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New Canon S100 (replacement for S95) (1 Viewer)

digiscope09

digiscope09

Well-known member
DP Review has preview of new Canon S100. Has some nice improvements however I think the increased focal range (24mm-120mm) may have ended the S series career as a digiscoping camera. Will be interested to see the amount of vignetting when it is released.

finno
 
It depends on the eyepiece and scope brand. The Nikon EDG and Kowa 25x LER eyepieces can handle lens focal lengths up to 140mm. Basically you will get the same max ~3000mm effective focal length with the S95 using the standard 30x WF eyepiece and S100 with 25mm LER. The main issue will be the adapter connection that 3rd parties will need to develop.
 
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Canon S100

RJM said:
It depends on the eyepiece and scope brand. The Nikon EDG and Kowa 25x LER eyepieces can handle lens focal lengths up to 140mm. Basically you will get the same max ~3000mm effective focal length with the S95 using the standard 30x WF eyepiece and and S100 with 25mm LER. The main issue will be the adapter connection that 3rd parties will need to develop.
Click to expand...

I use a Swarov with 30x with which I could not get the Lumix LX5 to work either.

Given that camera manufacturers are moving towards higher minimum zoom and greater focal length ranges, I might have to reconsider my options. Would the 25x50 eyepiece better accommodate the 24-120mm lens range?

finno
 
Check the Swaro eyepiece specs. It's a matter of eyerelief and all zooms of any brand have less ER than a fixed mag.
 
I've had my s100 for a couple of months now, but just got a Celestron Regal F-ED 80mm scope for digiscoping with it. After knocking together a basic adapter, I gave it a shot this weekend, and am able to get reasonable shots with no vignetting.

Both of these shots were with the factory 20x-60x zoom eyepiece, set at 20x. The titmouse was shot in full sun, and the junco was in shade under a bush, with the sun behind the clouds. I clearly have a lot of practice to do, but I'm encouraged by these early results.

With this version of my adapter, there was a significant distance between the camera lens and the eyepiece lens... say 3/4" or so, so in order to eliminate the vignetting I had to zoom the camera to a 100mm equivalent. To reduce that gap (and the necessary zoom) I made a second adapter tonight that brought them to within 1/4" of each other at maximum zoom... and was able to reduce the camera zoom to 85mm equivalent with no vignetting. I haven't had a chance to take any bird shots with it, but it did fine on some shots of the moon this evening.

I'm also including a couple of shots of version 2 of the adapter. It started with a selection of PVC fittings that have been machined on my lathe to get the right fit. The smaller section press-fits over the rubber eyepiece of the scope and can stay in place. The larger piece press-fits over the control ring of the S100 (nice snug fit... no danger of it slipping off). When I'm ready to take a shot, the larger piece slides onto the smaller one, and everything is properly aligned. One great thing about the S100 is its "Custom" shooting mode, which allows me to save everything I want as defaults for digiscoping, including the startup zoom position.

--dave
 

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dwminnich said:
I've had my s100 for a couple of months now, but just got a Celestron Regal F-ED 80mm scope for digiscoping with it. After knocking together a basic adapter, I gave it a shot this weekend, and am able to get reasonable shots with no vignetting.

Both of these shots were with the factory 20x-60x zoom eyepiece, set at 20x. The titmouse was shot in full sun, and the junco was in shade under a bush, with the sun behind the clouds. I clearly have a lot of practice to do, but I'm encouraged by these early results.

With this version of my adapter, there was a significant distance between the camera lens and the eyepiece lens... say 3/4" or so, so in order to eliminate the vignetting I had to zoom the camera to a 100mm equivalent. To reduce that gap (and the necessary zoom) I made a second adapter tonight that brought them to within 1/4" of each other at maximum zoom... and was able to reduce the camera zoom to 85mm equivalent with no vignetting. I haven't had a chance to take any bird shots with it, but it did fine on some shots of the moon this evening.

I'm also including a couple of shots of version 2 of the adapter. It started with a selection of PVC fittings that have been machined on my lathe to get the right fit. The smaller section press-fits over the rubber eyepiece of the scope and can stay in place. The larger piece press-fits over the control ring of the S100 (nice snug fit... no danger of it slipping off). When I'm ready to take a shot, the larger piece slides onto the smaller one, and everything is properly aligned. One great thing about the S100 is its "Custom" shooting mode, which allows me to save everything I want as defaults for digiscoping, including the startup zoom position.

--dave
Click to expand...


