Customer Rating: 
Summary: Has some great features
Comment: All cameras are loaded with compromises, however the S5's impressive features outshine the drawbacks.
The S5 picture quality is very impressive. Shots tend to be well exposed. Image stabilization keeps blurred images to a minimum. A complete novice could use this camera "out of the box" and product a high percentage of "keeper" photos.
Lens quality is impressive. The S5 has a looong zoom range from 36 to 422mm - which should suffice for most situations. Too bad the lens isn't 28mm at the most wide angle, and then it would be truly a versatile tool. Sometimes you will have to stand back a bit to get the whole scene in without the 28mm wide angle capability.
The long end of this lens is 432mm which is extreme telephoto. To be honest, the long end of this lens results in very dark photos - to the point it's of limited use. However it never hurts to have a long zoom so that you can grab some kind of shot of a long distance object, even though the photo quality won't be great.
The zoom is a little "touchy" however it can be gotten used to.
Another amazing feature of this camera is the movie mode. This camera can take better movies than most movie cameras below $1,000 US dollars. The camera could be justified in it's own right as an inexpensive but high quality movie camera.
The S5 is also quite small and light, so it won't be a problem around your neck during vacation.
All in all, this is a very impressive camera at a really nice price. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is the lack of 28mm at the wide angle, and the slightly touch zoom control.
All cameras are compromises, but the image quality, lens and superb video quality - and consider the low price - the S5 has to be highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you are not ready for a DSLR but want the best, get this!
Comment: I bought this camera to replace my expensive ($[...] new) but out-of-date Olympus Camedia C-5050. The "typical" current price of the S5 IS camera is $[...] but many places are now selling it for $[...]. I got mine at Circuit City (local) for that price.
This camera does extremely well right out of the box, but with just a little tweaking (as in, "read the manual" or purchase a digital photography book) it produces outstanding photographs! I bought this book Canon PowerShot Digital Field Guide, which is a good general reference with specific information about this camera as well.
I also purchased the lens adapter set, which amazon has for a great price Canon LAH-DC20 Conversion Lens Adapter (LA-DC58E) and Hood (LH-DC40) Set for the S5 IS, S3 IS & S2 IS Digital Camera and Hoya HMC UV and circular polarizer filters Hoya HMC - Filter - circular polarizer - 58 mm. These work great and do not add much bulk to the camera. Your zoom mechanism is well-protected as is your lens if you add the lens adapter and a filter and keep it on at all times (I keep the UV filter on at all times).
Furthermore, you can get additional "converter lenses" that attach to the adapter (personally I do not think you need them, but they are available for this camera)--these include the telephoto converter (as if 12x optical were not enough!), the wide-angle converter, and the macro lenses (again, as if the camera's macro and super macro weren't enough!). Amazon just happens to have very good prices on these accessories Canon TC-DC58B Tele Converter Lens for S5 IS, S3 IS & S2 IS Digital Camera. Canon Powershots have, as a rule, won many awards for image quality and the Canon brand typically comes out on top when this is the major criterion. As far as I am concerned, these additional lenses are just icing on the cake.
Additional considerations:
(1) Being a Canon, it connects directly to my Canon PIXMA printer for incredible prints.
(2) Some reviewers' star ratings are lowered because the "lens cap comes off easily." I do not think this is a major flaw--I think this is to protect the camera's automatic lens extension mechanism when you turn on the camera. If you turn on the camera and the lens cap is still on, it will pop off when the lens extends. This is a safety feature. If you really can't stand it, just get the adapter and UV filter and put a new 58mm lens cap on the filter (it will not pop off nor does it need to, because the lens extends within the adapter tube) and you are all set. Alternatively, just get a new lens cap if you will never forget to take it off prior to turning on the camera.
(3) This camera is out of stock from many vendors. I think the S6 is going to come out soon. However, it will probably be several hundred dollars more. I would get the S5 while it is still available, especially at this price (price has dropped about $150-$170 dollars since it came out in 2007).
What about the G9? Well, I chose this over the G9 because I prefer the 12x zoom and 8 megapixel combination for my personal picture-taking needs. 8 megapixels is plenty for me and in my opinion additional megapixels add more time for saving the picture and also add a bit of noise on the point-and-shoots. The G9 shoots in RAW but I don't need that when the images I get are so uniformly excellent (they do not need a lot of editing). The G9 does have an optical viewfinder (the S5 has a digital viewfinder that is 100% accurate, unlike some cameras, but it low resolution, which is annoying at first but does not affect the quality of the pictures). The G9 does not have the swing-out LCD screen. This feature is very useful as it can be turned/rotated toward the camera and the screen is protected when not in use, and the screen can also can be turned a tilted for hard-to-get shots at graduations, with pets, etc. where you can't aim the camera directly.
I think the best way to decide about this camera is to go to the flickr users' group (one of them, there are several) and look at the pictures that people have taken with this camera. The url is http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/ and you can see not only photos people (even newbies) have uploaded, but also read discussions about this camera. You might find this thread of particular interest: http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/discuss/72157606698907976/.
