Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

by Canon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.1 x 4.6 x 3.2 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000Q3043Y
• Item model number: S5
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (427 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #9,671 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 7, 2007

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

The ultimate zoom and a whole lot more.

The ultra-powerful 12x optical zoom on the PowerShot S5 IS means you’ll get the shot you want with no compromise, yet that’s only the beginning of what makes this camera so exciting. The S5 IS is loaded with many of Canon’s latest advanced technologies, including the DIGIC III Image Processor, so both still images and movies are rendered with fine detail and luminous clarity. And now ambitious photographers have even greater creative latitude thanks to an included hot shoe adapter that allows you to attach Canon Speedlite EX Series external flashes.

PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS Highlights

Full-featured, compact 8.0-megapixel digital camera with a 12x optical zoom The PowerShot S5 IS is compact and portable, with streamlined controls and a sure, steady grip. And you’ll want to take it everywhere, because inside is a level of photographic power that’s truly impressive. 8 megapixels ensure deeply detailed images -- giving you complete freedom to enlarge an image or any section of an image and crop to your exact specifications. The 12x optical zoom brings this compact digital camera into the realm of serious photography. It has the power to take you right up onto the stage and into the end zone for the shot you really want. Zooming is fast and silent thanks to the ultrasonic motor drive.

Canon Optical Image Stabilizer Technology and ISO 1600 for steady shooting Life doesn’t give you second chances to capture special times. That’s why the elegant PowerShot S5 IS is equipped with Canon’s acclaimed Optical Image Stabilizer Technology that automatically detects and corrects camera shake -- one of the leading causes of fuzzy or blurred shots. So now even when you’re zooming in tight, you can get the steady, crisp, brilliant images you’ll be proud to shoot and share. And Canon’s Optical Image Stabilizer Technology is so convenient to use. It functions perfectly with or without a flash.

The PowerShot S5 IS also features new ISO 1600 and High ISO Auto settings that reduce the effects of camera shake and sharpen subjects in low-light situations, giving you greater flexibility for shooting.

DIGIC III Image Processor with improved Face Detection Technology and Red-eye Correction With DIGIC III, you get images of superior quality, the camera functions at top efficiency and battery life is significantly enhanced. What’s more, DIGIC III enables Canon’s newly improved Face Detection Technology and Red-eye Correction to give you better, more true-to-life people shots. Simply press the Shutter Button halfway down, and the PowerShot S5 IS automatically pinpoints the faces in the scene and chooses the ideal focus point. To keep every face looking bright and natural -- without scary red eyes -- the camera controls exposure settings and flash, so every shot is just what you were shooting for.

DIGIC III features Face Detection AF/AE, which finds multiple faces in the frame and sets the most suitable focus point, when the shutter button is pressed halfway. And an additional new feature, Face Detection FE adjusts the flash, based on a person’s face on the screen. Exposure and flash are controlled to ensure proper illumination of both the faces and the overall scene, eliminating the common problem of darkened or overexposed faces.

Red-eye correction detects and automatically corrects red-eye during playback for both regular and flash photography. In unusual cases where red-eye is not automatically detected, it can easily be corrected manually during playback mode.

iSAPS technology is an entirely original scene-recognition technology developed for digital cameras by Canon. Using an internal database of thousands of different photos, iSAPS works with the fast DIGIC III Image Processor to improve focus speed and accuracy, as well as exposure and white balance.

High-resolution 2.5-inch vari-angle LCD The camera’s 2.5-inch LCD screen gives you the big picture, whether you’re shooting, reviewing or showing off your images. This high-resolution screen offers a crisp, clear picture to make shooting, playback, and using the camera’s menu functions especially convenient. Clear and bright, it also features Night Display for easy viewing in low light.

