Overview
The Canon Powershot S5 IS is the most high spec super zoom camera I have tested. As well as manual exposure controls it offers more options that its rivals in a number of other areas. These include flash, colour effects and focusing. You will also find a pull out and twist LCD screen and a viewfinder you can focus to suit your own eyesight. The Powershot S5 IS is an 8 megapixel digital camera with a 12x zoom lens and image stabilisation.
Main Features
Megapixels:
Zoom:
LCD Screen:
Dimensions:
Weight:
8
12x
2.5 inches
117 x 80 x 77.7 mm
450g
Macro:
HD Movies:
Manual Controls:
Batteries:
Memory Cards:
0cm
No
Yes
AA
SD/SDHC
Image Quality - See Sample Images Below
Outdoor Scenic Shots in Good Light
The first outdoor shot gets my tests off to a good start. Strong colours, sharp focusing and any glare from the sun is handled well.
Another good effort. There is plenty of strong colour. This is especially noticeable in the sky. The Powershot S5 IS also produces a sharper focus then most other digital cameras manage with the lens zoomed right out.
This is a surprisingly disappointing photo. With the lens zoomed in to its maximum capacity there is a clear loss of sharpness towards the edges of the photo. There is also lot of reddish fringing. This is where a reddish line is added to the edges of objects where they are caught by the sun. Although the fringing is a problem with most super zoom cameras, the problems with this photo are important as one of the main reasons for buying this type of camera is its ability to zoom in from distance.
Portraits
This is one of the better outdoor portraits I have taken. The photo is sharply focused and I like the colours and the lighting.
Indoor Portrait
This is another photo where I think the Powershot S5 IS does exceptionally well. Again the colours are spot on, difficult lighting is handled very well and focusing is very sharp. Although the camera has a manual red eye correction facility red eye is not likely to be a big issue with this camera as the flash pops up away from the lens reducing the possibility of red eye occurring.
The lowlight test is another where the Powershot S5 IS does very well. The power of the flash lights the scene well without blasting out all the detail from the shot. Focusing is very good once more.
Macro, Colours and Noise
For close up photography the Powershot S5 IS is able to produce a very clear shot. There is a slight hint of purple fringing where the light source hits the edges of the watch face. This could pose a problem if you wish to produce high quality jewelry photos, but is unlikely to cause too much concern elsewhere.
The colours throughout all the photos are excellent. They are well balanced, strong without being overpowering and give the scenes a lively feel.
Quality begins to fall away at ISO 400. Noise starts to show up in photos to a level where larger prints are likely to show the drop in quality.
Wow! The quality has disappeared at this level. Luckily you are unlikely to want to use this setting for the vast majority of your shots and it is quite possible you will never get around to using it.
Summary
On the whole the Powershot S5 IS does very well. As with most digital cameras shooting at higher ISO levels causes a definite reduction in picture quality. The loss of sharpness away from the centre of the photo when taking a shot with the zoom fully extended is a much bigger worry though. This is especially the case when you consider the main attraction of the camera is its long lens.
Style
Built like a mini SLR camera it has a good, solid feel in the hand.
Shutter Lag Times
Single Shot
Five Shots
Single Shot With Flash
Five Shots With Flash
0.25 seconds
8.22 seconds
0.48 seconds
13.14 seconds
Ease of Use
The main reason why the Powershot S5 IS is difficult to use is because of all the features the camera has. It can be used as a more straightforward point and shoot camera, but then you will be paying for a lot of extra features you may not need.
Points I Like
Pull out and twist LCD screen - Fast reacting lens - Focusable viewfinder - Range of features
Where it Could Improve
Loss of sharpness towards edge of photo when full zoom used
Verdict
The Canon Powershot S5 IS has more features than any similar, super zoom digital camera. It is also one of the more expensive models. On the whole picture quality is very good, but it is a concern that my full zoom test showed a noticeable fall off in sharpness away from the centre of the photo.
Product Shots
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
Top Rated Cameras in this Category
Panasonic DMC FZ48 Rating 87/100
The Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ48 is very hard to beat. It is up against some stiff competition, but the combination of features, image quality and pricing makes it the outstanding model in its category. When it comes to picture quality it has few weaknesses and its length of lens means it can cope with more or less any photo opportunity.
Read Review: Panasonic DMC FZ48 Review
Fuji Finepix HS30EXR Rating 86/100
The Fuji Finepix HS30EXR does offer a number of differences to rival Super Zoom or Bridge digital cameras. The main difference is the twisting lens barrel, but there are other handling aspects that make it that bit closer to a Digital SLR experience. In terms of features Fuji have packed in just about everything they can think of. Picture quality compares well against rival cameras and shutter response times are also impressive. This makes this camera a very attractive proposition if you are looking for a fully featured camera with a great deal of zoom power.
Read Review: Fuji Finepix HS30EXR Review
Canon Powershot SX40 HS Rating 85/100
Your decision to buy the Canon Powershot SX40 HS is likely to be based on whether or not you prefer the simplicity and lower price of a digital camera with a fixed lens or whether you prefer the ultimate flexibility of a Digital SLR. If you prefer a camera where one lens covers just about all photo opportunities then the Powershot SX40 HS is hard to beat. There are no real issues with picture quality and it has a set of features that few other models can match. Recommended.
Read Review: Canon Powershot SX40 HS Review
Related Pages
Canon Powershot S5 IS Review Canon Powershot S5 IS Specification Canon Powershot S5 IS Sample Images Canon Powershot S5 IS Features Canon Digital Cameras
Review Date
September 2007
