The Canon Powershot S90 is the camera semi-pro photographers have been waiting for. It's the perfect balance of size, features, and price. However, the focus of this camera is clearly on picture quality.

Canon has finally put together the specs normally found on it's full size SLRs into a stylish compact body. A bright F/2.0 lens combined with an optical image stablizer. A new 10-megapixel High Sensitivity CCD sensor that boasts 23MP/cm2 . Full manual controls accessed from a new control ring at the base of the lens barrel. And finally, very rarely seen in a compact camera - the ability to shoot in RAW mode!

If you're familiar with looking a camera specs, I have no doubt you're very excited to finally see all these things in a compact camera. Of course you know that a compact camera will never replace a full size SLR, but at least you will take comfort in the fact that you'll still get near SLR quality - even in low light situations.

In case you're not so familiar with the specs, I'll summarize each one and why it affects picture quality.

First is the F/2.0 lens. This means that the pictures will be brighter and sharper. A brighter lens allows the camera to use a higher shutter speed which means your pictures will have less blurring and jitter. Almost all cameras this size use an F/2.8 or higher lens, which means they are slower and darker. You'll be able to take sharp pictures in those poorly lit rooms, like in a museum or restaurant, without using the flash!

The optical image stabilizer will compensate for small camera movements caused my less than steady hands. It's important to note that this is an OPTICAL image stabilizer and not a digital one. Optical image stabilizers physically move the lens and/or sensor to keep the image sharp. Digital stabilizers try to calculate the motion using the built program. Test after test have shown the optical image stabilizer does a far better job of eliminating the blur and jitter caused by a shaky hand or trying to take a picture while on the move (like in a car).

The next and very important (if not the most important) feature is the new 10 megapixel sensor. Most compact cameras come in 10 or 12 megapixels, but the one in the Canon s90 is different. It uses a much larger CCD. Most compact cameras try to cram all 10 megapixels in a sensor half the size. This results in dark and grainy pictures. With a larger surface area to capture light, you'll get much brighter pictures with less "noise" in dimly lit rooms.

For the camera enthusiast, you get full manual controls and the ability to shoot in RAW. If you're new to photography, it may be hard at first to appreciate what a huge advantage this is. Having full manual control gives you the freedom to take pictures the way you want to, not what some techie programmer at Canon thinks you want. Ever wonder how to make an object be in full focus up front, but then everything in the background be blurry and out of focus? How about those cool night effect pictures where you see the car lights streaking down the highway? You'll be able to do some many cool things once you take over the all the features of the camera manually.

As for shooting in RAW, this means you get every pixel the camera took versus a compressed version. Although you may have never realized this, most cameras compress pictures using an algorithm that results in colors that are washed out or too strong. Pictures that have too much contrast or look dull. Compression reduces every aspect of a picture. It's my opinion that Canon does has the best compression program (part of the Digic 4 image processor), but for the serious and semi-pro photographer, any compression is unwanted.

The above features are key when you want the best picture possible. Canon didn't bother trying to sell you on total megapixels or shooting movies in HD, or any number of other gimmicks that sell compact cameras. Serious photographers know what matters - the lens, the sensor, and manual controls. Canon has finally put it all together into the Powershot s90 IS. This camera will without question, give you the best picture quality from any compact camera on the market today.