Hot shoe adapter for the Speedlite EX Series external flashes* Advanced users and anyone looking to expand their photographic repertoire will be excited to find that Canon has integrated the PowerShot S5 IS with a hot shoe adapter. The adapter lets you quickly and easily add one of several high-quality Canon Speedlite EX Series external flashes, including 220EX, 430EX, 580EX and 580EX II. Adding an external flash allows for advanced creative effects and greatly enhances your ability to achieve professional-quality results in many more situations. Flash intensity and other settings are easily accessed and controlled from the camera’s LCD screen.
_{*Note: External flashes not included}

A variety of movie-making options With a highly flexible movie mode, you can create the movie that’s perfect for any application. Select from VGA (640 x 480 pixels) with frame rates of 30 fps and 30 fps LP, also QVGA (320 x 240 pixels) with frame rates of 60 fps and 30 fps for recording up to 1 hour or 4GB. With the S5 IS, seamless movie shooting is easy -- just by pressing the Movie button without switching to shooting mode. The PowerShot S5 IS supports the USB 2.0 Hi-Speed standard, so you’ll enjoy the fastest possible data transfer speeds when using a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed compatible computer.

22 Shooting Modes, including 9 Special Scene Modes

• Auto The camera chooses all the settings so you can concentrate on your subject.
• Program Access advanced exposure compensation features while shooting mostly automatically.
• Av Aperture-priority You define the aperture to either isolate your subject or have clarity throughout the entire picture, and the camera will choose the corresponding shutter speed.
• Tv Shutter-priority You select the shutter speed to stop or blur action, and the camera finds the appropriate aperture. With slow exposure times, Canon’s noise reduction system activates to ensure low image noise.
• Manual The ultimate in creative control, you set ISO speed, exposure compensation and white balance.
• C Custom Define and store your own settings to achieve the effects you prefer.
• Portrait The camera sets a large aperture, focusing the subject and artistically blurring the background to make your subject "pop."
• Landscape For front to back sharpness, the camera sets a small aperture.
• Sports Ensure highly accurate autofocusing when shooting fast-moving subjects.
• Night Snapshot Get natural-looking pictures with brighter backgrounds and subjects lit by flash.
• Super Macro Close to almost touching distance to capture the subject detail.
• Stitch Assist Build awe-inspiring panoramas by neatly aligning sequential images.
• Movie Shoot in VGA (30 fps/30 fps LP) and QVGA (60 fps/30 fps) for up to 1 hour or 4 GB).
• Night Scene For impressive sunset or nightlife shots, the camera properly exposes the background and uses slow-sync flash for the subject.
• Foliage Capture brilliant shots of autumn foliage, greenery and blossoms.
• Snow Shoot clear snow scenes without darkened subjects or an unnatural bluish tint.
• Beach Get clear shots of people at a sunny beach without darkened faces.
• Fireworks Grab brilliant images of skyrocketing fireworks.
• Aquarium Achieve proper flash-free exposure and natural hues at indoor aquariums.
• Indoor Reduce blur and improve color accuracy when shooting handheld indoors.
• Color Accent Choose to retain a single color in your image while other colors turn monochrome.
• Color Swap Select a color and replace it with a color you specify for special effects.

The Complete Print Solution

The PowerShot S5 IS's Print/Share button makes direct printing easier than ever. Simply connect the S5 IS to a Canon CP, SElphY or PIXMA Photo Printer or any PictBridge compatible photo printer, press the lighted Print/Share button and print! Also use the Print/Share button to transfer images to a computer (Windows and Macintosh).

Print your own ID photos in 28 different sizes or use the Movie Print function to output multiple stills from a recorded movie on a single sheet with a Canon SElphY Compact Photo Printer.

Direct Photo Printers For desktop large-format printing, try one of the Direct Photo Printers that allow you to print without a computer in one of two ways: plug your compatible PowerShot camera into the Direct Photo Printer using the supplied USB interface cable, or simply insert a memory card into the supplied adapter. You can also connect the printer to your computer for more options. Print high-resolution, borderless images as postcards or 8.5" x 11" sheets within minutes.

