A Review of the Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera

Cons: noise, not durable

The Bottom Line: though it has got new features, I would not recommend this because you have to compromise on quality

S5 has 12x optical zoom and SO capability up to 1600. Though the camera works well in some outdoor shots, overall, it does not live up to its promises.

Power

The camera requires AA batteries to operate. First, the idea of placing the memory card within the battery compartment is quite irritating. It is difficult to change the memory card. The batteries do not last long because you almost always need to use flash to get good shots even indoors.

LCD

The adjustable LCD is a big plus. If the LCD is fixed and you want to capture a small object on the floor, you would not be able to preview it without bending and twisting yourself. With this camera, you can rotate or tilt the LCD and preview the shot.

Face Detect

The camera detects and focuses faces and adjusts the flash and exposure accordingly.

Image Stabilizer

The image stabilizer reduces blur and gives good output in normal shooting conditions when there is a hand jerk. But when you decrease the shutter speed to shoot in lowly lit areas, the effect of the image stabilizer is not seen because there is much noise and details are lost.

ISO

The camera claims up to ISO 1600. But there is noticeable noise even in low ISO. I had to forget using high ISO settings.

Control Wheel

The manual mode is a real plus to the camera. You can change the settings using the control wheel and you can choose aperture or shutter speed priority.

Settings

This camera comes with a load of settings such as night, sports, landscape, portrait, etc. The settings have been configured to get better pictures in each of these modes. These are real facilitators.

Dislikes

This camera is literally noisy. The noise when you click for a still or the sound that comes when something is focused on is mind boggling. However, the camera allows you to reduce the shutter sound.

From the internet, I come to know that many users have not been able to retrieve stored images. This is a big pitfall and questions the durability of the camera.

You can not judge this camera based on earlier canon cameras. This camera gives you an experience very less than what you might expect from canon.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 300