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The Case for the Canon Powershot S5 IS

January 31, 2008 |

The Canon Powershot S5 IS is an excellent point-and-shoot digital camera with one huge drawback. It’s BIG. It’s not small and convenient like a G9 or a Powershot SD. Forgoing the ultimate in portability is a huge sacrifice. Is it worth it? Is it worth leaving the world of pocket-sized cameras behind? Resoundingly, yes.

Now anyone can read the specs on these cameras and compare features. I’d like to relay my real life experience with the Canon Powershot S5 IS and explain the most impressive and valuable features of this fine digital camera. Also I hope to highlight its ease of use and superb results.

Photo Quality

Since I own a tiny Canon Powershot S410 Digital ELPH (like the current Canon SD400), I am familiar with the shortcomings of these little cameras: picture quality. Especially indoor shots. Peculiar skin tones or ultra-white faces are common. My experience with the S5Is has simply proven to me the superior picture quality of the camera over the smaller powershots. Granted, for even better picture quality I could go with an SLR like the Canon EOS, but I’m too cheap and lazy to invest in that type of camera. It’s much more expensive and more difficult to use. I value ease of use and I enjoy spending a lot less money!

Superior Flash

Certainly part of the reason for the superiority of the picture quality of my S5 is the superior flash. The S5 flash is just a better quality than the embedded, minuscule flashes in the tiny Canon SD powershot cameras. The S5 flash is larger, it pops up, and it centered above the lens. I suspected this flash would be superior, and after using this camera for several months I can conclude it is! Additionally, you can use an external flash if you so desire. You can’t do that with the smaller Canon SDs (although you can with the G9.) Regardless, an external flash is not necessary because the built in flash gets the job done.

12x Zoom

That’s 12x optical zoom! The small cameras can’t compete with that. And the pictures at full zoom are spectacular.

Super Macro Mode

Do you want to get close? Do you want to get really close? Essentially with Super Macro Mode you can get as close as 0cm away from your subject. That’s right. Your lens can literally be touching the object you are photographing. You cannot do that with a G9 or an SD. And, it’s really easy to use. You simply put the camera in program mode and hold in the little flower button at the base of the lens. The camera tells you you’re in Super Macro Mode and you just shoot normally, just extra close. The S5 manual hardly mentions regular macro mode; it jumps right to super macro mode. Well that’s because super macro mode rocks! Get ready insects and other tiny stuff; I’m gonna take your picture!

Excellent Video Capability

Besides taking superb pictures, the Canon S5 IS is an excellent video camera as well. Its features can compete with many features of high-priced camcorders. There are some great textbook features like Long Play Mode, variable frame rates (15 fps, 30 fps and 60 fps), and stereo sound with noise suppression. But let’s hear about the juiciest and coolest video features.

Firstly, you can optically zoom while shooting video. Optically zoom, not digital zoom. Digital zooming is crummy because the picture gets grainy as you zoom. In my mind that kind of ruins the video you are shooting. Smaller Canon digital cameras like the G9 and the SDs do not optically zoom while shooting video. If you’re comparing another camera to the S5, this may be a deciding factor. A 12x optical zoom while shooting video is extremely useful!

Secondly, the S5IS has a dedicated movie button. What is that? Well it means you don’t have to futz around trying to switch to video mode when some video-worthy event starts to occur. This is great for those parents with active young kids! This make the S5 feel more like a regular video camera. When you want to take video, just hit the record button like you would on a camcorder like the ZR850. Of course the button is located for quick access - no fancy hand grips though.

The third impressive video related feature of the S5 is the Photo In Movie feature. This feature allows you to snap a picture while you are shooting video. It’s nice to have photo highlights of your favorite videos. Unfortunately with this feature, the video is interrupted with the still picture. So when you are playing back the video, it freezes at the point the picture is taken. Remember though, other powershots don’t even have this feature.

The Canon S5 is a feature-packed point-and-shoot with superior picture quality and video capability. Perhaps even more impressive is its price range, it’s cheaper than any of the current Canon Powershot cameras on the market right now and significantly cheaper than the popular G9. For a photographer seeking high quality photos, ease of use, and modest price, the S5 is a winner.

A fan and knowledgeable user of the Canon S5IS. Writer of the blog Using the Canon S5 IS

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