thinking of getting an S5 IS

[hdd]

guys, I have a canon S1 IS which is pretty much getting beat up. Loved the camera for its ease of use, great pictures, and flip out LCD. Ive been debating on getting a SLR though such as the rebel XT or the XTI but to get a decent camera and lens combo its roughly 600-1000 bucks just for one lense that will do a little of everything. So its getting sorta out of my budgit. I also like zoom since I love taking pics of wildlife. Picture quality is always #1 with me and ive always been happy with my S1. Some even thought my pics with it were taken with an SLR. I like to think its 75% shooter and 25% camera LOL. Anyway, the S5 seems to be a good camera as always. Im still debating getting a SLR with a 18-55mm IS lens but it just doesnt give me a long shooting range. Those with the S5, have you been happy with it? I saw some photos taken on here with it and they seem pretty impressive for a point and shoot. I really like the new 2.5inch LCD compared to the old 1.8 also! If you have some photos, please post a link or attachment.

also, what good accessories can you pick up? Is the added flash/hot shoe worth it for indoors photos? If so, what model works best with the camera.

anything else to really fine tune the S5 and make is somewhat close to beating a SLR in picture quality:) Im very picky about my photos. I take 30 to get maybe 1 I really like, even though the others are good to LOL.

again, im leaning towards the S5 since it can be had for 305bucks new now.. I can get a XT for 380(body) and a 55mm IS lens for 169 but again.. no reach and out and touch zoom unless I spend 300-600 bucks on a 300mm lens.

quick recap..

whatcha think of the S5 overall as far as picture quality?

what extras can help this camera accel more in picture quality?

oh and post some photos you might have handy..

[johngalt_ny]

HDD,

I had the S2 (still have it) and I loved it. I moved to the S5 and it added the hotshoe which I filled with a 430EX. Added a lensmate adapter, UV, ND Grad and Linear PL. IMHO, this is as good as a P&S kit will get. In addition, the Digital TC is actually usable out to 24x (although the 48X digital Zoom is still horrible). Lastly, face detection, which I thought was a gimmick, actually helps.

Take a look at my Pbase site. Except for Alaska it's pretty much S5. Take a particular look at S5 TEST SHOTS; CANADA (gallery, not the blog) and ANIMALS/EVENING HOWL. All S5 and pretty good idea of range.

I'm toying with DSLR itis right now but matching 36-432mm at f2.7/3.5 would cost well over $2,000 so the S5 is staying no matter what I do..

Hope this helps.

[hdd]

I just saw your other post and looks at the photos.. top notch for a P&S camera! Check your PM's also

like you said, im use to the zoom of my S1 and to get that out of a SLR will NOT BE CHEAP!

do you have any photos of your camera with all the above on it? Just trying to see how bulky it gets....

[jessica31876]

I like it...still wish I could have gotten the SLR but it works for me. Here are a few photos I took. They have been resized for web but still look pretty good I think

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x159/jessica31876/IMG_0554.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x159/jessica31876/IMG_0239.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x159/jessica31876/pinkflower.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x159/jessica31876/monarch.jpg

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x159/jessica31876/gulffrittillary.jpg

[JustShootin']

Nice photos. I like your Anhinga, but you ain't the only one with an Anhinga bird. :D

Taken with S2 and Canon 1.5 teleconverter

[Wubblelvr]

Hey, I also have the S5 IS and I love it. It takes very clear pictures as well as being very compact. I especially love the flip out LCD screen. I think that you should stick with the
S5 IS. I was also thinking of switching to the SLR but I think I might stay with what I've got, also keep in mind that I am a beginner. Also....if anyone has a website that would give me lens to put onto the S5 IS I would truly be greatful. Thanks, Victoria

[johngalt_ny]

Victoria

For telephoto, wide or macro lenses, take a look at www.lensmateonline.com (http://www.lensmateonline.com)

They are really good people and there's a ton of info on the site. Be aware you'll need to buy an adapter to use any lens.

Good luck.

[melissaandkris]

I have an S5 and love it. I am new to photography and have just recently started shooting in M so I'm sure this camera is capable of much more that I have been able to get so far. I'll second the comments about Lensmate. They are great to deal with. I got my adapter and filters from them and had no problems at all. I mostly take pictures of people and my dog so I dont have any wildlife pics for you but will post some of my favorites. Hopefully you get all the answers you need, there are some great people in this forum who are very helpful!