Nice work with the adapter Dave. I'm a bit concerned about the range for digiscoping as most lenses are best at less than half zoom. I like a range of 30-60 mms on a normal lens. Try the zoom at 50 and 60x and see how it looks.
Neil
 
Thanks, Neil. That'll have to wait for version 3 of the adapter... a couple of days probably. I still need to minimize the distance b/w the camera and eyepiece lenses, and haven't figured out how to do it with the plumbing parts I've got available. Eventually, I'll machine something permanent... the versions so far have been prototypes to help me design the final product.

One thing that's been saving me so far with the S100 is that the lens is so fast, that even at 85mm I'm getting plenty of light to keep the shutter speeds up.

Given what I've seen so far, and how much distance still separates the two lenses, I know I can get it close enough to use the camera at 50mm (or maybe even 35mm). I've been a little leery so far of getting the lens elements too close together. Not a problem if I never use the camera zoom, but I'm being careful of maximum extension at full zoom so I don't accidentally damage the lenses. I also suspect that if I get a fixed WA eyepiece for the Regal that I won't have any issues at all with the S100, but I'm not sure that will be necessary yet.

--dave
 
Well its good to have someone experimenting with the s100. I know the increased focal length was a concern for some, but the size of the camera seems similar to the s95. I'm not sure how much more the lens extends in the s100 vs the s95 though.

If you can minimize the vignetting to 50mm effective, you should look into the baader hyperion 17mm fixed eyepiece, which would give you a wider field of view at about 30x. The Vixen LVW 17 is worth a look, too, if you're willing to spend a bit more.

Hopefully your final build will let you use the lens ring.
 
dwminnich said:
One thing that's been saving me so far with the S100 is that the lens is so fast, that even at 85mm I'm getting plenty of light to keep the shutter speeds up.
Click to expand...

I guestimate at 85mm the S100 max lens aperture is ~F4.5. With a 20x eyepiece ~F4.5 also is the system aperture on a 80mm scope. Unless the camera is reporting differently, F4.5 is typical of most cameras for the effective ~1700mm focal length.
 
asteracea said:
Well its good to have someone experimenting with the s100. I know the increased focal length was a concern for some, but the size of the camera seems similar to the s95. I'm not sure how much more the lens extends in the s100 vs the s95 though.

If you can minimize the vignetting to 50mm effective, you should look into the baader hyperion 17mm fixed eyepiece, which would give you a wider field of view at about 30x. The Vixen LVW 17 is worth a look, too, if you're willing to spend a bit more.

Hopefully your final build will let you use the lens ring.
Click to expand...

Asteracea,

Yep, the baader hyperion is on my list to investigate at some point, thanks. W.r.t. the control ring, the final version will mount via the tripod mount point, however I can use the control ring with the current version... the two pieces of the adapter fit loosely enough that the piece on the camera can turn within the one on the scope, so no loss of function for the control ring.

--dave
 
Hi All,

I digiscoped with the S95 this last year and when the 100 came out I went to look at it. It gave me some very favorable impressions first being a very excited AF, it was all over, all the time, and fast. I brought my s95 along and took very similar shots (in the store) with both cameras on the same card so I could compare later. At home in PS I zoomed way in equally so I could see the pixel structure. The 95 pixels looked like they had scattered mud between them but the 100 pixels were clean. I just read Techradar.com review of the 100 and their comparison with Oly XZ-1, Coolpix P7100 and Canon G12 for signal to noise ratio puts the 100 as best, with dynamic range being about the same.

Looks like it is a gem of a camera, I know I still like the s95 in combo with my Kowa 883 and custom adapter. I spent most of the year learning and loving RAW. I have 2 reasons to move to the 100: 1) most of my s95 pics were taken at high zoom and my thinking is with the expanded zoom more versatility and maybe not shooting at full zoom. RJM could maybe correct me here. If I stay with the 95 it might be better to change from my 21we EP to a stronger EP instead of a stronger zoom lens. 2) My second reason for considering the 100 is I took my custom adapter along to the store and the 100 fits, only minor adjustment needed is the cable release.

Keep the info coming to help me decide, Joe
 
DxOMark does not show much improvement in sensor RAW performance since the old S90. HOWEVER for our digiscoping purposes, AF speed/Continuous Shooting speed, video and in-camera JPEG processing have all improved with each interation. So if you find these improvements useful then an upgrade can make sense. On the otherhand, US$430 is stll alot of cabbage for a P&S especially since the Elph 100HS can probably deliver about the same JPEG quality for US$100!

In my case I want to see a 2-stop improvent in IQ over my current Pany FX150 and Nikon P5000 digicams to justify an upgrade and the S100 still only offers ~1.5-stop. Frankly, I think I could only get improvement I want with the Nikon 1 but I am not so enamored with digiscoping to drop $700 given its other limitations on effective focal length and system aperture!
 
