Canon PowerShot S5 IS

The Canon PowerShot S5 IS is an 8.0 megapixel bridge digital camera that was announced on May 7, 2007 and launched in June of that same year. It is the fourth of Canon's cameras in the superzoom category, with an integrated 12x zoom lens and image stabilization technology (IS). It has a DIGIC III processor, which has higher performance than DIGIC II used in its predecessor, 6 megapixel Canon PowerShot S3 IS.

Features

• 8.0 megapixel (effective)
• 1/2.5 in (10 mm) CCD Sensor
• Flash Hotshoe (new compared to S3)
• 12x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom
• Optical Image Stabilizer (Shift Type)
• Ultrasonic Lens Motor
• Extra-long Movie Mode with enhanced VGA resolution and stereo sound
• Canon DIGIC III processor with iSAPS
• Running the DRYOS operating system
• PictBridge, PhotoStitch, Canon Direct Print compatible – no PC required
• 20 shooting modes
• Aperture Range: F2.7 to F8
• Macro focus range: 10 to 50 cm (max wide angle); 30 to 50 cm (with a slight zoom-in); 90cm to infinity (with more than about 3x zoom)
• SuperMacro focus range: 0 to 10 cm (forced into max wide angle mode)
• Min. shutter: 1/3200 s, max shutter: 15 s
• 640 x 480 15/30 frame/s movie clips with stereo audio (limited to 4 GB or 1 hour, whichever comes first), and with 320 x 240 mode at 60/30/15 frame/s
• Electronic Viewfinder 0.33" (approx 115,000 pixels)
• Continuous Drive: 1.5 frame/s
• 2.5" (flip-out & twist) LCD (207,000 pixels)
• Dimensions: 117 x 80 x 78 mm
• Weight: 450 g

Reasons for the exclusion of PowerShot S4

Canon, based in Japan, omitted the number 4 from the range due to cultural superstition.

"The word "four" is read as "si" in Chinese Mandarin and "shi" in Japanese, a close homonym for the word for death in both languages and in the Cantonese dialect spoken in Hong Kong." The EOS 40D, however, is not included in this, as the number 40 is not pronounced the same way, but rather yon-jyuu. [1]

Amateur Photographer magazine also supported this:

"the truth behind the leap from 3 to 5 is one based on cultural superstition — For the Japanese, the number 4 is considered unlucky. This is because the pronunciation of 4 — “shi” — is the same pronunciation as death. This is the reason why the EOS range jumps from the EOS 3 to EOS 5, and why the latest IXUS digital compacts bucks the trend of the IXUS v2 and IXUS v3 models by becoming the IXUS 400. Indeed, to find a Canon camera with a model number 4 you have to look back as far as the 1950s to the Canon IV."

External hot shoe capabilities

Compatible with most newer flash systems and older flash systems. Older flashes may require adapters to protect the camera from the high voltages (up to 400 volts in some flashes) of the contact sites. Digital cameras use an electronic device to trigger the flash and if this voltage is high, it can eventually destroy the flash triggering system in the camera.

External links

• Official press release
• Review at dpreview
• A Canon S5IS Blogger - featuring works of the Canon S5 Powershot
• Flickr Galleria au Canon S5