Canon PowerShot S110 Digital Camera Review

Shooting Modes

A standard mode dial adorns the top of the S110, with options for automatic, program, manual, aperture priority, and shutter priority, as well as scene and creative modes. The dial also has a custom mode, a dedicated video setting (though recording can be started in any mode, at any time with the dedicated REC button), and Canon's movie digest mode.

Manual Controls

The S110 gives you manual control over both shutter speed and aperture in manual and priority modes, and exposure compensation in the rest. The S110 offers up to 3 stops +/- of adjustment, letting you determine scene brightness if the automatic exposure doesn't get it right. Most of the controls can be adjusted using the rear control dial, with the front control ring offering customizable control as well.

Focus

The S110 uses contrast-detection autofocus in order to lock onto subjects, with options for normal autofocus, macro focus, or manual focus. The manual focus can use the front control ring, but it works mostly as a step focus and isn't terribly responsive.

When using the normal autofocus you are given a point in the center for the frame which will turn green when focus is locked on or yellow when it isn't. In our focus test we found that it did great locking on in bright light, with some struggles at the lower 10 lux level.

There isn't much in the way of fine focus control with the S110, beyond switching between normal and macro modes. The normal mode will allow you to focus as close as two inches, while the macro mode shrinks that range to 1.2 inches. It's useful if you want to use the S110 for macro shots of jewelry or small details, but otherwise you can just stick to the normal AF.

Recording Options

The S110 captures images in RAW and JPEG, with both "fine" and "super fine" JPEG compression available. You can shoot at four resolutions in any given aspect ratio, with the largest being the 4:3 12-megapixel. They scale down from there, with the other aspect ratios merely being cropped versions of the 4:3 shots.

Other Controls

Control Ring

The lens control ring is one of the best innovations Canon has put in their compact camera lineup and it's been a hallmark of the S-series compacts since the S90's release. The S110 includes the same ring, with the ring controlling different functions depending on what shooting mode you're in. You can choose to let it remain like that, or assign it specific functions such as white balance, exposure compensation, ISO, or one of several others.