The "wildest" wildlife I have yet to take a picture of. :)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2063/2188400574_2fed78ea2f.jpg

My 1st try at the moon, hand held.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2276181054_c31e8bebaa.jpg

And my favorite subject to photograph...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3082/2332517212_1e62afcd0b.jpg

[hdd]

melissa, what did you use to edit the 1st and last photo? Those look like SLR photos.. awesome work!

Whats involved in putting a UV filter on this camera? I guess you need a adapter? With kids, a filter is a must since finger seem to go everywhere when you arent looking!

[melissaandkris]

Thanks! The first was just sharpening with PSP. It was taken directly in front of my door that was open with lots of natural light coming in. I had her a few feet from my white backdrop. The last also lots of natural light and converted to b&w with PSPX2 and ran an action (soft procelain I think).

All you need is an adapter to use filters. I think an adapter is a must have for lens protection. I got a 58 mm lensmate (they have a great reputation-just search the forum and you'll probably get lots of great responses for them). With that you can get a snap on cap, MUCH better than the one that comes with it. And your right a UV filter goes a long way to keep little fingers off the lens. I also got their flexible hood. This caused some pretty major shadows when used with the flash but its great for outdoor shots.

[Overkill-F1]

I've only had my S5is for a few months now, but it is great camera for the cost. Definitely a step up from a P+S. I also got a Lensmate 58mm (cause I had so many 58mm filters) and I would recomend it. Be besides protecting the lens with a UV filter, I like the way it helps me get a comfortable grip on the camera.
...Terry
ps. Lensmate adapter is well made of aluminum, the Canon adapter is made of plastic (just say NO to plastic!!)

[JustShootin']

ps. Lensmate adapter is well made of aluminum, the Canon adapter is made of plastic (just say NO to plastic!!)

If you do that, you won't have much to work with. The Canon camera you're attching the adapter to is sho-nuf plastic. ;)

Gary

[Overkill-F1]

JustShootin', I just meant I don't like the idea of threading filters in and out, possibly hundreds of times into the plastic threads in the Canon adapter. I've heard a few people have cross-threaded a filter into the Canon adaptor and screwed up the plastic threads. You're right about the plastic camera of course, almost everyone is made out of plastic these days.
...Terry

[leace]

Hi,

I'm new to the group - I too, was debating over whether going for a DSLR or P&S - but due to limited budget, decided on the S5. The main thing I wanted in a new camera was a good reaching telephoto zoom.
So far, the pictures have been good - indoor shots on Auto are very nice - however, I'm finding quite a bit of noise, even in low ISO shots. It could be that I'm just accustomed to the superior quality images from the Nikon DSLRs (I can sign them out at work, along with lenses), but I am not really impressed with the sharpness of images, when zoomed in full (not digital zoomed). Here is a shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leace/2342656213/

this is a 100% crop and I was horrified with the result:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leace/2343484430/in/photostream/

Unfortunately the transfer program I have here at work has stripped the ISO setting so it's possible that it was high (I was in P mode with Auto ISO).

If anyone can offer any suggestions as to what I can change to get better results, I'd be more than happy to hear them.

Thanks,
Lissa in Kingston

[JustShootin']

I took this one with full zoom, but still cropped it a bunch. I was able to use ISO 80, as to where you used 200. Did you not have enough light for using a lower ISO? It would have helped for sure. I was also wondering if you used center weighted metering.

Gary

[hdd]

guys, i went ahead and bit the bullet and bought a XTI to use.. I tested both in person and one click with the slr and seeing its image sold me. Even in auto mode the XTI was pretty top notch! I liked the S5, but it just felt to plastic for my likes compared to my old S1. But the zoom was awesome.. i may still get the S5 later on for my wife as a gift:)

[leace]

Gary - since I had it on Auto ISO the camera chose the ISO to be 200 - I suppose I could have manually tried lowering it. But I think the shutter speed was just fast enough to freeze the bird, as I was fully zoomed out (it was overcast too).

Thanks,
Lissa

[JustShootin']

Though I chose another brand for my digital SLR, I hear lots of great reports on the Xti, so I'm sure you will love it. As for the S5, I hear great reports on it too. There's so many great deals on cameras of all kinds today. Good luck and enjoy!

Gary

[RubenAlonzo]

hdd!!! awesome!!!!, oh man i envy you, that is my next camera, i currently have the S2IS and pine for the Rebel XTi, i have seen some awesome reviews on it and the price for it as a kit that includes the 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses is right around $750 with a flash for the hotshoe. what lens did you get for it to start you off with? and lets see some pics! Cheers.

