For hikers and sportsmen absolutely great and there is no alternative

My personal requirements for a camera are as follows:

Indispensable:
- Enough to find small in a belt pouch (max Lowepro DRES-8s or Apex20) incl battery capacity for 350 shots, spare SD Card and Lens Cleaning Cloth place..
These bags are so small that walking does not collide with these walking sticks and sturdy enough to slip the camera in a safe to protect.
- Hand operation must be possible at least for emergency (= ferrata)
- Best possible image quality without Auqarellmatsch by-camera noise reduction.
- Minimising the pixel density of the sensor
- Display information must be read even in intense sunshine and 1.50 diopters myopia
- Logical and not complicated operation
- Halfway usable video mode (HD720 in any format regardless of the frame rate)

Nice to have:
- If possible, large wide-angle (if goes 24mm)
- High speed over the whole zoom range
- Dummy Safe automatic mode
- Raw with perfect support from Lightroom
- HD video 30Fps

Were in the final selection, after elimination of all 4/3 cameras (way too big), the Canon S95 and the Lumix LX5.
- What the quality of workmanship, light intensity over the tot. Zoom range, automatic security and Wide concerns had LX5 clearly in the lead, in the image quality, both cameras take anything, the classic lens cap the LX5 is a real nuisance and it is significantly larger than the S95 - in the mentioned Holsters it no longer fits, but what the difference between "Always with you" and "at home in the closet" makes.
The manual of the LX5 includes 263 pages and also after the 3rd reading I have not nearly seen through the cross-influences of really countless settings - a real treat here is the S95 Manual which cited a 194 pages thick but leaves little question unanswered, it is clear structured and written course.

Thus, the decision was clearly in favor of the S95. It scores with the size, clearer display, the automatic lens shutter (hand operation !!) and the much more logical structured menus (even though I'm used to the Lumix menu per se).
As an accessory, I have ordered the stick-handle of Franiec, a spare battery and a 12V Ladegrät.

The default setting I made as follows:
- "P" mode
- Auto-Iso
- MaxIso 640
- Rate of change "standard", with very little light "slowly" in sports to "Fast"
- The ISO setting came into the Favorites menu
- AEL (Belichtungslock) on the "S" button
- Pre Stitch Assist on SCN
- For safety Brake Ting to -1/3 + 1 / 3EV

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Here is my experience after the first 300 shots and the first hike with the S95:

+++++ Positive:
- The display is easy to read even in bright sunlight.
- For a camera this size, I feel the image quality to be excellent
- The image and sharpness is impeccable throughout the zoom range
- The JPEGs are despite their small size (= high compression) of very good quality, the colors are natural, and the noise reduction balanced very well. There are also in JPG ISO400 no Watercolor Matsch (luminance noise limits, yes, but no color slush)
- The exposure to the rear bezel, in conjunction with the very good display good exposure Security
- Fast and accurate autofocus
- Excellent anti-blur
- Due to the fast wide-angle of the flash is hardly needed
- Even under extreme lighting conditions (low sun backlit) the images still have a good drawing.
- The applicable functions for the two adjustment rings (lens ring + dinner ring) are shown on the display, the functions you need, therefore, do not notice.
- No autofocus in video (yes, I series under a positive after my Lumix ZX3 has several videos ruined by pumping AF)
- Panorama mode benefits from very good display. Panorama images through the included Sofware (CameraWindow) in its own subfolder ("STITCH_" + number of each first image) is written to the hard disk - so it eliminates weed out the manual + create subdirectories, actually a little thing but here has nevertheless times a practitioner thought along.

+++++ Mixed:
- When manually switched-flash for better lighting in backlight on the camera without need for highly switched quickly to the set ISO MaxGrenze.
- The automatic mode turns too quickly, the high ISO (but is not a problem, the P-mode worked perfectly)
- The video mode is for Erinnerungsfilmchen, enjoyed on the HDTV, OK - but there's better.
- Panorama mode only in JPG (not raw) and per se only landscape.
One can of course abusing the mode for portrait - in principle this is only an AE + AFLock - by the type of display division, it is difficult to maintain the horizon. The only alternative: the exposure in "P" mode read from the display and then shoot with these values ​​as a basis in "M" the panorama - takes at worst 20sec longer.
- No dedicated USB mass storage mode, one is to download the images to the Canon software, Lightroom or a card reader to rely (or I'm doing something wrong)
- The maximum aperture of 1: 2 is only available in 28mm and then drops off very quickly. After 90% with max. Wide fotographiere is my matter also which is in such a small camera probably does not permit otherwise.

+++++ Does not really belong to the review of the S95, but should nevertheless be noted:
- None of the raw profiles from Adobe (CS, Lightroom) for the S95 meets the JPG color really, here you would have to create a custom color profile. Most still "Camera Landscape" is increasing for mountain hikes suitable color temperature by about 100K.

For the estimated reader who has not yet gone to sleep up to this point for which there is a conclusion:

For demanding hikers, cyclists, ev. Also climbers etc. there are in terms of the mix of image quality and compactness, in my view, no alternative.
The operation is logical that display information is also easier with faulty vision (up to 1.50 diopters) available, the manual very well written.
Who the basic concepts aperture / shutter speed / ISO are not completely foreign and who is ready a few seconds longer than usual to invest in an image which is the S95 give absolutely outstanding images of irretrievable moments.

Thus, a strong buy recommendation and 5Punkte to my personal list of requirements.