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Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera

User Reviews: Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera
$158.50 - $299.95
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4.4 out of 5.0 stars 180 Ratings (32 Reviews)

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    WOW!!!! Finally I got a GREAT Camera

    By Jazzzy42  Aug 15, 2007 | 60 out of 68 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: I am blown away with the S5

    Cons: Haven't found one yet

    I have had so many digital cameras and I finally found one I absolutely love. I just sent back the SP550UZ Olympus what a joke a camera that won't forcus a new concept. I have had the Nikon 8800, 5700, all the 1000.00 slr's Nikon D80, sony an...d canon. The S5is is perfect for my needs I sell some photos love macro and landscape photography and I promise you will not be disappointed in the S5is, I am on Vacation on a photo shoot and having a blast. Heading home long enough to pick up the wide angle and telephone lens I ordered and back to the wildness to shoot more stunning photos. Ease of use, quality photos and a short learning curve makes this a GREAT Camera, Oh! I also owned the S3is was not that impressed The S5is is not a glorified S3 it is lighting fast. A whole new camera by Canon. I mean you will never miss the shot because this camera goes into super speed start up and focusing. FUN FUN FUN!!! If you bought an S5is and didn't like it I woul be SHOCKED! I have read every review possible on most every high end point and shoot and $1000.00-$2000.00 Digital SLR I have researched till I am blue in the face, check out my Ebay acount I have sold 13 digital cameras over the last 2 years That I have bought, tried and sold. This one will not be on my Ebay anytime soon. Read more Less

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    Best you can get before going SLR

    By Alex  Oct 18, 2007 | 28 out of 29 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Quick start up, great image quality, good video quality, great optical zoom length, hot shoe flash mount

    Cons: No RAW support, autofocus a little lagging sometimes.

    This is probably on of the best pro-sumer cameras you can get without going to an SLR. The Digic III image processor puts out great clear images. Plenty of preset settings for indoor, beach, night, sport, etc. and also full manual capability for crea...tive freedom. I know this is a ""point n shoot" but I miss being able to manually focus using the lens barrel like you can on an SLR. The auto focus can sometimes lag when you need a quick response, you need to hold cam pretty still to allow the focus to lock in. When it does, however, its very sharp, and the face tracking works well. That said, I will get used to the focus quirk for the mere fact that I can take video clips, unlike an SLR. The video quality is not Mini DV quality, but very acceptable. With stereo sound, full zoom capability while recording and the ability to snap pics while recording. Also there is a dedicated record button, no need to turn the dial to movie mode. Other reviews knocks this cam for not upgrading the optics, claiming other cams like Sony are catching up. I say this is a case of proven technology being passed forward, these optics were proven in the S3 and the Digic III processor is a big plus upgrade. If you are looking for SLR quality with the ability to shoot video, this is a strong contender. If you want RAW file support, then maybe the Canon G9 is for you. Hope this helps. Read more Less

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    Best bangs for the bucks!

    By KaptKaveman  Nov 11, 2007 | 18 out of 22 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: (1) 100% field of view in the LCD screen and viewfinder. This feature rocks. Bells and whistles are great but compositional perspective wins out artistically with any camera. Even pinhole film types, lol.(2) Multiple internal function controls such as color, contrast and saturate adjust are fantastic. As is the histogram guide and multi focus point choosing. Multiple shooting modes like a DSLR has. And dozens of other internal program features not mentioned in many reviews. I don't own a home computer and no access to any Photo Dr programs. So the internal features of the S3 IS (and S5) allow oneself to reduce but not eliminate many common issues. One example: color wash outs and sharpness when uploading to another media form and with no PC computer to help.

    Cons: (1) The Digic II sensor and 6.1MP on my S3 IS compared to Digic III and 8.1MP on the S5 IS is too close together on their prospective sale release dates. I feel a bit burned by that! Considering the short amount of time my S3 IS has been out comparitively to the S5 IS. The upgrade pace is lightyears beyond any imaginable budget of mine and not justifiable for me. I have read that same complaint in dozens of reviews about the S5 IS. But hey, somebody(s) with more money than myself and many others must be buying or else Canon wouldn't do it that way, right? lol.(2) I feel, considering all the features the S3 IS "DOES" have, the built in and adaptor lens choices could have been better. Kind of lopsided in high features and lower lens qualities.(3) Extremely DIM LCD screen outdoors in sunlight. Even with the fancy LCD hood I bought. I hate "invasive" viewfinders but love photography, go figure, lol.(4) No RAW shoot mode. Would be nice to know it's an option even if you can't take advantage of it, lol.(5) Some color fringing in brighter shots from the lens I assume. Also digital color bleed over occuring in the sensor on higher exposed shots. Especially at night or in the warmer color spectrum.(6) Battery life can get tricky to manage.

