It looks pretty good and has a nice macro on it as well. I can't do a direct comparison but I prefer the latest Fuji that's in the same class as the Canon.

But if you buy the Canon I think it should work well for you.

Whitecat, have you looked into buying a macro lens for your camera? A lot of cameras on their own can't get nice pics of really small flowers without a macro lens.

{{gwi:197096}}I am on the cusp on getting a new camera. The Olympus C-740 is a very good camera for most purposes, but 1 cm flowers like this Pleurothallis stricta are a real challenge. I often end up with 20 shots before I get one in reasonable focus and close enough.

Since I don't have to worry about getting "print" quality, just the much lower requirements of the web, I am squeaking by. On the other hand I would have liked this photo to be a notch or two better.

Thanks, guys,

Just to add to the fun, the successor to the S5, the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS, came out about a month ago, and there don't seem to be any detailed reviews yet. Maybe explains why the S5 is hard to find retail.

Both are super zooms - just below an SLR - and I haven't read anything about interchangeable lenses, but my research has just begun, and I don't speak camera.

From Digital Photography Review

Macro Focus

Macro performance is identical to the S3 IS; in other words nothing to write home about, despite the headline '0cm' Super Macro mode. First let's look at the standard macro mode, which allows you to get down as close as 10cm (at the wide end of the zoom). It's okay, but nothing special (fitting an area of around 9.5cm across into the frame). At the telephoto end of the zoom you can actually get slightly higher magnification (photographing an area of around 8.2cm across), with less distortion and less corner softness, albeit from a much greater distance (about 70cm).
Super Macro mode

Super Macro Mode

If its normal macro mode is nothing to write home about, the S5 IS has the same rather unique trick up its sleeve as its predecessors - a 'super macro mode' that allows you to focus down to an unprecedented 0cm from the front element. This means it can actually focus on things that are touching the front of the lens. Of course there aren't many things you can actually photograph from 0cm - they either need to be lit from behind (you can use the S5 IS to shoot 35mm slides if you don't mind the cropping, distortion and corner softness!) or small enough that they don't fill the frame. In most cases the shadow of the lens obscures your subject so much that you can't use it at distances of less than a few centimeters, at which point the subject area you're photographing is around 40mm across - roughly the same as most of its competitors (such as the Panasonic FZ7), but with the ever-present danger that you'll move so close that you end up causing permanent damage to the front element of the lens. Still, it's fun to play with and does allow you to take some unique photographs.

What do you think, oh camera guys?

Thanks, WhiteCat8

Here is a link that might be useful: Digital Photography Review, Canon S5

Whitecat8,

Is macro photography your only consideration in buying a digital camera?

If it is so, then the 'Canon PowerShot S5 IS' which you are eyeing on may well be a very capable camera for it. If you want something smaller, then you may consider the Sony DSC-T300.

I think the Sony DSC-T300 is the ideal camera for 90% of the gardenweb members here who like small, lightweight cameras and who have trouble setting their cameras to focus on a close subject. I recommend it as the camera for the garden lover who doesn't have the slightest idea how to focus on a macro subject correctly.

If you belong to the few members here however who are also into photography in addition to gardening, then macro ability will not likely be your only criterion for buying a digital camera.

You would definitely want the camera to have first and foremost, high image quality for macro, wideangle, and telephoto photography, excellent low light ability, and high image resolution. All the other features would be considered bonus. If this describes you, then you may want to consider the Fujifilm cameras for 'the best in class' in compact digital cameras. High on this category are the Fujifilm Finepix cameras, especially the Finepix F30 and the Finepix F31fd.

If you are into pro- or semi pro-photography (which I doubt you are, since you are asking a camera question here), then you would likely want to buy a bridgecam with superzoom or go all the way to a full featured dSLR. If this were the case, then I suggest you visit photography forums like dpreview.com as you are likely to get more helpful suggestions there than here.

tropical

This is a Sundew Capensis flower. Diameter is 1/4 of an inch.