[odin7]

I tried the moonshot with my S5IS and this was the best out of about 40 tries. Again, it was handheld with full telephoto, f/3.5,1/1600 sec, ISO-200. I tried MelisaandKris's settings but the shot was too overexposed. I pp'ed with increased contrast and a sharpening filter. Your comments in comparison to MellissaandKris's fine moonshot would be appreciated. I still feel I'm not quite getting the same fine detail. Mine seems a bit flat. MelissaandKris's shot shows nice detail on the craters near the right edge of her moon. I see none of that on mine. I guess that could also be due to slightly different lighting conditions between our shots. ( I think M's shot might have been taken slightly off from a full moon thus allowing more shadows and detail on the right edge of the moon) I also notice that if I enlarge the original jpg. the detail rapidly deteriorates into noise and pixel artifacts.
For more comparisons one can view DSLR type shots of the moon by just typing "moon" in this forum's search engine.

[odin7]

Showing some crater shadows now, but still a bit soft. So again is it the camera? I can't seem to get the same sharpness as Melissaandkris.

[Jon]

By "full telephoto" do you mean "digital zoom"? if so, turn that off. You can do the same thing in post-processing, and all digital zoom does is average a bunch of pixels together, so your pictures will lose a bit of detail in the process.

Try dropping the ISO and stopping down a bit. ISO 100 and f/5.6 at 1/800 should still give you a sharp image. And give it a touch more exposure; 1/2 stop or so. Both the lower ISO and the increased exposure will help with the chromatic noise I seem to be seeing. Also, I really recommend a tripod. The moon isn't moving all that fast.

[odin7]

Jon -
Thank you for your interest. I had privately messaged with Melissaandkris and was trying to duplicate settings as much as possible. This included using digital zoom and handheld, so my purpose was to put IS and Zoom to maximum test and compare my S5IS camera with theirs, using a clear moonshot as reference. I fully agree with all that you are saying, but again, each feature that I turn off is one less feature that this camera was advertised as having. I still have a nagging feeling that the late production Chinese S5IS's are not being held to the same internal Canon production specs as the earlier Japanese production runs. I can't prove it, but I still suspect it. This was a personal attempt to do an A to B comparison, since no one in the professional world seems to care about making such a comparison.

[hdd]

hdd!!! awesome!!!!, oh man i envy you, that is my next camera, i currently have the S2IS and pine for the Rebel XTi, i have seen some awesome reviews on it and the price for it as a kit that includes the 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses is right around $750 with a flash for the hotshoe. what lens did you get for it to start you off with? and lets see some pics! Cheers.

sorry for the late reply.. ive been reading so many posts here I forgot to check this one

But I got the 50mm 1.8 prime and a 17-70mm sigma to use. The 50mm is simply awesome. I havent learned the camera yet and im just playing in the AV and TV modes bit its taking some pretty decent pics. These are straight off the XTI with no editing to anything. Other than one I switched to B&W for fun
1/80 - f4 - ISO1600
http://www.delanofarms.net/testp2.jpg
1/60 - f3.2 - ISO 1600
http://www.delanofarms.net/test5.jpg

they are a little grainy since I used natural light and a ISO of 1600.. still im happy with the shots.

[odin7]

Are the XTi's being sold now , made in China or Japan?

[hdd]

mine said Japan on the box

[PilgriminProgress]

Mine is made in China. At one point I told myself to only buy the Japanese made models, but the excitement in the store as my wife and I both said "I'll take it!" sort of overcame our caution.

That may not be a bad thing, though. My experience with many other finely- machined components has been more than satisfactory. It all depends on how closely Canon oversees the production. I'm not going to lose any sleep, but the earlier post does pose a good a question as to the bothersome noise issues.

[PilgriminProgress]

Sorry, I missed the point that the discussion of Chinese manufacture was regarding the xti. Are all S5's made in China?

