I’ve been using and enjoying my Canon Powershot S110 for nearly 2 years now. And outside of a repair of a known issue with the S10 done free under warranty by Canon a couple of months ago, I have no complaints with the camera – it’s still going strong despite being used rather robustly my me. In fact, I really do love the little camera – I get quite a bit of video use out of it, and I’ll bet I’ve saved nearly the cost of the camera in wear and tear on my DSLR equipment. Not to mention all the great pics I’ve gotten in situations where I didn’t want to lug my DSLR equipment around. So when Canon recently announced the specifications on the new Powershot S120 replacement for the S110, I was interested. Here’s the press release/news letter on the Canon website which announces both the upcoming Powershot G16 and S120. Looking over the specs, the new model is hardly a revolutionary upgrade so for many, it may be a difficult purchase to justify. But for me, I’m seeing a few key differences between the two models which will make the upgrade attractive:
1. Slight increase to the maximum aperture, which now ranges from F1.8-5.7 instead of F2.0-5.9 in the S110. This should make the camera perform that much better in low light, but will also make it perform better for action shots.
2. Faster frame rate, which starts at 12.1 fps for the first six frames before dropping to 9.4 fps for up to 522 shots (when using a UHS-1 memory card, according to Canon). That’s pretty darn fast – even the reduced frame rate of 9.3 fps should be adequate for getting most action shots.
3. Built-in Wi-Fi support. Having used a WiFi GoPro, I know the value of being able to control your camera remotely from a phone app – particularly for video.
4. 60fps HD video – 60fps should help for slow motion effects.
5. Touch screen LCD with touch to focus – a feature I’ve come to appreciate on my iPhone which I think will work well on this camera.
The PowerShot S120 will ship in October 2013 for $450. I think I paid $400.00 for my S110 so the price has gone up maybe $50.00?
John B. Holbrook, II is a freelance writer, photographer, and author of ThruMyLens.org, as well as LuxuryTyme.com and TheSeamasterReferencePage.com.
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