adambadam

I have been eying the Cannon S95 for a few weeks now to replace a very old point and shoot. Though everywhere I have looked, both online and in person recently has been sold out. Today however I noticed that Amazon has the camera, while sold out, for $350. I finally jumped on the deal and hopefully it will be in stock again soon. I had not seen this camera reduced under $400 anywhere.

nkedel

Back in stock, but alas, back at $399.

ddlo1982

for that price, can get a sony dslr body already. rather get the sony in my opinion. i think. not a pro in photography though. hahaha.

IsleOfMan

You can't put a Sony Alpha dSLR in your pocket. The major draw of the S90/S95 is image quality and manual controls approaching a dSLR while still being pocketable. I plan on getting one to supplement my dSLR for times when portability are more important than absolute image quality or burst-speed, while still maintaining image quality, low-light performance, and control far greater than most cheaper point-and-shoot cameras.

For those interested, 42nd Street Camera has the S95 for $360 with free shipping.

jacknyoc

I agree... the same reason as you that I'm looking at get one. it seems to be about the best of the lot overall...image quality, size/pocketability, low light shooting, etc. I suspect the Lumix LX 5 is nearly equal, but not across the board (especially size and price). too bad.

I've seen the 42nd St. offer...as well as Camera King at $359 also with free shipping. I have not seen any horendous reviews of either of these sites...has anyone else? I'm still hoping pre-holiday sales may offer an even lower price...we'll see.

IsleOfMan

I've not seen any negative reviews on Camera King, but I've not seen enough positive reviews to trust them either. I know from Nikon Cafe and a few of my own purchases that 42nd Street is legit. If I knew for sure about Camera King, I would probably buy their $279 refurb S90.

jacknyoc

good to know...thanks for that.

the only reason I might consider CameraKings is due to their accepting PayPal in case there's a dispute. also, on NexTag, they do get pretty decent reviews. I suspect there's the always-popular follow up call with many of these to verify CC info (or pitch new memory and battaries) : )

IsleOfMan

Looks like I may have been confusing Camera King and Shop King Camera... the latter of which looks a bit shadier.

ddlo1982

oh, is it? i didn' tknow that. i m not a pro in photography. just think it's cool to have a SLR :P

firefly2010

I'd go with SLR too.

nkedel

It's good to have both.

Also, I don't think you'll find a halfway affordable lens that's got that kind of zoom range that's anywhere near as bright on an affordable DSLR. Even allowing for lower noise and better stabilization, F/2 is a really bright lens and to get something comparable, affordably, on a DSLR, you're basically look at a 50mm f/1.8 prime.

FatManInNYC

Agree. I have a nice kit that includes a D700, D90 and about 30 kilos of lenses, and I love having a pocket-sized camera.

I lost my IXUS 120 when I left it on an AirAsia flight over the summer and have been looking for an affordable replacement. The S95 at this price seems great (though not as slim as the IXUS 120).

Thanks, OP.

jacknyoc

agreed...

you could go with a Nikon D40 (granted several years old) or similar dslr with an 18-55VR that would get pretty darn close for hand-held, low light situations. it's an options, but not very convenient. again, as noted in earlier posts, the point is not to replace the dslr, but to add to it with a decent quality P&S as a convenient carry around. at least, that's what I try to do.

FatManInNYC

Love the D40, if one can find it, get it. The 18-55vr, however, is not a great low-light lens. At f/3.5-5.6 it's a great lens reduced to mearly average in low-light. On paper, the S95 kicks it's overachieving butt.

I have the 50mm 1.4 for my FX body and the 35mm 1.8 on the DX and I often jones for a wide-angle zoom so I can get a great low-light shot without disrupting the scene. The 70-200mm f/2.8 isn't practical to carry at all times, and it too isn't as bright as the S95 is spec'd to be. (can you tell I'm working my way up to a buying decision?)

nkedel

I wouldn't find a f/3.5 with image stabilization equivalent to a f/2 also with image stabilization even at the wide end, and the 55mm is equivalent ~80mm, not 105mm. The lens on the S95 is also a little brighter at the long end (4.9 vs 5.6) and unless the high ISO performance of a D40 is vastly better than the contemporaneous Canons, it's not going to come close to being comparable since you'll be shooting more than a full stops faster to make up for it (on the Canon side, I wouldn't want anything older than a 50D - the difference in sensors between the XT-XSi/40D/5D generation and the 50D/5Dmk2/T1i (and newer) is pretty striking if you've shot with both at higher ISOs.)

Then again, you can get a f/1.4 prime (30mm or 50mm) for the DSLR, and have tons of other lens options. Just not as inexpensively, or in such a compact package.