Home > Consumer Reviews > Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera - Black (8.0MP, 12x Optical Zoom) 2.5" LCD

As someone who had purchased a Powershot A40 in the past from Amazon and now wanting to take up serious photography I saw this camera being demonstrated on QVC and decided to buy, then at the last minute checked Amazon out and saved myself a considerable amount and as usual it was a first class service and speedy delivery.
I have also purchased Photoshop Elements 5 and after two weeks really enjoying using this camera and editing software. It takes remarkable pictures and has so many functions and user friendly. I would recommend this camera to anyone who wants to take up serious photography with amazing quality and at an affordable price. Amazon comes up trumps again Thank you.

the only fault with this camera is when it comes to the feature 'recording video and taking photo's at the same time'.this feature is a gimmick which you will only make the mistake of using once.
video recordings on this camera produces excellent quality.
taking still images on this camera produces excellent images.
i'd advise DO NOT do both at the same time.the recorded video is interupted and a still shot is placed in the video for about 3 seconds completely destroying the flow of the video.

Used the Canon S2 for over 2 years and took thousands of shots with it until the shutter release died. The S5 is quicker, has much improved resolution, an excellent bigger twist and tilt LCD screen and additional features to the S2. Image quality might not be as good as an SLR but its compact, can take macro shots from 0mm and zooms to 432mm. How much extra gear would one have to buy and carry with an SLR to match that? At less than £240 street price its hard to beat. I found batterry life good and, as it is uses 4AA's, cheap to buy and carry replaceable NiMh batteries.

Ok, so just 24 hours into ownership how does the Canon PowerShot S5 strike me?

Coming direct from five years ownership of a Nikon 5700 the first thing I noticed is that it seems a little light. However adding four rechargeable AA cells soon bulks it up a little. The printed manual is very much a 'get-you-started' affair, the real manual being supplied as an Adobe Acrobat file which, when printed out on a recalcitrant printer that stubbornly refuses to do double-sided when requested, requires a lever arch file for storage. And that manual isn't the most clearly written you'll ever meet, forming a major bar to quickly getting to grips with the myriad of features.

But so far I love the powerful, image stabilised zoom, neat features like the self-timer you can set to bang off a number of shots instead of just the one when you have scrabbled into position in front of the camera, the ease of use of the manual controls to set aperture / speed combinations and the Super Macro which really does focus down to 0cm as advertised. The image quality seems subjectively to be on a par with the Nikon, though I haven't really been able to test it extensively, maybe less than 200 images so far.

Dislikes apart from the manual? Well the cover on the battery / card compartment seems awkward and flimsy. I worry about how well it will survive.

I previously owned and used a Canon G5, which is a great camera. The PowerShot S5IS has some more up-to-date features, such as face recognition and a bigger viewing screen plus more pixels. The biggest plus for me is the larger screen, which makes composing a shot much easier. However, while its construction is perfectly OK, it does not 'feel' as well-built as my old G5 and nor does it seem as robust. Picture quality is also good but it does struggle a more in poorer light conditions where "noise" is more apparent. I have found battery life quite acceptable provided you buy and use the higher capacity rechargeable batteries. I also miss not having a printed manual or handbook, though the one provided by Canon with the camera on a CD is clear and well-written. All-in-all, for the general user, a good camera for the money with all of today's popular-camera features.