Compact Photo Printers Compact Photo Printers let you produce versatile, fun 4 x 6-inch postcards, 4 x 8-inch wide greeting cards or credit card size prints in just two easy steps: connect and press/print. Control the printer right from your camera's LCD screen. You get durable, dye-sublimated prints quickly with or without borders. Assorted paper types let you create mini or credit card size labels. You can even take select Compact Photo Printers to a party or an outdoor picnic using an optional rechargeable battery.

PictBridge The PictBridge standard enables any digital camera that supports PictBridge to connect and print to any PictBridge compatible printer.

Product Description

The ultra-powerful 12x optical zoom on the PowerShot S5 IS means you’ll get the shot you want with no compromise, yet that’s only the beginning of what makes this camera so exciting. S5 IS is loaded with many of Canon’s latest advanced technologies including the DIGIC III Image Processor, so both still images and movies are rendered with fine detail and luminous clarity. And now ambitious photographers have even greater creative latitude thanks to an included hot shoe adapter that allows you to attach Canon Speedlite EX Series external flashes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

859 of 871 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Loaded with features, but don't expect amazing results, July 12, 2007

By	Lord Kill (Hell, Hell) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I had been eyeing this camera since it was first announced. I was looking for a decent camera, a step above the compact point-and-shoots, and a step below the DSLRs. This camera seemed to fit the bill, and it was at my price point also. I bought the camera with the idea that this would be the be-all-end-all of non-DSLR digital cameras for the next couple years, and I bought it before the review sites had their reviews up.
Anyway, I've used the camera for a couple days now and taken about 400 shots with it. It is pretty good, although I want to share my thoughts on a couple things that other reviews have brought up.

PROS

Very quick.
This camera focuses extremely quick (and beeps to let you know it's in focus), and when it can't focus it lets you know. I use it in the 'P' setting mostly, and if it can't focus (due to low light or no contrast) it just doesn't beep. It is very quick to turn on and extend it's lens.

Feature-packed.
The amount of features on this thing are truly spectacular, even the creature comforts are nice (such as the histogram and over-exposure detect). The rotating LCD screen is awesome. It enables shots that otherwise wouldn't be possible. You won't find another ultra-zoom on the market at this price range that offers more in this area.

Feel
This camera feels nice. It feels solid (as long as the lens cap is off). The rotating LCD doesn't feel loose or cheap. The on/off button is nicely located. It makes it fun to use. The zoom is silent too.

There have been a lot of complaints about the battery door being too flimsy. I think this is a little overblown. It's not as nice as some other cameras, but it's not that bad really. As for the batteries being in the same slot as the memory card, I can see why for some people that would be an issue, but for 90% of the users I don't really see it as that much of a problem. I think of it as only having a battery door since I rarely take the memory card out of my cameras anyway ( I just use the supplied cable to transfer the images and a very large memory card).

CONS

Noise present.
There is an unpleasant amount of noise at the 8 MP setting, especially in ISO 200 or above. This seems to be the trend, cram as many pixels as we can into this thing because the market dictates this. Noise is comparable to the FZ8 in my opinion, however, the noise reduction is not so aggressive.
This being said, I prefer some noise way more than an aggressive noise-reduction system's effects. However, if I wanted a camera that delivers the quality of a 5 megapixel camera I would've bought one. They are much cheaper.

Lens cap flimsy.
The lens cap is somewhat flimsy, falling off easily if you bump it, or even set it on a table too hard. This is obviously so you don't jam the motor by turning it on without removing the cap (which you're bound to do eventually). I'm used to the self-contained lens caps which retract automatically, but I understand this is tough on a camera with a lens this long. I had a camera once that when powered up would detect that the cap was still on and beep, letting you know to take the cap off. That's probably too much to ask these days.

