The Canon PowerShot S5 IS embodies
most of the qualities that were expected from the S3 IS when
it was released. The S5 IS continues with the stabilized 12X
zoom of previous models, but adds an 8-megapixel CCD, while
its hinged monitor increases in size to 2.5-inch (6.3 cm).
Moreover, this new camera benefits from the D!GIC
III image processor.
Above the lens housing, from left to right, are the red-eye
reduction lamp, which doubles as the self timer indicator,
the two microphones — one on either side of the lens
— that allow the S5 IS to capture stereo sound, and
the AF assist lamp.
The layout of the control is
similar to the S3 IS. Five controls are positioned on top
of the deep grip.
At the front is the chrome 2-stage shutter release,
ringed by the zoom control, which also has
the usual playback functions:
Pushed to the wide angle side ,
it serves to review captured images as an index with 9 thumbnails
per screen.
Pulled towards the telephoto side ,
the control allows zooming into an image up to 10X.
Immediately behind the shutter
release is a small button that controls the Continuous
mode:
Single: captures one image each
time the shutter release is pressed.
Continuous: captures shots at 1.5
frames per second, and focus is set at the first frame.
Continuous Shooting AF: allows
the camera to adjust the focus between shots, capturing
0.9 frames per second.
Continuous Shooting Live View:
(not available when the Fireworks mode is used —
see further) serves to check the focus on
the monitor. The shooting speed is 0.9 frames per
second.
10-second Self-timer: captures
the image 10 seconds after the shutter release has
been pressed.
2-second Self-timer: captures the
image 2 seconds after the shutter release has been
pressed.
Custom second Self-timer: allows
selecting the delay from 0 to 10 seconds or from the
preset delays of 0.5 15, 20 and 30 seconds, and then
selecting a number of shots from 1 to 10.
In addition, when the button is pressed while the camera
is turned on, or if it is held pressed for more than
1 second, it displays the camera's digital clock
full-screen.
Towards the back of the grip is the power switch,
which has a small lock to prevent it from being accidentally
turned. The switch can be pulled to the right or left, selecting
either:
Shooting mode indicated by the small LED
lighting up orange.
Playback modeindicated
by the small LED lighting up green.
While at the centre of the switch, the OFF
button serves to turn off the camera.
The Mode Dial is positioned to the left
of the power switch. As with most Canon cameras, the modes
are divided into 2 groups, separated by the Auto
mode:
Makes the PowerShot S5 IS
act as a point-and-shoot camera, by letting the camera
make all decisions for the settings.
The Creative Zone contains programs that
allow control over the image:
Program Mode sets both
the aperture and the shutter speed; however, other camera
settings such as sensitivity, compensation, and white
balance can be adjusted by the user.
Shutter Priority makes
it possible to set the shutter speed from a range
of 1/3200 second when the zoom is at the wide angle end
— the highest shutter speed depends on the aperture
and zoom position — down to 15 seconds, while the
camera selects the aperture.
Aperture Priority
makes it possible to choose the aperture from f2.7 to
f8 when the zoom is at the wide end and from f3.5 to f8
when the zoom is at the telephoto end, while the camera
adjusts the shutter speed accordingly.
Manual Mode makes it
possible to select both aperture and shutter speed, with
the same range of apertures and shutter speeds as are
available with the Tv and Av modes.
Custom Mode serves
to store a mode (P, Tv, Av, or M),
along with a variety of specific settings that can be
recalled simply by turning the Mode Dial to the C
position.
On the other side of the Auto mode is the
Image Zone, which contains the Scene modes:
Portrait blurs the
background behind the subject by using a wide aperture,
shortening the depth of field.
Landscape gives preference
to a small aperture to extend the depth of field, which
can entail a low shutter speed.
Night Snapshot is
designed to capture people in front of twilight or night
backgrounds and reduce the effect of camera shake, even
without the use of a tripod, by increasing sensitivity.
Sports mode gives preference
to a high shutter speed, increasing the CCD sensitivity
to maintain a high shutter speed, and uses the Continuous
mode.
Provides access to the
other 9 Scene modes of the camera that are selected
using the right/left arrows of the Omni Selector, the
camera's 4-direction control:
Night Scene: is intended to capture a subject
against an evening night scene. Flash is used in slow
synchro mode, and the shutter speed is low so as to
capture both foreground and background.
Indoor: adjusts the white balance so that
images can be shot with accurate colour under either
fluorescent or tungsten (incandescent) lighting.
