Canon PowerShot S90 brief hands-on

The Canon's PowerShot S90 appears to represent exactly the sort of compact we like - a bright lens, good screen and easy access to a selection of manual controls. Then we discovered the control ring around the lens and thought it worth publishing our first impressions. Click here to have a read of our brief hands-on with Canon's latest photographers' compact.
It was way back in August 2005 that Canon launched the last in the line of its S-Series compact photographers' cameras. After four long years, the company has rebooted the range with the sleek and stylish looking S90. This reinvigoration of a seemingly extinct line prompted us to take a closer look into this long overdue successor of the S80. The S-series has gone under the knife for a cosmetic makeover with the S90 emerging complete with new design elements not seen in previous Canon compacts.
The apparent success of the Panasonic LX3 (or, at least, the near-impossibility of getting hold of one) suggests it tapped into a market for compacts packed with advanced features in a compact body. Canon's own G10 offered a similar feature set but in a significantly chunkier looking body. So it's hard not to see the S90 as Canon's response to the LX3. This impression is enhanced by the S90's impressively bright F2.0-4.9 28-105mm stabilized lens - it's not as ambitious at the Panasonic's lens but it covers a much more useful range.
As with the LX3, Canon has chosen to incorporate a relatively large (1/1.7", 0.43 cm²) sensor which has been designed with high sensitivity, rather than just higher megapixel count in mind, to make the most of the bright lens. This 10 megapixel sensor is then mated with Canon's latest Digic 4 processor to offer what the company describes as a dual anti-noise system.
When we picked up the S90 the first thing we noticed was the control ring built around the lens. It is used to adjust camera settings and can have multiple functions assigned to it. For instance it can act as a zoom ring, with each click jumping between the traditionally popular 28, 35, 50, 85 and 105mm equivalent focal lengths. Other functions can also be assigned to it using it to adjust either the focus, shutter-speed, aperture, exposure compensation, white balance or ISO.
We were particularly impressed with the way the S90 combines photographer-friendly features with its simple and uncomplicated body design and smooth finish.
Canon S90 Key Features
Lens Control Ring
10 million pixels sensor
RAW shooting
Fast f/2.0-4.9 maximum aperture range
Lens covering the classic 28-105mm range
Dual Anti-Noise System (high sensitivity sensor and Digic 4 noise reduction)
3.0 inch PureColor II LCD
Optical Image Stabilization
Smarter Scene Detection
Low Light mode
DIGIC 4 image processor
HD output