I am a person who usually experiences "post-decision regret" ("shoulda, coulda, woulda. . .") but I am completely satisfied with this camera. I originally wanted the Canon EOS 40D (DSLR) but got this one due to price (and they actually share much of the same technology). Now I even think this was the better choice for me overall (regardless of price) due to its compact size and the fact that I can take it everywhere with me. Even when I am driving I can just hold up this camera and snap it and get terrific pictures of scenery that catches my fancy (optical stabilization is fabulous).
This is just about the most perfect combination of features and image quality I can imagine. You do not need more megapixels. You do not need more zoom. You do not need RAW. You do not need a DSLR (if you did you would not be reading this). You need to get this camera for yourself before it is out of stock everywhere. Buy it. You will NOT be sorry!
[I do NOT work for Canon nor does anyone in my family! I usually do not write reviews. However, there are so many choices out there and so many bells and whistles that it is hard to figure out what camera to buy. I thought I would post my comments because it might help someone else.]
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cannon PowerShot S5 IS
Comment: This is a great product. The pictures and videos are at a professional level. It is simple to use and with Cannons track record I don't know how you can go wrong.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Purchased for father
Comment: Purchased this camera for my father after my son had purchased an earlier model. I had an opportunity to use it while visiting this past week. I wasn't dissappointed with the functionality or picture quality. I was very impressed with the response time of the camera. It powered up instantaniously. I also liked the feature that allowed you to review photos in the playback mode and immediately switch to taking pictures by depressing the shutter button. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to play with all the features, but liked the functionality, clarity, speed and ease of use. Even my father was impressed and that's not always an easy task.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Love this camera!
Comment: This is my second Canon camera. I had an SD500 which I gave to my husband recently when his camera broke. I didn't want to part with that one because it took such great pictures but I wanted a camera with a bigger zoom lense. I went with another Canon not only because I knew the quality but also because I figured my learning curve would be shorter since I would already be familiar with a lot of the settings. You can take this camera out of the box and immediately start to use it. It takes great pictures. Quick, fast focus, the outdoor shots are amazing. Indoor shots with the flash are also great. So far I have no complaints. It is a little bigger, it won't fit in your pocket. My only complaint is the lense cap... it doesn't stay on. I see lots of reviewers have mentioned that. I don't know how that got past Canon quality control.
Summary: Has some great features
Comment: All cameras are loaded with compromises, however the S5's impressive features outshine the drawbacks.
The S5 picture quality is very impressive. Shots tend to be well exposed. Image stabilization keeps blurred images to a minimum. A complete novice could use this camera "out of the box" and product a high percentage of "keeper" photos.
Lens quality is impressive. The S5 has a looong zoom range from 36 to 422mm - which should suffice for most situations. Too bad the lens isn't 28mm at the most wide angle, and then it would be truly a versatile tool. Sometimes you will have to stand back a bit to get the whole scene in without the 28mm wide angle capability.
The long end of this lens is 432mm which is extreme telephoto. To be honest, the long end of this lens results in very dark photos - to the point it's of limited use. However it never hurts to have a long zoom so that you can grab some kind of shot of a long distance object, even though the photo quality won't be great.
The zoom is a little "touchy" however it can be gotten used to.
Another amazing feature of this camera is the movie mode. This camera can take better movies than most movie cameras below $1,000 US dollars. The camera could be justified in it's own right as an inexpensive but high quality movie camera.
The S5 is also quite small and light, so it won't be a problem around your neck during vacation.
All in all, this is a very impressive camera at a really nice price. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is the lack of 28mm at the wide angle, and the slightly touch zoom control.
All cameras are compromises, but the image quality, lens and superb video quality - and consider the low price - the S5 has to be highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you are not ready for a DSLR but want the best, get this!
Comment: I bought this camera to replace my expensive ($[...] new) but out-of-date Olympus Camedia C-5050. The "typical" current price of the S5 IS camera is $[...] but many places are now selling it for $[...]. I got mine at Circuit City (local) for that price.
This camera does extremely well right out of the box, but with just a little tweaking (as in, "read the manual" or purchase a digital photography book) it produces outstanding photographs! I bought this book Canon PowerShot Digital Field Guide, which is a good general reference with specific information about this camera as well.
I also purchased the lens adapter set, which amazon has for a great price Canon LAH-DC20 Conversion Lens Adapter (LA-DC58E) and Hood (LH-DC40) Set for the S5 IS, S3 IS & S2 IS Digital Camera and Hoya HMC UV and circular polarizer filters Hoya HMC - Filter - circular polarizer - 58 mm. These work great and do not add much bulk to the camera. Your zoom mechanism is well-protected as is your lens if you add the lens adapter and a filter and keep it on at all times (I keep the UV filter on at all times).
