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Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS review: Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS

Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS

Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Headshot of Joshua Goldman
Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman
7 min read

With so many cameras announced last year, I sort of overlooked reviewing the Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS. And that's kind of a shame.

7.4

Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS

The Good

The <b>Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS</b> is a very good value, offering good photo and video quality outside and indoors, lots of fun shooting modes, and decent shooting performance for its class.

The Bad

The 100 HS' photos look soft, even at lower ISOs, and its autofocus is regularly inaccurate.

The Bottom Line

If you're after an inexpensive ultracompact with good low-light photos, the Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS is one to get. But you'd better act fast.

When it was released in the first half of 2011, it was Canon's least expensive camera with a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor, which gives better low-light photos and shooting performance than the CCD sensors Canon used previously for its Elphs. It was priced at $199.99, which was a great deal at the time for a BSI CMOS camera. Now, almost a year later, it's nearly $100 less, making it an outstanding bargain for its features and performance.

If you're unhappy with your smartphone camera or just want a simple point-and-shoot to jam in your pocket for a day trip, the Elph 100 HS is a very good choice--even with its issues. Canon tells me it won't be around much longer, though, so if you're interested, you might want to pick one up soon. (And in case you're curious how it stacks up against the iPhone 4S, check out our head-to-head shootout.)

7.4

Canon PowerShot ELPH 100 HS

Score Breakdown

Design 8Features 7Performance 7Image quality 7