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Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
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Publisher: Canon
Salesrank: 38
Released: 2007-05-15
List Price: $449.99
Our Price: Too low to display
Used Price: $279.95
Media: Photography
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Customer Reviews:
The more you use it the better it gets!!! (2008-04-16)
Last year I went to America (USA) for my holidays. It had been a long time since I’d had a holiday and even longer since I’d been to the USA. This time I wanted to do a few things more, especially since I was going for 5 weeks. A new camera was a must as my old and much loved first digital camera, a Fuji S300 has dust on its sensor and was a little annoying due to shutter lag, plus nearly everything needed colour correction on the computer. Nevertheless it had taken excellent pictures many of which are on the walls of our current home. I thought by now it would be easy to replace this with a dSLR, I used to use an OM1 (film SLR) with a nice heavy zoom lens. There were some excellent bargains in the shops, or so I thought until I started looking closer. The choice last year seemed very much to be Nikon D40 or D40X or Canon EOS 400D. Then again the Olympus E410 & 510 had just arrived. Had the E510 been cheaper I would have bought that but being new it had not yet reached its discount levels so I hesitated.

Eventually I bought this camera last August. This seemed to be the most recommended ultra zoom, with reservations from some reviewers. Mine was made in Japan which I like but at the price last August it needed to be! I find it works very nicely especially the video with full stereo sound! I have to date taken some 7566 pictures; some just practise shots, some discarded and many of the rest avi’s. If I have any complaints about it they are these:

Batteries, I have destroyed a fair number of NiMh rechargeables or at least the camera and a quick charger have. In fact due to batteries and charger problems or rather the batteries not lasting 5 minutes in the camera I started on an updated hunt to replace it, again with a dSLR - plenty of new ones to choose from! Whilst hunting I came across recommendations and bought a pack of 4 Duracell Japan AA’s and then came across a bargain 4 hour charger. This combination seems to have solved battery issues albeit at a price. It’s still good though to have 4 Alkaline AA in your pack and use those when in need. Good batteries however last a long time - days of hard use but that’s how you eventually destroy the less than top draw ones it seems!

Wide angle is issue 2. Whilst in New York I needed it, how else can you snap the glorious buildings? I popped into a store just off Times Square (where you are supposed not to shop) and picked up a fish eye/wide angle for a couple of hundred US$. That felt expensive at the time but Canon had not yet got their act together with supplies of this much needed item. It turns out the quality was pretty good as long as you don’t forget to take it off when you go telephoto that is. I became a quick hand at slipping it on and off, only dropping it twice (dented the lens hood but nothing else!) So if you photograph buildings or similar with wide angle lens this camera may not suit you and a $200 upgrade could buy you something with a wider angle.

Issue 3 is the lens cap dropping off but if you have a wide angle I keep that on mostly and had both lens caps on the thread for use in field - also I use black electricians tape (PVC, what we used to call insulating tape). I had needed that as the only converters anyone had last year were for the S2 which had a slightly different fitting so I used the tape to stop the tube moving in the mount (it clicked in but …). I recently tried a really cheap teleconverter (2x) it didn’t work too well, focus and f stop wise, however it showed me that I would gain very little from buying the quality Canon one (1.6x). I now use the lens tube for the wide angle since it was made for the S5. I have a polarizing filter but haven’t found the need for it yet - when next on Sydney harbor perhaps.

Issue 4 is non issue in some ways - video is so good on this camera I defaulted to using it (just pressed that red button) as soon as there was something interesting, so ended up with great avi’s but hardly any decent stills, although you can scavenge those from the avi in the software but the pixel count is of course lower! The issue is that I feel I haven’t achieved my previous standard i.e. when using the Fuji or OM1 and predecessors.

Issue 5 there is some noise around but never having had the S3 at 6mp I suspect it won’t bother most people very often, though I worked in summer mostly and here when it’s sunny. On grey overcast days maybe, though indoors with or without flash it never seems to be that bad.

Pluses:

Hard working, great pictures, excellent video and frankly until recently I never used anything except auto, it doesn’t need it. Here are some things that I wouldn’t be without from Canon anyway, a DIGIC III processor which I suspect accounts for colour and exposure control (Canon use it in the EOS40D & the EOS 450D), IS (image stabilization), scene modes especially foliage, ISO range from 60, yes folks 60 not 200 as some dSLR’s (e.g. Alpha 700), preferably live view and naturally @100%, tilting and rotating LCD screen (both the latter mean overpriced Olympus E3), diopter adjustment on the viewfinder, SD cards for storage (now I have them that is, I have 2×4 gb, 3×2 gb, ah not E3 - uhm you know the problem or else you wouldn’t be reading this).