Foliage: enhances colour saturation to capture
subjects such as autumn leaves or blossoms.
Snow: compensates the exposure so that people
are correctly exposed against a bright snow backdrop.
Beach: also compensates the exposure for
a highly reflective environment such as water and
sand.
Fireworks: sets the shutter speed to 2 seconds
and the focus to infinity to capture a fireworks display
(the use of a tripod is necessary).
Aquarium: increases ISO sensitivity
to obtain a high shutter speed and adjusts the white
balance so that colours are captured accurately under
artificial lighting.
Colour Accent: makes it possible
to have only a colour selected on the LCD monitor,
by pointing the camera at a specific colour so that
it is positioned in a small area on the monitor, and
capture an image where all others are transformed
to black and white.
Colour Swap makes it possible to pick a colour
on the LCD monitor, and swap it for another colour.
Stitch Assist serves
to capture a series of frames that overlap slightly
so that they can be assembled into a larger image later
using the software included with the camera. Photos
can be captured from left to right, right to left, top
to bottom or bottom to top, or even in a clockwise motion.
The Movie
mode allows capturing video with stereo sound up to
a maximum file size of 4 GB. Four formats are available:
640 [30]: 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per
second.
640 [LP]: 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames
per second but with double the compression (Long Play).
320 [60]: 320 x 240 pixels at 60 frames
per second
320 [30]: 320 x 240 pixels at 30 frames per
second.
During movie recording, the zoom remains useable but
is slowed down so the noise of its motor is not recorded,
and the speed at which the zoom position can be changed
varies according to the pressure put on the zoom control.
In addition, the S5 IS allows capturing a full resolution
shot while recording a movie simply by pressing
the shutter release.
The PowerShot S5 IS is equipped with a hinged 2.5-inch
(6.3 cm) monitor composed of 207,000 pixels, a noticeable
increase in resolution over previous models.
From its closed position, the
monitor can be opened 180° to the left, and then rotated
180° towards the top and front, making it possible to swing
it back so it lies flat on the back of the camera. Alternatively,
from its open position on the left of the camera, it can be
rotated downwards 90° making it possible to see the screen
when the camera is held overhead. The shell of the monitor is
metallic, and seems quite sturdy.
The S5 IS equipped with an electronic
viewfinder (EVF) whose resolution is not indicated in the literature
about the camera. It appears, however, to have a resolution
that is lower than the monitor as its image is noticeably coarser.
Nevertheless, the EVF makes it possible to view the same information
as is visible on the monitor, including the menus when the camera
is set to a capture mode (the EVF cannot be used for playback).
The EVF is equipped with a dioptre corrector, on the left of
the exit pupil, and is fitted with a rubber eyepiece.
The pop-up
flash of the S5 IS is opened manually. The flash is described
as having a range of 50 cm to 5.2 m (1.6 - 17 feet) when the
sensitivity is set to Auto. Moreover, the S5 IS is
equipped with a flash hotshoe that is compatible with Canon
Speedlites, including recent models such as the 580EX II,
430EX or 220EX, and has a synch speed of 1/250 second.
Flash modes are selected with a small button on the top left
side of the camera:
With the camera set to a capture
mode and when the flash is open, the button
alternates between two modes: Auto or Forced On.
In addition, going through the menu, Red-eye reduction
or Slow Synch can be activated.
While when the camera is
set to the playback mode, the button
allows recording a voice annotation, or sound, as long
as 60 seconds that will be associated with the image
under review (see the Characteristics section
of the review).
A second button, positioned on the back of the camera and
directly above the top left corner of the monitor also has
a dual function:
Shortcut: makes
it possible, using the REC. menu, to configure the button
to act as a instant access to:
Still Image Resolution (default)
Movie Recording Size/Frame Rate
Metering System
My Colours
AE (Auto Exposure) Lock
White Balance
AF (Auto Focus) Lock
Image Stabilizer mode
Create New Folder
Display Off
Print/Share: in Playback
the button serves to immediately download all the images
that have been selected for Auto Transfer. In addition,
the button also serves to connect the camera to a PictBridge
compliant photo printer, or a Canon SELPHY CP card photo
printer, or a Canon Bubble Jet printer (PIXMA or SELPHY
DS series).
More controls are located on the right of the monitor. To
the right of the EVF's exit pupil, a round chrome button with
a red dot at the centre is the Movie button
and serves to start the capture of movies, irrespective of
the current mode of the camera.
