Utilizing the Canon PowerShot S5IS
A Guide to Getting the Most Out of a Great Digital Camera
The Canon PowerShot S5IS has an abundance of features that, for some, may seem a bit daunting. Most point and shoot cameras are very basic in design and are used to take pictures without getting too technical. Digital SLRs or DSLRs, on the contrary, are more complex, focusing heavily on the technical side of photography. The Canon S5IS finds itself somewhere in between. It has an impressive feature set that many, particularly those accustomed to point and shoot cameras, may never use. This article focuses on those aspects of the S5IS that make it stand out and how to get the most out of it.
The Settings That Make the S5IS Different
While nearly every camera available has scene settings and video capability, the S5IS features several settings that most point and shoots lack.
- With the Manual (M) setting, it is possible to control the value of the aperture, how much light is received, and the shutter speed, how long the light is received.
- The Aperture Priority (Av) setting allows for manual control of the aperture value represented by the f number, while automatically finding the best shutter speed.
- The Shutter Speed Priority (Tv) setting allows the user to control how long the shutter stays open, while automatically finding the most appropriate aperture value.
- The Program (P) setting automatically finds the most appropriate settings for both aperture and shutter speed based on the surrounding light.
While both the aperture and shutter speed settings have an effect on brightness, their real purposes are different. Using a lower aperture value allows the user to blur the background, ideal for portraits. Using a high aperture value brings the background into focus, great for landscape photography. A fast shutter speed allows the user to capture fast moving objects without blur, while a slow shutter speed is great for night time scenery with the help of a tripod.
Some of the other great features of the S5IS are:
- Manual focus
- Macro/Supermacro for great close ups
- Color swap and color accent for more creative photos
Accessories That Make the S5IS More Fun
Accessories are where the Canon S5IS really shines. While most point and shoot cameras allow for the use of a tripod, few have a hot shoe to attach an external flash, and even fewer allow for the use of a lens adapter, as the Canon S5IS does.
The ability to use a lens adapter is probably the single best feature of this camera. They are available from a number of sources, like Canon, Lensmate and Raynox. The lens adapter screws onto the base of the lens and projects outward past the end of the lens. With threads on the end, it allows the owner to use any filter they wish. The UV, polarizer and infrared filters are popular choices. The lens adapter also allows for the addition of conversion lenses, which are add-on lenses that modify the existing lens in some way. The most commonly used conversion lenses are:
- telephoto: allows increased zoom capability
- wide angle: distorts the image to create a wider field of view
- fisheye: an exaggerated wide angle that is distorted into a circle
- macro: for taking better close up photos
Software That Complements the S5IS
The included software bundle comes with Canon's PhotoStitch program, which stitches together panoramas quite well, as well as a photo managing program and a program that allows the owner to operate his camera from the computer, great for long exposure photos where pressing the shutter button may move the camera slightly.
Don't be afraid to edit photos. Adobe's Lightroom is a scaled down version of Photoshop that is great for quickly and easily editing photos.
Realizing the Full Potential of the S5IS
It would be a shame to keep a camera so rich in features and manual controls in the auto setting. S5IS owners will find that experimenting with these features and using the available accessories can open the door to better and more creative photography.
Using Accessories for the Canon S5IS
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