In this post you will find several reviews, tests and other resources for the Canon S5 IS
PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera Features:
Movie Action and MovieSnap
The PowerShot S5 IS camera features four movie modes with Canon’s Face Detection AF and AE. Similar to its still mode role, Face Detection AF focuses on the faces in the movie scene while Face Detection AE measures and accounts for the brightness of the faces when it is evaluating the appropriate overall scene exposure. What’s more, the one-touch “modeless movie” feature makes the decision to capture movies virtually instantaneous by engaging the movie function at the press of a dedicated button, without first switching to a shooting mode.
For even greater flexibility, The S5 IS camera’s MovieSnap feature enables users to capture high-resolution eight-megapixel still images at any point during the movie. This “best of both worlds” solution transforms the family photographer into the family videographer, and preserves moving memories and milestones in their original action format while making key moments a snap to view in frames, photo albums and easy-to-share in emails.
Rugged, Reliable and Ready-To-Go
The feel is unmistakably one of reliability. Canon’s new PowerShot S5 IS digital camera ergonomic grip fits firmly into the hand and the ready-for-action rubberized grip cover offers a substantial sense of reassurance. From its fast shutter-speed capabilities – up to1/3200 sec. – to the new accessory Hot-Shoe that accommodates a variety of Canon EX-series Speedlite flashes, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera is a technological bridge between Canon’s advanced point and shoot compact digital cameras and its entry-level digital SLR cameras. For those seeking still greater optical capabilities, Canon offers an optional 1.5x teleconverter, a .75x wide converter and a close-up lens.
What’s in the Box?
Despite its rich repertoire of photo features, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera measures a mere 4.6 inches long, 3.15 inches high and 3.06 inches wide and tips the scales at less than 16 ounces. In stores beginning in early July 2007, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera kit includes four AA alkaline batteries, a 32MB SD memory card, a USB interface cable, a stereo AV cable for audio/video output, and a full suite of Canon’s latest software applications. The PowerShot S5 IS digital camera carries an estimated selling price of $499.99.
Reviews
Canon’s PowerShot S5 IS remains one of the best super-zoom digital cameras on the market. It sports a decent 12x range with optical stabilisation, a useful flip-out and twist screen, a decent degree of manual control and impressively, a flash hotshoe. Some will also prefer its use of AA batteries over proprietary and expensive Lithium Ion battery packs.
The Canon PowerShot S5 IS has a lot to offer with its image-stabilized 12x optical zoom lens and well-rounded feature set that provides more than enough sophistication and manual options for advanced amateurs and prosumers, while providing less experienced photographers a solid set of familiar options like Auto, Program AE, and Scene modes.
The Canon Powershot S5 IS is a feature rich super zoom digital camera. In terms of controls and settings it has the edge over all its rivals. Picture quality is very good overall and outstanding in places.
The Canon PowerShot S5 IS is unquestionably the most versatile digital camera on the market, with a powerful high quality zoom lens, superb image stabilisation, class-leading performance and what may be the best AF system on the market. It has a huge range of features, including a video mode with full zoom lens and stereo audio. It is slightly let down by the small sensor and its inherent noise problems, but it is still an outstanding camera by any standard.
Ultimately the Canon PowerShot S5 IS is something of a jack-of-all-trades – perhaps even a Swiss Army knife of a camera (though it doesn’t play MP3s), and there’s certainly more of a focus on shooting movies than many enthusiast cameras, with stereo sound (Wave format) offered, a long play option, and a nicely smooth and quiet zoom action thanks to that Ultrasonic Motor (USM).
The Canon PowerShot S5 IS combines a few aged components with some new technology and upgrades. The 8-megapixel ultra-zoom digital camera has a 12x optical zoom lens that has made several appearances on previous S-series models. The 12x lens used to be considered long, but is now one of the shorter lenses on an ultra-zoom camera. Newer cameras have 15x and 18x lenses – and are less expensive.
C|net is one of the first sites to post a review of the S5 IS. They gave it a 7.4 out of 10 (“very good”):
There was a lot to like about the Canon PowerShot S3 IS, and much of it remains in this year’s PowerShot S5 IS, including Canon’s veteran optical image-stabilization technology, excellent metering and focusing systems, the signature flip-and-twist LCD display, and a hefty set of manual and semimanual controls. The S5 IS bumps up to 8 megapixels from the S3’s 6-megapixel sensor, increases the LCD size from 2 to 2.5 inches, and adds trendy bonus features like face-detection autofocus/autoexposure, maximum sensitivity of ISO 1600, and an ISO-shift mode that lets you jack up the setting with a button press when the camera tells you the shutter speed is too slow. We can thank the upgrade to a Digic III processor for many of the new capabilities. Read the rest of C|net’s review . . . .