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Unfortunately, despite what some retailers report, the 100hs does not allow for aperture or shutter priority modes. The 500hs does, for about half the price of the s100. I'm not sure how convenient the complete touch screen controls would be, though.
 
Aperture Priority mode is useless for a compact camera with zoom lens. The lens will always be the largest aperture possible at every zoom focal length. Shutter Priority mode can be useful, BUT many compacts now auto raise ISO to keep a minimum shutter speed you can set in the soft menu too. If not, it is a simple matter to manually raise ISO until the camera reports the shutter speed you want with a few test shots.
 
Good points, Rick. For a purely digiscoping camera, most of these bells and whistles don't mean too much. Changing ISO in the 100hs is pretty straightforward and you are correct, that's probably all a user really needs when digiscoping.

Furthermore, from what dpreview shows, you really can't argue with the jpeg results of the 100hs. The test shots with the s100 don't look that good at all to me.
 
easing press-fit assembly

As I recently discovered with my rooftop cargo boxes, ABS takes turtle wax nicely. I used it to ease opening & closing. I expect it could make your 2-part adapters slide a bit more smothly, during assembly & turning the front ring.

dwminnich said:
I've had my s100 for a couple of months now, but just got a Celestron Regal F-ED 80mm scope for digiscoping with it. After knocking together a basic adapter, I gave it a shot this weekend, and am able to get reasonable shots with no vignetting.

Both of these shots were with the factory 20x-60x zoom eyepiece, set at 20x. The titmouse was shot in full sun, and the junco was in shade under a bush, with the sun behind the clouds. I clearly have a lot of practice to do, but I'm encouraged by these early results.

With this version of my adapter, there was a significant distance between the camera lens and the eyepiece lens... say 3/4" or so, so in order to eliminate the vignetting I had to zoom the camera to a 100mm equivalent. To reduce that gap (and the necessary zoom) I made a second adapter tonight that brought them to within 1/4" of each other at maximum zoom... and was able to reduce the camera zoom to 85mm equivalent with no vignetting. I haven't had a chance to take any bird shots with it, but it did fine on some shots of the moon this evening.

I'm also including a couple of shots of version 2 of the adapter. It started with a selection of PVC fittings that have been machined on my lathe to get the right fit. The smaller section press-fits over the rubber eyepiece of the scope and can stay in place. The larger piece press-fits over the control ring of the S100 (nice snug fit... no danger of it slipping off). When I'm ready to take a shot, the larger piece slides onto the smaller one, and everything is properly aligned. One great thing about the S100 is its "Custom" shooting mode, which allows me to save everything I want as defaults for digiscoping, including the startup zoom position.

--dave
Click to expand...
 
Has anyone tried to use the GPS functions of the S100? I'm increasingly interested in using GPS to record where I took my photos and where I saw birds.
 
Well the reviews seem to say it works well enough. But like all GPS, it works best in rural areas and you need a 180deg clear line of site to the sky. The big gotcha for digiscoping is it sucks the battery power so you need to budget for at 1-3 spare batteries if you use this feature full time. You can turn it on/off as needed but it may take several minutes to get a signal lock while it uses even more power to search.
 
gps works

The s100 gps works well. I've not observed it closely, but it seems to take a couple of minutes to get a lock when the camera has been off for a while, like many gps receivers do. I think a satellite icon appears on the screen when a position is acquired. I'm not using the tracklog gps function, only the per photo gps function, so the gps should not be running when the camera is off.
In Canon's included map software, Map Utility, the location appears accurate. I'm used to using a Garmin 60csx handheld gps that's probably more accurate, but none of the locations in hundreds of pictures I've looked at in the Map Utility program seem off.
In Canon's Zoom Browser program, when I choose
View > Scroll Mode
a satellite icon appears in the upper right corner of thumbnails when gps info is in the exif data. Based on that, the other day:
11:03:48 1st photo taken (not sure how long I had camera on before 1st photo)
11:03:50 9th photo taken, still no gps location
11:04:14 10th photo taken, gps location in image exif
11:04:40 last of 82 photos, gps location in image exif
greatest distance between points on map approximately 10'
I'll go back to the location by Thursday, when I'll try to determine if the lat/lon in the photos, & my Garmin 60csx put me where I think I was. The google satellite image overlay on the map isn't necessarily telling. The 60csx has been pretty accurate in my job's field work.
More soon.
Kevin
Oh, pictures were of a Bewick's Wren, testing out my newly fabricated digiscoping adapter for my scope.

OregonBirder said:
Has anyone tried to use the GPS functions of the S100? I'm increasingly interested in using GPS to record where I took my photos and where I saw birds.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, KLucas, for the information. That's the most detailed review I've read of how well the GPS function actually performs on the S100. I'll be interested to hear more of what you discover.
 
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