Canon S120

Canon S120 is Canon's Small Sensor Compact digital camera first introduced on November of 2013. It uses a 12 MegaPixel, BSI-CMOS 1/1.7" size sensor with a max resolution of 4000 x 3000.

Canon released this model to update the earlier Canon S110 (Read Full Comparison)

The S120 is scored #10 out of 261 in Small Sensor Compact cameras and overall #521 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. You should check out our Smart camera filter to get camera rankings based on your personalized factors.

Below is a diagram of various factors used in the rating system.

The Canon S120 comes with a history of related digital cameras. Down below, you can discover all previous and brand new models alongside main features.

You can view the S120 from different angles in the gallery here.

Here is a collection of advantages and disadvantages of the Canon S120 based on features that are usually considered useful in a digital camera.

The Canon S120 is powered by the Digic 6 processor chip. The sensor specification on the Canon S120 is 7.44mm x 5.58mm (1/1.7"). The 42 mm² sensor is able to capture 4000 x 3000 pixels with aspect ratios of 1:1, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera includes Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is more effective than digital stabilization since the latter may produce cropping.

Photography Glossary

The BSI-CMOS sensor boasts 12MP and supports a standard ISO range of 80 to 12800. RAW photos are supported so you have more room to maneuver in post.

The image below illustrates the S120's sensor size when compared to other popular sizes. The S120 sensor comes with a crop factor of 4.8 and is highlighted in green.

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To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you should refer to the graphic below.

Canon S120 weighs 0.48 lb (217 grams / 7.65 ounces) and features exterior measurements of 100mm x 59mm x 29mm (3.9" x 2.3" x 1.1"). The weight of typical Small Sensor Compact camera is 174 grams and the Canon S120 is more heavy compared to various competitors.

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Below is a photo of the Canon S120 with a softdrink so you can have a feel for its size.

The top view here will provide the button arrangement on the S120.

The S120 comes with a built-in lens giving a focal range of 24-120mm giving it a 5.0 x zoom which isn't significant nevertheless it could be handy in some circumstances.

At it's widest 24mm, it offers an aperture of f1.8 which will be awesome in low light circumstances and getting good bokeh. It would also enable you to go with a much lower ISO to produce more clean photos. On the long end, 120mm comes with f5.7 making it fairly sluggish and you will have to go with slower shutter speeds.

The S120 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• Wireless Yes
• HDMI Yes
• GPS Yes

Digital cameras which have NFC and / or Bluetooth connectivity can easily be used wirelessly via smartphones. You can easily send files and in some cases change settings without the hassle of connecting physically with the camera.

Certain apps also stream a Liveview and hit the shutter if you are not close to the camera. If the camera includes a HDMI out, it could be hooked up to an external display. A lot of cameras will allow you to charge the battery pack with the USB port.

The max video resolution on the Canon S120 is 1920 x 1080 and it can save in MPEG-4 and H.264 file format. 1080p resolution provides a good balance in video quality and file size but 1080p will not leave you with much room to downsample. The body does not have a mic and / or headphone jack so you have zero control over your sound. It is probably best to get an alternative camera in case you need good sound in your videos.

Canon S120 does not have environment proofing so wet conditions could ruin the camera.

The Canon S120 houses a 3 inch fixed display with a resolution of 922 thousand dots.

Moreover the display is touch friendly so you will be able to adjust focus point and change settings with your fingers.

Photography Glossary

The View Finder details regarding Canon S120 are the following:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders can be rather helpful in bright outdoor situations which can easily make the camera screen washed out and very difficult to view.

Canon S120 continuous shooting speed is 12.0 fps. The maximum shutter speed is 1/2000 sec.

Canon S120 includes just built-in flash with missing external flash support.

Canon S120 includes only Contrast Based Autofocus and doesn't have Phase Detect Autofocus. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot more quicker & accurate compared to Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera boasts Face detection which makes it handy for portrait photography.

The AF system boasts 9 focus points to choose from. Canon S120 has touch to focus. You can use your fingers to switch where you focus. It also comes with Tracking Autofocus for moving objects. Canon S120 comes with manual focusing when needed in low light occasions or you want more exact focusing control.

The battery pack (NB-6LH) in the Canon S120 is designed to last for 230 images as per the CIPA specifications making it similar to its rivals. The usual Small Sensor Compact camera battery life is 241. Fujifilm X30 has got the maximum (470) battery life in this kind of cameras.

Following is a collection of Small Sensor Compact cameras which have the highest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X30
S120 vs Fujifilm X30470 yesnono

Casio EX-10
S120 vs EX-10455 yesnono

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Ricoh GR Digital IV
S120 vs GR Digital IV390 yesnono

Canon G12
S120 vs G12370 yesnono

Canon G16
S120 vs G16360 yesnono

The following diagram indicates a summary of the Canon S120 for various categories of photography. To find out more, visit the specific paragraph below.

The Canon S120 gets a score of 42 which is really bad, and means the camera is not very good to use for portraits. Taking portrait images favors greatly towards sensor dimensions, RAW support together with the capability to utilize off-camera lighting.

With a nice rating of 65, the Canon S120 is a fine fit to buy for street photography. A decent street photography camera offers a perfect balance of picture quality plus portability.

A really bad sports photography rating of 39 indicates the Canon S120 is not very good for taking photos of sports. A camera really should have good autofocus plus continuous shooting for sports photography.

Size is very important in picking a camera for travel. All round, the Canon S120 gets a nice 67 for a travelling camera which makes it a good pick to purchase for your holidays.

For anyone who is planning to buy a camera for landscape photographs, the most important aspect will be image quality. The Canon S120 and it's decent rating of 57 for a landscape camera is somewhat adequate compared to its competition.

A camera for vlogging really should come with a articulating display screen, microphone port and ideally IBIS. Considering all things, the Canon S120 is not very good as a vlog camera as it comes to a really bad score of 35.

If you are interested in replacements to the S120, here is a collection of the top ranked cameras that fall under the category of Small Sensor Compact.

The chart listed below offers you a summary of the S120 versus it's top scored rivals shown previously.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may look into as alternatives. To check out a extensive comparison, click the "compare" link.