Author: Gavin Stoker

The Canon PowerShot S120 compact camera shoots images at 12.1 megapixels—a pixel count that seems conservative for a $450 camera. But the PowerShot S120 comes with 1/1.7-inch backlit CMOS sensor that’s larger than the sensor found in your average point-and-shoot camera, plus a bright f/1.8 maximum aperture. Canon opted for quality results in low light without flash rather than ramping up resolution.

In some respects, the PowerShot S120 seems like a more portable version of Canon’s chunky PowerShot G16 (4mice). Unlike the PowerShot G16, the slender PowerShot S120 lacks a proper handgrip, though it does have a padded thumb rest at the back to prevent it from being too slippery in the palm. The outer finish oif the camera is similar to the shell you’d find on a mid-range DSLR, such as Canon’s own EOS—subtly connecting the DNA of the two in the mind of the photographer.

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Fujifilm’s FinePix S1 boasts a whopping image-stabilized 50x optical zoom, thanks to a huge zoom lens. This enables a focal range that’s the 35mm equivalent of a wide angle 24mm to 1200mm—excellent for shooting landscapes and group portraits, but also for capturing candid close-ups from afar. Since the lens specification is all encompassing, it doesn’t matter that you can’t swap it like you would on the DSLR camera.

There are a lot of DSLR-type features packed into this “bridge” camera—so called because it provides a bridge between a point and shoot camera and a DSLR. The FinePix S1 includes an eye-level viewfinder (of the electronic variety), plus a hot shoe for attaching accessories. Fujifilm also found room atop the viewfinder for a pop up flash that is manually activated by a button sitting just below it on the left.

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