I have tried exposure bracketing and focus bracketing the latter was unnecessary and the exposure gave some slight improvements at a 1/3rd less but nothing to worry about in the incandescence of a normal sunny Australian day! Will try in less ideal conditions.

Vivid colour I like to play with though it often turns our roads blue (set it for custom mode). You can also shoot B7W or even black & white, sepia or colour accent but I haven’t explored those much yet.

To say that in looking for a new camera whilst this one still isn’t broke was perhaps foolish is true but it has lead me to better understand what this camera will do. I compared same time location shots from the S5 IS with those from a EOS400D with the kit short zoom lens and my picture quality won out (Digic III processor, I suspect, it couldn’t be the small sensor - but perhaps the lens). See TrustedReviews.com thoughts on the S5 IS and compare his Exeter Cathedral shots, I preferred the S5 to the EOS40D though that might just have been the weather.

Recommendation - don’t ditch the manuals but do get “A Short Course in Canon Powershot S5 IS Photography” from Amazon or www. Shortcourses.com. At US$29.95 online it’s a steal (you’ll find out things you never noticed in the advanced users manual, especially on P, Tv, Av mode use. There are 2 typos, one is calling the sensor CMOS, it says in the said manual CCD, the other is an unfinished unimportant sentence, but hey he’s probably like the most of us, married & interrupted when composing!). Also download a manual from Canon then you can print out the excellent list of features at the back of the advanced version - take that with you just in case you find auto doesn’t do it for you - I even used auto for night photography in New York!

On balance I might even replace this with another S5 IS if the untoward happens! Oh and if you think you will buy an EOS450D they’ll share a flash unit but I haven’t needed it and look at the prices Canon want for them - could buy a competitors dSLR at the same price as the 580 flash unit.

PS - if you are reading Canon I very nearly snapped up a Samsung GX10 for the price of a Nikon D40, half of the price of the EOS450 all with a kit kens, the GX10 & D40 probably have better than your basic kit lens.

ENJOY!

Excelent Intermediate Camera (2008-04-13)
I have had this camera for about a week, after I’ve had it for a while longer I will give another review. I have to say, this camera has given me a newfound excitement for taking pictures. Everything from the easy to navigate menus to the speed of rediness has got me exited about the Powershot S5.

I did a lot research before I picked out this camera and I really didn’t find any negeative things about except for someone that was obviously comparing it to an SLR. It’s not an SLR but it’s as close as your going to get without getting an SLR.

I’m not a professional photographer, more of an intermediate but if I was a pro, I would have gotten a SLR. I do know a pro that has the Canon G7 for a backup and he liked my camera a lot better.

My previous camera, which I was quite happy with, was an Olympus C740 with 10X Optical zoom. It takes great pictures but it’s not near as easy to use as this one is. I would not recomend this for a beginner, although it does do a pretty good job of point and shoot, it has a lot of easy to use buttons to get at the setting that you most like but could be confusing for a beginner, but wonderful for someone that doesn’t want to have to dig through a meriad of menus to find.

In all, I am quite happy with the Canon Powershot S5 and would recomend it to my closest friend. I hope this helps.Fantastic camera (2008-04-13)
Love love love this camera. The photos are amazing. I live in DC and wanted some good quality photos. They are better than I could’ve imagined. I was able to get perfect pictures of the Capitol dome on the digital zoom from over a mile away. This camera produces sharp, perfect color pictures and has the capabilities of switching lenses. And this camera takes photos quickly so you don’t have to worry about losing that perfect shot. If you don’t want to spend $700 plus on a Canon Rebel SLR, purchase this camera. You won’t be disappointed.Excellent camera, annoying user manual (2008-04-11)
The camera is loaded with features and is easy to use. My complaint is about the user manual. Poorly written, poorly organized. The writer had no concept of what’s in the mind of the new user. It needs to be rewritten for clarity and to actually SHOW the user how to use the camera.Disappointing, very noisy pictures (2008-04-11)
I expected more from Canon than that….

1.) The lens cap ALWAYS falls from the lens. So you have to be very careful where you put the camera.

2.) I bought that camera intending to avoid wiggly, noisy pictures. This camera should have an image stabilizer…. well, it should. Compared to an older Canon (an IXUS) there are much more bad pictures with this one. The pictures are less sharp than the ones from the old model.

3.) It is really hard to use the digital zoom without having a tripod.

BUT

the optical zoom on the other hand is great and the movies are of a better quality than the photos.

Well, I guess, I would not buy it again, so if you have an alternative, go with it. 

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