Popular Photography now has up a Buyer’s Guide page for the S5 IS with a section for users to submit their review scores.
DC Resource has a thorough review up now:
While not perfect, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS is still one of the best ultra zooms on the market. It offers a nice blend of photo quality, performance, and features that appeal to both beginners and enthusiasts. I can recommend the S5 to just about anyone interested in an ultra zoom camera. If you’re a PowerShot S3 owner wondering if you should upgrade, I would only say “yes” if you need the hot shoe and longer movie recording times. Otherwise, stick with what you have! (Read more at dcresource.com)
You can read a short review of the S5 IS over at DPexpert.com.au:
The Canon S5 IS is one of the best of the pseudo SLR super zooms. The lens is outstanding and the company has kept the pixel count to 8 million. That’s about a million more than we consider ideal and images are a bit noisy at ISO speeds above 200, but not so much so that the picture is degraded. This is a good all-purpose camera with a standout macro ability. (Read more. . . )
DP Interface has a thorough review up:
The Canon PowerShot S5 IS is a worthy successor to last year’s S3 and it is arguably the flagship Canon PowerShot (though some may disagree) since it has an overall better feature set than the G7. There are some negatives about the S5 highlighted above but which camera is entirely perfect? Overall, I have no problem giving my recommendation and thumbs up to the Canon PowerShot S5 IS for those who want a very good ultra-zoom camera which has almost every feature you need, at a reasonable price too. If a capable all-in-one (good still image mode and impressive movie mode) camera is what you need, the S5 IS is absolutely it. (Read more. . .)
Digital Camera Review has posted a review of the Canon S5 IS and notes the following:
This is a capable and versatile camera, with good shutter and focus performance, great image and color quality and a lens that can range from modest wide angle to long telephoto. The auto and shooting mode options are supplemented by a full set of manual controls, and the camera will provide a fine imaging tool to the novice who never ventures past “auto”; serve as an excellent learning platform for someone contemplating the move to a DSLR and all that entails, or capably produce high quality images for an advanced shooter who doesn’t need or want to be constrained by the bulk of a DSLR. The smaller physical size of the sensor guarantees that noise performance won’t match a DSLR once ISO values start to rise, and the 0.9 fps continuous shooting speed is a bit of a disappointment for a camera that does so many other things so well. But these are truly minor annoyances given the overall excellence of the S5 IS.
Photo Review (Australia) gives the Canon S5 IS an overall score in their review of 8.5 out of 10 (which is really more of an overview of the features) and writes:
Features common to the S5 IS and its predecessor include the 12x optical zoom lens and lens-shift Optical Image Stabiliser (IS) technology as well as the digital zoom magnification ratio. The sensor sizes in both cameras are also the same, which means the photosites in the new model are slightly smaller. This presents a challenge for the image processor at high ISO settings. Interestingly, the shutter speed range is also identical for both cameras. The supplied lens cap is also unchanged and is still too easy to dislodge accidentally.
DPReview.com finally has a thorough (as expected) review up of the Canon S5 IS.
. . . let’s get one thing straight; the S5 IS is a great camera, one we really enjoyed using, and one that produces decent output shot after shot thanks to a responsive focus system, accurate exposure, vibrant (but natural) color and a decent image stabilization system. Although the results don’t bear close ‘pixel level’ scrutiny, for the typical user wanting to produce prints at standard sizes (say up to 5×7 inches) there’s very little to complain about, and the more you use it the more you learn how to tailor the settings to get the best output. It also offers class-leading movie quality, if that’s important to you.
[tags]canon, s5, is, s5is, review, comparison, s3, digital camera, zoom, superzoom, deals, cheap, price[/tags]
[…] is unmistakably one of reliability. Canon s new PowerShot S5 IS digital camera ergonomic grip fits firmly… that accommodates a variety of Canon EX-series Speedlite flashes, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera…? Despite its rich repertoire of photo features, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera measures a mere 4.6…. In stores beginning in early July 2007, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera kit includes four AA alkaline…, and a full suite of Canon s latest software applications. The PowerShot S5 IS digital camera carriesRead more…Tags: digital cameras […]