Say hello to my latest camera, the Canon PowerShot S5 IS. Remember back on May 7th when I was lusting over this fantastic camera? Well, it's now mine. I love this camera. It's so much better than the Canon PowerShot S1 IS I got back in 2004.
Check out these specifications:
- 8.0 megapixel Compact digital still camera with built-in flash, 12x Optical/4x Digital/48x Combined Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer (IS) System (I never use digital zooms)
- Focusing Range: Normal: 1.6 ft./50cm-infinity (WIDE), 3.0 ft./90cm-infinity (TELE) - Macro: 3.9 in.-1.6 ft./10-50cm (W) - Super Macro: 0-3.9 in./0-10cm (W)
- ISO Sensitivity: Auto, High ISO Auto, ISO 80/100/200/400/800/1600 (Standard Output Sensitivity. Recommended Exposure Index
- Metering: Evaluative*, Center-weighted average, Spot** - * Control to incorporate facial brightness in Face Detection AF ** Metering frame is fixed to the center
- Recording Pixels: Still Image: 640 x 480 (Small), 1,600 x 1,200 (Medium 3), 2,048 x 1,536 (Medium 2), 2,592 x 1,944 (Medium 1), 3,264 x 2,448 (Large), 3,264 x 1,832 (Widescreen) Movie: 640 x 480 (30 fps/30 fps LP), 320 x 240 (60 fps/30 fps) available up to 4GB or 60 minutes
- Exposure Control Method: Program AE, Shutter Speed-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, Manual; AE Lock available
- Hot shoe equipped for use with select Canon EX Speedlite flashes
No, this isn't an SLR by any means, but then again, I do not expect it to be. Let's put it this way, my Canon Digital Rebel XT is an awesome camera, and yes, it takes superior photographs; but the lenses I want cost more than the cost of the camera itself. So why bother?
The bottom line is: I wanted the Canon S5 IS to take photographs I cannot get with my Digital Rebel XT.
Here's a quick peek at my Canon PowerShot S5 IS (click to enlarge):
And here's a random shot I took while messing around with the controls (click to enlarge):
By the way, these photographs were shot using my S5 IS. It really does take sharp, well saturated photographs. Don't you think?