Home Forums Gear Photography Canon Powershot S5 IS...

Hello to all...

I need some help please...

I'm considering purchasing a Canon Powershot S5 IS with a 4 gig or 8 gig card...

I would like to use this on my Namibia Plains Game Hunt in a couple months...

How is this camera and is it a good buy for a beginner who just wants to take some photos of our trophies and some of the sights while on our 7 day adventure?

Is this camera user-friendly and how big of a card should I take?

Doug is selling this in my budget range and wanted to inquire with you all...$344.99 plus the card...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I have an S1 IS. very good PS camera and will do way more than you're asking of it. pretty compact too.

as for cards, take plenty. For "important" pics, you'll want to be using max resolution which means fewer pics per card. the table will tell you how many pics per card you'll get.

Can't say how many pics you might take but were it me, I'd be taking 16-20 Gigs (minimum)!

I bought the S1 IS when it came out, one friend has the slightly improved S2 IS, several friends have S3 IS, and one just bought an S5 IS.

We are all happy! The image stabilization is excellent, and the huge zoom is just what you need to convince everybody that an elephant on the horizon was within stomping distance of you!

Seriously, it is a good camera. Digital Photography Review is always a good place to check out digital cameras. The like the Canon models just fine...

John

I've used the 1SIS for years now. It's fantastic and will actually survive a complete submersion in water. Mine was overboard and recovered. Once dried out it's worked fine Except for one little thing. It will not download direct to the computer any longer. I have to take the card out use another camera and download them that way.

That's not bad considering it was in 5 feet of river water for about an hour or so. Right after it went over board I bought a replacement the next day. The camera was that good I spent the money on another replacement. Now I have two identical. However the one that sunk does not download anymore. It took about 1 month of sitting in a sunny window to dry out.

Buy an otter box or pelican case for yours. That's what I use now!

You were forunate your camera worked after drying out...I wasn't so lucky! I had just obtained my brand new Canon S IS last year and took it on my annual fly fishing trip in Wyoming. My buddy caught a beautiful 2.5 lb cutthroat trout and asked me to net the fish. I slipped/tripped on a submerged rock and drowned my new camera.

I carefully drained it and let it dry completely. When i tried to power it up, nothing...I called Canon and they said I fried the electronics and it was basically a hunk of junk.

Luckily, I paid for the camera with my AMEX card and had baggage coverage from AMEX when I purchased my airline ticket so they picked up the tab to replace the camera! I replaced it with the new Panasonic FZ18.

I still have a Canon S1 IS and it's a nice camera, but honestly, it isn't the equal to the Panasonic IMO.

I purchased the Panasonic from Camerland and am happy with their knowledge, service, and pricing.

You may want to look at the sony H3 same megapixel, same size sensor and 10x zoom. It takes awesome pics and is actually easier to use esp the menu and function buttons. Its also under $ 300.00 and lighter. Good luck.

I JUST got a Canon S5 IS for my birthday. Still reading the books, but so far, I'm VERY impressed. My wife says she did a lot of research on cameras, and that this one is highly recommended on a quality/price basis.

But as I say, so far, Wow!