All the way on the right, positioned so
as to be easily manipulated with the thumb, is the Omni
Selector, a 4-direction control that serves for navigation,
be it of the menus or of captured photos. The control also
serves to select the aperture or shutter speed in some shooting
modes, or move the AF point within the frame. In addition,
the up direction serves to adjust exposure
compensation over a range of 2 EV in increments of
1/3 EV.
The SET and MENU buttons
are next, directly below the Omni Selector, and their function
is often linked as the SET button confirms selections made
in the menus, displayed with the MENU button.
Moreover, the SET
button also serves to control the focus point. Maintaining
the SET button pressed for more than a second allows moving
the focus point freely in the frame using the Omni Selector,
a function indicated by the
icon. Once the desired AF position is reached, pressing the
SET button once more locks the AF point at that position.
Returning the AF point to the centre is also possible using
the SET button, by holding it pressed for more than 2 seconds.
Three round buttons are aligned along the right edge of the
monitor, and two of these support more than one function:
FUNC.
With the camera set to
a capture mode the FUNC. button displays the
Function Menu, which contains some of the most commonly
used camera settings. The menu appears superimposed
on the left side of the monitor or EVF. (See the
Characteristics section of the review
for more information).
With the camera set to the
playback mode the button serves to erase
unwanted images.
ISO
Serves to set the CCD sensitivity
when the camera is set to one of the Creative Zone modes
(P, S, A or M). Each press of the button changes the
sensitivity, cycling through: ISO Auto, Hi ISO Auto,
80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ISO.
Furthermore, when the shutter release is pressed halfway,
the ISO button serves Lock the Auto Exposure (AE
Lock), or the flash exposure (FE-Lock),
which is established with a pre-flash.
With the camera set to
the playback mode, the button serves to jump groups
of captured images, the jump type being selected with
the Omni Selector:
Jump to a shooting date, forwards
or backwards.
Jump to the first image in a category.
Jump to the first image in a folder.
Jump from one movie to another.
Jump over 10 images at a time.
Jump over 100 images at a time.
Last on the back and near the bottom of the S5 IS is the
DISP. (DISPLAY) button, which serves as a
switch between the monitor and the EVF, and serves to control
the amount of information superimposed on the monitor in the
capture and playback modes.
When the S5 IS is in a capture mode the
display can be configured with one of the options of the REC.
menu. The most important settings can be displayed, or a composition
grid, or grayed out bands that show the areas of the image
that are outside the boundaries of the 3:2 format, or even
a histogram. Each choice is independent of the others, and
the user can select different items for the monitor and the
EVF. Moreover, irrespective of the capture mode, the shutter
speed and aperture is displayed whenever the shutter release
is pressed halfway.
When the S5 IS is set to the
playback mode the DISP. button also
serves to cycle through different levels of information. By
default, the image is shown with basic information such as
the file name, the date and time of capture. More detailed
image data can be displayed, as well as a histogram, or the
image can be seen free of any superimposed information.
Last, two more buttons are located on the left side of the
lens barrel:
Switches the camera from
auto focus to Manual Focus. Manual focusing is
done using the up and down arrows of the Omni controller,
and if the MF button is held down while adjusting
the focus, the camera magnifies the central portion of
the display to help make sure the image is sharp.
Provides access to the
two Macro modes of the S5 IS:
Standard Macro focus mode:
allows the camera to focus on a subject that is from
10 to 50 cm (3.9 to 18 inches) from the front of the
lens when the zoom is at the wide angle end.
Holding the button pressed in for more than 1 second
starts the SuperMacro mode that has a focus
range of 0 to 10 cm (0 to 3.9 inches).
The PowerShot S5 IS is comfortable to hold, in part because
of its dimensions, but also because of its deep grip that
provides a very secure feel. Overall, controls are well positioned,
and although these are quite numerous, they become familiar
quickly. The Shortcut button is a practical tool and can be
modified to access a variety of functions as required.
One regret, however, is that the EVF does not seem to have
been upgraded along with the monitor.
Compare Prices for Canon PowerShot S5 IS 8.0 MP Digital Camera
Ergonomics
,
it serves to review captured images as an index with 9 thumbnails
per screen.
,
the control allows zooming into an image up to 10X.
Shooting mode indicated by the small LED
lighting up orange.
Playback mode indicated
by the small LED lighting up green.
icon. Once the desired AF position is reached, pressing the
SET button once more locks the AF point at that position.