Furthermore, you can get additional "converter lenses" that attach to the adapter (personally I do not think you need them, but they are available for this camera)--these include the telephoto converter (as if 12x optical were not enough!), the wide-angle converter, and the macro lenses (again, as if the camera's macro and super macro weren't enough!). Amazon just happens to have very good prices on these accessories Canon TC-DC58B Tele Converter Lens for S5 IS, S3 IS & S2 IS Digital Camera. Canon Powershots have, as a rule, won many awards for image quality and the Canon brand typically comes out on top when this is the major criterion. As far as I am concerned, these additional lenses are just icing on the cake.
Additional considerations:
(1) Being a Canon, it connects directly to my Canon PIXMA printer for incredible prints.
(2) Some reviewers' star ratings are lowered because the "lens cap comes off easily." I do not think this is a major flaw--I think this is to protect the camera's automatic lens extension mechanism when you turn on the camera. If you turn on the camera and the lens cap is still on, it will pop off when the lens extends. This is a safety feature. If you really can't stand it, just get the adapter and UV filter and put a new 58mm lens cap on the filter (it will not pop off nor does it need to, because the lens extends within the adapter tube) and you are all set. Alternatively, just get a new lens cap if you will never forget to take it off prior to turning on the camera.
(3) This camera is out of stock from many vendors. I think the S6 is going to come out soon. However, it will probably be several hundred dollars more. I would get the S5 while it is still available, especially at this price (price has dropped about $150-$170 dollars since it came out in 2007).
What about the G9? Well, I chose this over the G9 because I prefer the 12x zoom and 8 megapixel combination for my personal picture-taking needs. 8 megapixels is plenty for me and in my opinion additional megapixels add more time for saving the picture and also add a bit of noise on the point-and-shoots. The G9 shoots in RAW but I don't need that when the images I get are so uniformly excellent (they do not need a lot of editing). The G9 does have an optical viewfinder (the S5 has a digital viewfinder that is 100% accurate, unlike some cameras, but it low resolution, which is annoying at first but does not affect the quality of the pictures). The G9 does not have the swing-out LCD screen. This feature is very useful as it can be turned/rotated toward the camera and the screen is protected when not in use, and the screen can also can be turned a tilted for hard-to-get shots at graduations, with pets, etc. where you can't aim the camera directly.
I think the best way to decide about this camera is to go to the flickr users' group (one of them, there are several) and look at the pictures that people have taken with this camera. The url is http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/ and you can see not only photos people (even newbies) have uploaded, but also read discussions about this camera. You might find this thread of particular interest: http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/discuss/72157606698907976/.
I am a person who usually experiences "post-decision regret" ("shoulda, coulda, woulda. . .") but I am completely satisfied with this camera. I originally wanted the Canon EOS 40D (DSLR) but got this one due to price (and they actually share much of the same technology). Now I even think this was the better choice for me overall (regardless of price) due to its compact size and the fact that I can take it everywhere with me. Even when I am driving I can just hold up this camera and snap it and get terrific pictures of scenery that catches my fancy (optical stabilization is fabulous).
This is just about the most perfect combination of features and image quality I can imagine. You do not need more megapixels. You do not need more zoom. You do not need RAW. You do not need a DSLR (if you did you would not be reading this). You need to get this camera for yourself before it is out of stock everywhere. Buy it. You will NOT be sorry!
[I do NOT work for Canon nor does anyone in my family! I usually do not write reviews. However, there are so many choices out there and so many bells and whistles that it is hard to figure out what camera to buy. I thought I would post my comments because it might help someone else.]
Customer Rating:
Summary: Cannon PowerShot S5 IS
Comment: This is a great product. The pictures and videos are at a professional level. It is simple to use and with Cannons track record I don't know how you can go wrong.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Purchased for father
Comment: Purchased this camera for my father after my son had purchased an earlier model. I had an opportunity to use it while visiting this past week. I wasn't dissappointed with the functionality or picture quality. I was very impressed with the response time of the camera. It powered up instantaniously. I also liked the feature that allowed you to review photos in the playback mode and immediately switch to taking pictures by depressing the shutter button. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to play with all the features, but liked the functionality, clarity, speed and ease of use. Even my father was impressed and that's not always an easy task.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Love this camera!
Comment: This is my second Canon camera. I had an SD500 which I gave to my husband recently when his camera broke. I didn't want to part with that one because it took such great pictures but I wanted a camera with a bigger zoom lense. I went with another Canon not only because I knew the quality but also because I figured my learning curve would be shorter since I would already be familiar with a lot of the settings. You can take this camera out of the box and immediately start to use it. It takes great pictures. Quick, fast focus, the outdoor shots are amazing. Indoor shots with the flash are also great. So far I have no complaints. It is a little bigger, it won't fit in your pocket. My only complaint is the lense cap... it doesn't stay on. I see lots of reviewers have mentioned that. I don't know how that got past Canon quality control.
Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Reviews: Page 6 of 81
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