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

Did 2 month long research evaluated lots of other super zoom cameras(FZ 50, H9, Olympus 550, lots of questions in forums, sample photographs, went to shop and had a feel, tried few snaps from my friends, after all this was my choice, it suited my priorities.

For people who the RAW format is not so important you can go in for this camera.
The main plus points were the image quality has problems in all super zooms at some point, among those canon did well.
The colours of canon are the best, its compact when compared other models, and there is a whole list of common goodies

Amazon did great job delivering it on time.

If you have a problem reading the SD card in Windows XP the chances are you have a High Capacity memory card. Unless you keep your copy of XP up to date, you need Microsoft hotfix 923293 (google it) to read high capacity cards. High capacity is defined as starting at 1Gb, but standard HD ends at 4Gb, so there is an overlap. Look at your card; if it says SDHC and you can't read it in the PC, try the hotfix.

if you have any doubts about purchasing the Canon S5 you must be crazy.i`ve had this camera from it`s release week and still can`t find a fault with it. it takes great photos. it`s zoom range is out of this world.it has most functions an slr has. i use mine with a canon 430ex speedlite and i`ve had better results than any 35mm slr ever gave me.i recently purchased a Sony camcorder to shoot videos of the kids and compared it with the Canons S5 video recording and believe me the Canon blew it away....Honestly!!! if i had to be really picky the one & only thing i dislike about it is the sd card has to be removed by opening the battery compartment cover.i paid £310 for mine, Amazon are selling for £220 delivered,WOW! overall i`d have to give the Canon S5 9.9/10 BUY BUY BYE:)

I have had the camera for 2 weeks, still using the Panasonic alkaline batteries that came with it, very economical with power consumption, taken dozens of shots and very happy so far. The image stabilization is great for long shots on full zoom. The biggest problem so far is remembering in what mode the different functions work in, for example you can't use (i think) super macro mode in AUTO setting, was scratching my head for a good 5 mins on that one.
I can confirm Mr. C. A. Moat's review that us poor enviro-friendly euros only get a CD, the USA get a printed handy pocket sized Advanced manual, and with regards V. WILLIAMS' review about the 4gb card, it is most likely that it's a SDHC card not a SD, it needs a different newer type of reader as it is a very new format of card.
Luckily I got mine from the states, so got the paper manuals, they also get it for $340 (£170 as of Oct 2007) so was a real bargain.

Bought this as my old S3IS was stolen and must admit there are better cameras for the money on the market.
There is no substantial innovation compared to the discontinued model:
- The camera is graining in the same manner as the S3IS when set to ISO above 200
- For a common user the higher mpx is literally for nothing and so is the slot for the optional flash
- The AF is not even a bit faster
- Some parts of the plastic the body is made of have a cheap look and remind me of the old East-German cameras
- The item is a Chinese make (the previous one was a MADE IN JAPAN model)
The only pro`s are:
- face recognition feature
- lens cover has a lock, so it does not fall off easily, which was the illness of the S3IS
- Canon made the LCD display slightly bigger