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Canon PowerShot S5 IS

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By Jasmine Kamiko, CNET Asia
Jul 18, 2007

Loyal Canon fans should be quite familiar with the look of the PowerShot series by now. Canon probably thinks it’s always a good idea to repeat a winning formula. So to find any design changes between this and its predecessors requires a fair bit of scrutiny.

Design
The first major change is the hotshoe now available on the S5 IS. On paper, the S5 IS is supposed to be the heaviest of its family at 450g compared with the S2 IS at 405g and S3 IS at 410g. In reality, the difference is pretty negligible. The next upgrade is the LCD screen. S5 IS comes with a generous 2.5-inch LCD display compared with the 1.8-inch and 2-inch screens from previous models.

     
   

For more details on the S5 IS' design and image quality, click on the image.

To make way for the enlarged LCD, the direct print button has been moved from the right of the camera where the function and ISO buttons are, to the left of the viewfinder. The A/V output jack has also been shifted from the left side of the camera to the right so it’s now in a neat row together with the DC jack and the digital PC connector.

The lens design is altered as well. The silver-colored S2 IS's lens design has a smooth rounded edge, while the S5 IS has a ridged chamfered edge giving it a more "professional" dSLR feel. The lens cap is secured in a similar fashion as dSLR cameras--you press two "buttons" on the side to release the cap. But unlike dSLR lens caps, it manages to come off too easily--like when you accidentally brush against it.

This seems to be a common design trait as the S2 IS featured the same flaw, but you couldn't really complain with the S2 as the cap was held in place by friction, by virtue of a sponge ring fitted on the inside of the lens cap. Whichever the mechanism, this flaw definitely needs to be addressed as the chances of getting the lens scratched seem really high, which means you definitely need to buy a camera bag if you intend to take this Canon out anywhere.

The overall finishing is excellent. Clad in a glittery graphite coat, the plastic body looks and feels almost like metal, and will probably withstand a fair amount of wear-and-tear. We never had a problem with the old silver S2 IS. It looks almost new even after three years of rough use. The settings dial in S5 is now replaced with a metallic dial, so the camera appears almost like a mini dSLR.

 
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