[odin7]

I believe now, most, if not all S5IS's are made in China. You may find one Made in Japan on some small retailer's back shelf, but it's doubtful. All the big US outlets probably have had their stock replenished with the Chinese S5IS long ago. Whenever I see an S5IS in a store now (Target, Best Buy, Circuit City), I ask, and it's "Made in China". It seems around the end of last year Canon transferred most of their production to their Chinese plant. You can see my running debate with "Steve" on :
http://forums.steves-digicams.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=584433&forum_id=15
He finally got a statement from Canon and then unilaterally closed out any further discussion on it. Sorry, but I have a basic distrust of products Made in China. In general, the news reports on Chinese made products speak for themselves. Global manufacturers go there to cut costs and increase profits. Often corners get cut too. I have no idea how much quality control Canon exerts on their plant there. Just their word for it. The S5IS is now in the "end of the model" mode. It is being aggressively mass produced to a wide global distribution of consumers, not "pro-sumers". Is Canon going to maintain a tight "X sigma" control over all these mass produced cameras? Or are they going to relax it, and suck as much profit out of the line as they can, since the early Japanese S5IS's got all the professional independent tests (like Steve's) and critical good reviews? And now no one in the consumer community is really comparing the quality of the different production runs. So it seems the XTi has been transferred to China also. I believe these are valid questions. It seems I've P.O.'ed a number of people by asking them. First, it took them a long time to answer. Then, when they did, it was abrupt and "end of story", like they didn't want that rock turned over. It's also interesting how the Chinese "Alibaba" export site selling "Powershot" S5IS's disappeared after I brought it up on "Steve's" website, meaning it wasn't a legit dealer. From where did they get the S5IS cameras then?
I took the Moonshots above in an attempt to compare my S5IS to one made earlier using a standard reference, the Moon. The pictures are "good" but not "great". I am not totally happy with the sharpness. I know,now, all about CCD size, digital zoom, etc, etc. I just want the best out of what the S5IS model was originally supposed to do, no more, no less.

[PilgriminProgress]

odin7...I followed the thread you posted. You're a bright guy and I admire your impertinence, but I don't think Canon is willing to deal with such a provocative question. They tried - and it's good enough for me, because I am willing to suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy my new S5 - but it's boilerplate language cooked up in corporate. Now go sit in the corner for five minutes:)

[odin7]

At the next clear full moon, take a shot with your S5IS and post it. Meanwhile, I'll be howling at the moon from here......in my corner........:lol:

[94GTStang]

At the next clear full moon, take a shot with your S5IS and post it. Meanwhile, I'll be howling at the moon from here......in my corner........:lol:
I just got an S5 and have to wait for the moon to come back through it's early phases. I would love to snap a picture of the moon with it.

[odin7]

Yeah that would be great! If we get a whole bunch of S5IS owners to post Moonshots under similar camera settings, we can do a lot of comparisons:cool:

[stargazer77517]

Why not use Jons recommendation on the settings (with no exposure change as some dont understand it) as a control. Ill see if I can get one this weekend, although its suppost to be cloudy here, ill keep an eye out for it.By "full telephoto" do you mean "digital zoom"? if so, turn that off. You can do the same thing in post-processing, and all digital zoom does is average a bunch of pixels together, so your pictures will lose a bit of detail in the process.

Try dropping the ISO and stopping down a bit. ISO 100 and f/5.6 at 1/800 should still give you a sharp image. And give it a touch more exposure; 1/2 stop or so. Both the lower ISO and the increased exposure will help with the chromatic noise I seem to be seeing. Also, I really recommend a tripod. The moon isn't moving all that fast.

[low orbit]

Why not use Jons recommendation on the settings (with no exposure change as some dont understand it) as a control. Ill see if I can get one this weekend, although its suppost to be cloudy here, ill keep an eye out for it.

Don't know about that - f5.6 at 1/800 will give you a very dark sky and not much else. ;)

Here's mine taken a couple of weeks ago when I was testing a client's one prior to delivery.

Moon - f8 1/60 full (optical) zoom tripod mounted self timer ISO100 100%crop unedited.

People don't understand the limitations of the p+s cameras though - no matter how good they are they simply won't have the low light performance of DSLRs.

Here's a fantail taken under a bush canopy yesterday - heavy shade, full telephoto (optical), ISO 400 1/160 -1EV . It was also wide open at f3.2. Again, full crop undedited.

So long story short - can the s5 take good shots? Yes. If there's loads of light and you get the exposure right and you use a low enough ISO to combat the noise.

Cheers.

[Jon]

Well, it's always a sunny day on the moon, so "sunny 16" applies. ISO 100 means 1/100 at f/16; 1/200 at f/11; 1/400 at f/8 and 1/800 at f/5.6, which is fast enough to reduce the need for a tripod at max. optical zoom.

[odin7]

Low Orbit -
I would agree. The S5IS can take "good" shots. Unfortunately "good" is not "great". I think what I've been getting with my S5IS is on par with your shots both with the moon and bird shots. Fine details of craters or feathers rapidly dissolve into pixelated artifacts upon cropping. But I guess that's the nature of a P&S beast. For me the saving grace has been that it is also a stereo camcorder, with a heck of a "good" snapshot capability. I'm still wondering though, how the early S5IS's got such great reviews.