    Far exceeds any other camera I had reviewed for the past 2 years before purchasing except the DSLR's of course. The S3 IS and S5 IS cameras are as close to a DSLR as one can get at the current time for the price.

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    One Incredible Point And Shoot

    By MarkD  May 12, 2008 | 10 out of 10 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Fantastic Optics, Feature Packed, Easy to Use, Adjustable LCD, Uses Standard AA Batteries, Uses Standard SD Memory Cards

    Cons: Manual Focus could use a slight improvement

    I have to admit, this little point and shoot from Canon is one awesome workhorse. While it's not a DSLR (and I'm not comparing it to one here), it carries some nice DSLR features and executes them very well. I have pushed this little camera ...to it's optical limits. I shoot everything from landscapes, portraits, macros, action, night, and underwater (in an IKELITE housing) with my S5 IS. I get some really fantastic results. It's a perfect camera for a novice photographer as well as someone with years of experience. I love the AEB (Automatic Exposure Bracketing) mode Canon included. It's perfect for HDR work and functions in Aperture and Exposure priority, as well as Macro or Super Macro modes. Very flexible. In manual mode, the shutter speed and aperture settings are so easy to select you don't even need to move your eyes off of your subject. Whether you are viewing through the viewfinder or the LCD. What's really cool is you actually see the resulting exposure displayed before you even fire the shutter, in case you need to make an adjustment. I love this feature. Especially when I'm shooting in macro mode. I can view my DOF results prior to making my shot. Another feature that I find very useful is the Custom mode. I can go in and configure the S5 IS to shoot the way I like to shoot for any given shooting condition. I can even program in my own custom color settings and save them. This allows me to switch with one or two button presses. Very quick and easy to operate. The menuing system on the S5 IS is so easy. It's by, and far, the easiest I've ever used. Which is pretty remarkable when you consider all of the incredible features and custom configurations available. My other point and shoot, Fuji Finepix S5200, is quite a challenge to navigate. The S5 IS has nearly every setting accessible with one or two button clicks. No need to drill down three or four levels to switch something on or off. Most of the time I'm switching something on the camera I can do it so easily that I don't have to stop photographing. I can stay focused on my subject. I swear... it's that easy and intuitive. The effective patterning area is 8.3Mega Pixels. Not too shabby either. This is great for enlargements. I've printed poster size prints via SnapFish with incredible results. The optics are, of course, excellent. Canon did not skimp on the quality here either. Most of the time I pull a shot from this camera into my post production tools and I find no reason to enhance or modify the colours or exposure. It's almost unbelievable! Bottom line.... if you're considering a point and shoot with some muscle, buy the Canon S5 IS. It's perfect in the hands of a beginner with room to grow into. It's perfect in the hands of a professional for most general work. It's so easy to use. It has incredible DOF performance for macros or supermacros. If you need more convincing, do a search on flickr for photos shot with this camera. I think you will be amazed. This camera is worth every penny you spend on it. Read more Less

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    A wonderful camera, but.....

    By Alexandre  Oct 19, 2007 | 9 out of 9 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Great handling, light, affordable and I love the hotshoe!

    Cons: Image quality gets blurry when viewed at 100%. No RAW support. What a shame!