Red-Eye.
The redeye reduction is not great on this camera (it doesn't pre-fire the flash, it just illuminates an LED on the front), so I find myself using the red-eye removal tool that is in the camera. The results of this were only so-so for me. I've had mixed results. Sometimes it works wonders, others it did indeed detect and remove the red-eye, only to replace the red with an unnatural looking black (it's hard to explain, but think of what the photo touchup machine at Target would do). If you wanna see this, e-mail me. This is OK if you're just creating small prints, although if you look at it on your computer display at full-res you clearly see this effect. If your subject is looking directly at the camera, the detection can remove the red-eye from both eyes. However, if your subject is not directly at the camera, sometimes the red-eye removal only catches one of the eyes. This is somewhat of a minor issue due to the amount of aftermarket red-eye reduction software available (CS3 anyone?).

Chromatic Abberation/Blurry Corners
This seems to be a bit of a problem with this camera. Not more so than some other cameras in this range, but it is annoying. I don't know what exactly causes it, but I have taken shots in my backyard during daylight, and whenever light is reflecting off of something with anything dark in the background, I see this red/magenta outlines. Some cameras remove this in processing the JPEG image(e.g. Lumix), which is something that would be nice to have. I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it than it really is. I've seen much worse in some of the competition. Blurry corners seem to be a problem as well. If you take an outdoor scene shot, you'll notice that the four corners are a little blurry and distorted. Some people wouldn't see this being that much of a problem, but I love taking outdoor scenic shots where details like that are important.

Zoom Control.
This aspect is really annoying. The zoom control is somewhat cheap feeling and over-sensitive. It is one of those that changes zoom speed based on how hard you press the lever. It has a slow speed and a fast speed. However, the slow speed doesn't have enough hysteresis. It is difficult to get the zoom speed just right. I have a feeling the slow speed will wear out and only the fast will remain. I actually used a S3 with this worn out zoom controller and it was quite annoying, as you could only zoom fast.



If I weren't so picky I would LOVE this camera, however the less-than-outstanding image quality make it 4 stars instead of 5. As it is, it's not perfect for indoor nor outdoor shots. If anyone wants to see any examples of stuff I've talked about, please e-mail me and i'll get you some examples.

154 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great camera!, July 8, 2007

By	S. Garfinkle (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

I'm very happy with the S5 I bought to replace an S3 -- except, as noted elesewhere, I hate that the SD card is now in the battery compartment. The hot shoe (external flash socket) is a HUGE help, since the builtin flash on these cameras is pretty wimpy. The camera takes unbelievably good pictures and has excellent first shot and shot-to-shot times (it helps if you use the Energizer e2 Lithium Batteries). Although the S5 weighs about 4 oz more than the S3 (About 20 oz vs 16 oz inclding batteries), its construction "feels more rugged."

BTW, I don't know that you need to wait for larger cards for bigger movies, etc. I use an 8gb SDHC card now. Be careful, though, which SDHC cards you get. Even with Sandisk's attempt to standardize the speeds, I found that an A-Data "class 6" SDHC card was about 25-35% of the speed of my Transcend class 6 card. Also, remember that you need an SDHC card reader (I got mine from meritline for $5).

384 of 399 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A troubling trend, July 13, 2007

By	oddlycalm (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Electronics)

After buying the S5 to replace my S3 I was very disappointed with the image noise as noted on another review here. This is not a Canon only problem and it's becoming a troubling trend as megapixels are added at the expense of image quality.

It's not a matter of the S5 being better than the Sony H7 or H9, it's a matter of any of these cameras being able to equal their own previous generation model with regard to noise. The megapixel war is simply marketing nonsense unless you plan on printing wall posters or drastically cropping images. The fact is that only so many pixels can be put on the same size image sensor before the noise level becomes a problem and anti-noise electronic counter measures simply trade one problem for another.

My S5 went back to the store and I'll continue to use my S3. I'll miss the hot shoe and the new LCD viewing screen, but for me photography is more about images that camera features. Eventually the companies will probably come around, but until then you may want to regard ever higher megapixal ratings with suspicion.