Canon PowerShot S120
One of the smallest cams on test, but it’s a feisty little number
Achieving the perfect shot requires speed and foresight – don’t worry, not from you, but from your camera. This small, stylish and solidly built 5x optical zoom Canon deploys a next-generation Digic 6 processor to take care of pace and smarts, creating an autofocus response 50 per cent quicker than its S110 predecessor, plus continuous shooting averaging nine frames per second.
A resolution of 12.1 megapixels from a 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor may not sound like the makings of a powerful camera, but it’s the same chip found in the higher-end G16 and comes coupled with optical image stabilisation, an ISO range that heads all the way up to 12,800 and easy to handle manual controls thanks to the Lens Control Ring.
The latter offers a shortcut to key settings, as well as a means of manually zooming in or out with a twist of the wrist. Here, lens reach is the equivalent of a broad 24-120mm in 35mm terms, with focal length settings incrementally displayed on the three-inch touchscreen. A pop-up flash is also neatly sunken into the top plate, with a manual activation lever at the side.
You won’t, however, need the flash as often as you’d think, because the S120 is better equipped than most for low-light photography. It can also produce shallow depthof-field shots that will make everyone assume you used a digital SLR; just set it to defocus mode and snap.
Video quality is equally as good, with full-HD 1080p footage at up to 60fps with stereo audio and access to full zooming abilities. The record button is on the backplate, although we’d have preferred it to be placed higher up for easy reach.
Add Wi-Fi to the mix for easily transferring and sharing pictures – don’t try to upload Raw images – and you have a very nifty camera. We’d have liked a handgrip and perhaps a viewfinder, but then we’re very tough to please.