[JustShootin']

People don't understand the limitations of the p+s cameras though - no matter how good they are they simply won't have the low light performance of DSLRs.


Maybe "Some" people don't understand the limitations of advanced compacts (p&s), but many, and I mean many of us do, and still love em to pieces! I also think most of us "people" understand the difference between an SLR camera and a compact.

Gary

[supertomcat]

heres a pic i took with my s5 camera there not the best but it was kinda late in the night

[supertomcat]

heres a few more

[odin7]

Ah, the S5 water torture test! Nice Pics!:wink:

[supertomcat]

thanx man i havent done a water shot in a while ill try somemore tomorrow

[low orbit]

Well, it's always a sunny day on the moon, so "sunny 16" applies. ISO 100 means 1/100 at f/16; 1/200 at f/11; 1/400 at f/8 and 1/800 at f/5.6, which is fast enough to reduce the need for a tripod at max. optical zoom.

Ah, must try that one night - I always thought the reflected light from the moon was lower than a sunny day. Cheers.

Low Orbit -
I would agree. The S5IS can take "good" shots. Unfortunately "good" is not "great". I think what I've been getting with my S5IS is on par with your shots both with the moon and bird shots. Fine details of craters or feathers rapidly dissolve into pixelated artifacts upon cropping. But I guess that's the nature of a P&S beast. For me the saving grace has been that it is also a stereo camcorder, with a heck of a "good" snapshot capability. I'm still wondering though, how the early S5IS's got such great reviews.

Easy. Because of shots like this ...

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc83/low_orbt/LazySeal.jpg

Maybe "Some" people don't understand the limitations of advanced compacts (p&s), but many, and I mean many of us do, and still love em to pieces! I also think most of us "people" understand the difference between an SLR camera and a compact.

Gary

Sorry :o Sometimes I forget to quantify my statements. I'm certain that there are loads of people here, yourself included, that get the difference and appreciate the limitations. I was talking generally about those that think that the results will outshine a DSLR.

From my day with it yesterday, I'd easily have one as a backup to a DSLR and would be quite happy with one as my main until that point.

Cheers.

[odin7]

Maybe some of us just don't have the same expertise as others of us OR maybe some of us just don't have the same S5IS as others of us.;)

[low orbit]

Maybe some of us just don't have the same expertise as others of us OR maybe some of us just don't have the same S5IS as others of us.;)

I'd hardly consider myself an expert - more like advanced novice ;)

And as for the same one comment ... the once I borrowed for the day is made in Japan - that extra attention to detail must completely outweigh any skills that I was lacking :lol: No seriously though, I've gotten some pretty good shots with my A75 and that's made in Malaysia.

Cheers.

[odin7]

Low Orbit -
Could you do a crop of the seal's head from the original jpg. Just frame the outline of it's head nothing else. Please post it here, so everyone can see how the details hold up with the S5IS that you were using.
Also, please check out my "Feathers and fur" posting in which I sorta did the same thing:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=476343

Thanks.

[Jon]

Ah, must try that one night - I always thought the reflected light from the moon was lower than a sunny day. Cheers.

Anything you photograph on Earth in daylight is being lit by the same Sun the Moon is. And you actually only see it because of the sunlight it reflects, same as the Moon.

[low orbit]

Low Orbit -
Could you do a crop of the seal's head from the original jpg. Just frame the outline of it's head nothing else. Please post it here, so everyone can see how the details hold up with the S5IS that you were using.
Also, please check out my "Feathers and fur" posting in which I sorta did the same thing:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=476343

Thanks.

Sure :)

The compression killed it a little, but viewed at normal screen distance it looks fine to me. This is a 100% crop SOTC. No pp at all was done on it.

Yeah I saw your feathers and fur one. I think once you get a handle on the S5, you'll start to shine. IS or no IS the bulk of my my stationary shots are manual focus and tripod mounted.

By the way that duck looked fine if that helps.

Cheers.

Anything you photograph on Earth in daylight is being lit by the same Sun the Moon is. And you actually only see it because of the sunlight it reflects, same as the Moon.

Yep, that it is. And that it does.

[odin7]

Low Orbit -
Thanks for the work and the words. :D

[low orbit]

Low Orbit -
Thanks for the work and the words. :D

No worries :)

Cheers.