    I've used this camera for a couple of months now. First I must say I am not a very good photographer. But I know what I like/don't like in a camera. This is a great camera. The grip is perfect, especially with the optionnal 58mm conversion a...dapter snaped on. You have full manual controls, including AE Lock and Focus Lock. The only thing missing (for my own taste) is a Bulb mode and a port for cable release. But everything else in regards to functionality is great. The image quality is nice. However I must point out that even with the sturdiest tripod, with IS turned OFF (best setting when using tripods), lenses cleaned and best focusing, any image viewed at 100% won't be very sharp. I have tried like 100's of images at a same location with different settings and I just couldn't get the images to be sharp. I have looked at some images taken with the same camera here on flickr (GREAT images by the way), and when viewed on the original size, I can see the same lack of sharpness. I guess the size of the CCD is the issue here. They must've cranked the maximum number of pixels on it. It would have been better in my own opinion to make a 7 Megapixel camera with better sharpness. Also, I just find it ridiculous to have such a good camera without RAW support! Why would they put it on the new G9 and not on the S5 ? It is just a software issue for god's sake ! As soon as my warranty expires, I am gonna go for a hacked firmware you can count on that! My conclusion, even despite these two bad sides, IT IS A GREAT CAMERA. I recommend it to anyone like me who wishes to advance from simple snapshooting amateur to serious amateur photography. With the 58mm conversion lens adapter attached, you can use any standard filter you want, even those slot-in system like Lee Filters or Cokin. A note to CANON: PLEASE offer us a new firmware for this camera with RAW support ! Alexandre Campagna Read more Less

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    Very good & Great Camera........BUT

    By Paul JosephE  Feb 9, 2008 | 5 out of 5 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Great zoom & not to heavy to carry

    Cons: Needs 1 SINGLE altaration

    I have a camera S5 IS and I am very happy with it. I love to take pictures all the time especially when I go in the country. But in my opinion the only thing that this camera has wrong is where to put the MEMORY card. When you need to change the memo...ry card you have to open the battery chamber. I think that in this type and size of this S5 IS camera I believe that there is enough space in this camera for the memory card to have a slot by itself and of course you dont have to open somewhere else to get out the memory card. Read more Less

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    Better than my SLR!

    By RosemaryB  Jan 27, 2008 | 5 out of 5 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Great quality and easy to use.

    Cons: Battery/Card door is a little tricky.

    The most important thing to me is image quality. The photos I've taken with this camera are just as good as what I get from my Rebel XT, and I don't have to carry around different lenses. Of course the eye of the photographer is what really m...akes photos great, but having a good camera does help. I like that it uses SD media instead of the larger ones the Rebel uses. There are a lot of options so if you want to do more than point and shoot you can. I love the swing out rotatable screen. It is great! Highly recommended.The only minor issue I have is with the battery door. It Read more Less

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    Sort of disappointed. Should've just gotten DSLR

    By Suzette S  Feb 13, 2008 | 6 out of 8 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: I like the rotating LCD

    Cons: Lens cap falls off easily. Doesn't support RAW [only JPEG]. Quite a bit of noise in my pictures. Takes 4 AA batteries.

    I am by no means a professional, I do it as a hobby. I don't really take it all too seriously, however many of my friends have asked me to take pictures of them. And I had hoped for a better quality of picture after I had upgraded from a pathetic... Nikon E3500. But I've noticed with my Canon there is quite a bit of noise in my pictures,&that bothers me. I can get a few good shots, but it is definitely visible when I zoom in. The more I've looked at cameras online, I've come to the conclusion I should've gotten a DSLR with my expectations. The lens cap is probably theeeee most obnoxious thing. I think EVERY owner of this camera would agree. If you plan on using this quite a bit, I highly suggest a carrying case/bag for this seeing as it pops off every 5 seconds from the slightest move. I really don't like that it takes 4 AA batteries. Which means it is highly advisable you buy a battery charger&rechargeable batteries. And if you want a charger that charges the camera as you are using it, you will have to purchase that separately. Perhaps I'm a little critical, but for spending $500 on camera, batteries, and memory card, I had hoped for better results. I guess I'll have to shoot for the $800 ones, seeing as I haven't the money or skill for $1,000+ cameras. :( Read more Less

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    Great camera, one step before DSRL

    By Imad M  Apr 9, 2008 | 4 out of 4 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: Excellent features, great image in all circumstances, worth the price if compared with DSRL

    Cons: lens cap fall easily,

    I purchased this great camera from Canon 1 M ago, I am enjoying every feature in this camera, incredibely you can control every feature of imaging, thumb up for Canon to have such a camera with all these options for this price

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    My first camera

    By bill  Dec 7, 2007 | 4 out of 4 found this Canon PowerShot S5 IS review helpful

    Pros: easy to use

    Cons: lens cap falls off easily

    This is my first camera and I don't understand all the features and settings, but I can adjust the zoom and everything else is automatic. I have had the camera for about a month and I love it. I have taken some great pictures and I look forward t...o learning more about the camera and photography. Read more Less

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