre your battery, though, and it takes a few minutes to get a signal every time you turn it on, so use it judiciously. S810 WCDMA+GSM
Performance and Quality
As I mentioned before, most of the S100's upgrades over the S95 are internal, and evolutionary rather than game-changing. The S95 had a larger-than-average sensor (though still small compared to DSLRs or Micro Four Thirds cams), and 3.8x optical zoom on a bright, f/2.0 lens that extended from 28-105mm. The S100 bumps up to 5x zoom on a 24-125 lens (still f/2.0), and swaps the CCD sensor for a Canon-optimized CMOS.
Most of the changes are obviously positive, but the sensor change made me nervous ¡ª the S95 was so good, why fix what's not broken? After using the S100 for a while, I'm still wondering. The S100's photos are still excellent, but I can't find a shred of evidence that points to them being better. In fact, in one noticeable way, they're worse: the S100 has a tendency to over-saturate colors, which makes them beautiful and vivid at the expense of accuracy. (The sky in some of my test shots looked just a little bit too amazing.) That's not to say it doesn't take terrific pictures, because it does ¡ª I'm nitpicking, and I'm only able to do so because Canon made such a good camera the last time. But the S100 would be an even better upgrade if it had kept the CCD sensor.N737K Wrap-up

There are now two cameras at the top of the point-and-shoot market, and Canon makes both of them. The S95 gets a slight edge in terms of image quality, but the S100's wider lens, faster performance, and video recording are all solid tweaks on top of the S95. The S95 is still on sale for $399.99, and can probably be found for much less now that the S100 is available; unless the S100's improvements are particularly compelling, I'd recommend sticking with the S95. Both are excellent on every level, though, and the S100 is far better in most respects than just about every other compact camera out there. Of course, for $70 more you can get the Olympus E-PM1 Micro Four Thirds shooter, with interchangeable lenses and a larger sensor, but it's not nearly as comfy in your pocket.