Taken with a Canon Powershot A630

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Tommyr, wow, tiny flower. Congrats for capturing it.

Maybe I should have said I've always liked the Canon lenses, which may or may not be the best choice.

That said, Tropical, several years ago, the Canon PowerShot A80 was chosen because it'd take decent still shots of friends, family gatherings, vacations, etc. plus capture kinda okay video clips of our dogs and cats in action, with sound.

When I first got into orchids, the A80 was fine for "regular" size flowers. Now that I've become enamored w/ plants w/ smaller flowers, I needed all the same functions as before, plus a macro mode.

The bulkiness of a super zoom is fine, and an SLR is more than I need.... as far as I can tell so far, plus the cost of the body and lenses is more than seems necessary for my mainstream tastes.

Here's the little Lepanthes manabina blossom, which is about 1/2" high - same as the Masde flowers. As you said, Richard, it took a bunch of shots w/ the Canon A80 to get one even this sharp.

{{gwi:197098}}

Thanks, WhiteCat8

Here's a capture of the legendary Fujifilm Finepix F30 digicam:
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Tomato in bloom

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Tomato flower at 100% crop. (Actual diameter is approximately 5 mm)

This photo was taken with the Canon S5 IS in super macro mode with the flower resting against the lens:
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The flower is maybe 3mm, very tiny. The camera really cannot do any better. The zoom is utterly worthless for trying to capture tiny flowers. It cannot focus on them. The S5 is a good all around advanced p&s camera. You can get decent macros of flowers that aren't too tiny, you can take videos and make lots of adjustments. But, if I had it to do over again, I think I would spend the $500 on a basic dSLR and get a seperate macro lens.

For carrying around and taking snapshots, the S5 is really too big and bulky and it is also a battery hog. I don't know that I would want to take it on a vacation. For 90% of orchid photos I think it would be fine if not great. But for those 10% that are really tiny, it just doesn't cut it.

Hey, Tropical, Great pix. Thanks for posting.

Mr. B, Goodness gracious - 3mm is .118", if the conversion table is right. The little Masde is about .5" high. It's as small as I'd want to go... she says now. :)

Here's the other small one, the Lepanthes manabina, about the same size, taken with the Canon PowerShot A80:

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Hopefully, the Canon PowerShot S5, which arrived a couple of days ago, will do a better job. It can be returned within 90 days, so I'll play around with it and see.

Anything more sophisticated seems like overkill for my needs, but hey, the Canon A80 was fine for all that time, so who knows?

Thanks again, WhiteCat8

This Caladenia is around thumbnail size. It was taken on an Olympus 770. I find the main problem with taking photo's of small flowers on is getting sufficient depth of field to get the whole flower in focus. If you want to take macro's with a mid-level P&S, it's worth investing in a tripod so you can stop the lens down enough to get the entire flower in focus without having to worry too much about shutter time.
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I dont have a lot of macro/super macro shots with my S5 IS since I do not have small flowers in my collection :)

But here's one when I was playing with it some time ago.

Normal shot, take note of the spanish moss flower to the right of my thumb. And yes this photo is out of focus.
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Now here's a super macro shot of the same flower.
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It may be a sub-standard shot, but I take the blame for that and not the camera. I dont have a lot of practice with macros.

He points out the greatest flaw with the S5 IS in my experience. It is nearly impossible to focus when using the zoom at any kind of close distances. I've messed with a LOT of the settings trying to get that figured out, to no avail. I fear i need a manual focus and a DSLR with dedicated macro lens. :(

Well, it's been hurry up and wait w/ the new S5. The last days of the campaign distracted me from lots else.

Wetfeet, maybe we'll figure this thing out with practice.

Mr. B, good thing Costco gives you 90 days to return cameras. If I ever get pix of the little Masde, y'all will be the first to see them.

Corymbosa, nice shot. It sent me searching for a source for the Caladenia.

WhiteCat8