Canon PowerShot
S5 IS
 vs
Canon PowerShot
SX120 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

32

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Aperture
 Wide aperture
f/2.7
Screen flips out
 Flip-out screen
Great for movies
Viewfinder
 Great viewfinder
Digital
External flash
 External flash
Better lighting
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

32

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

Screen size
 Large screen
3.0"
Size
 Really small
Mid size 111x71x45 mm
Thickness
 Thin
1.8"
Weight
 Light-weight
285 g

differences

Advantages of the Canon S5 IS
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
Aperture Slightly wider aperture f/2.7 vs f/2.8
Help
 At its widest zoom, the S5 IS's lens captures marginally more light (0.1 f-stops)
External flash Supports an external flash Yes vs No
Help
 An external flash often produces better looking flash images
Viewfinder Has a viewfinder Digital vs None
Help
 A viewfinder can help save battery life by keeping the screen turned off
Zoom Slightly more zoom 12x vs 10x
Help
 More than 40% more zoom
Macro focus Better macro capability 0 cm vs 1 cm
Help
 Almost the same
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 1.5 fps vs 0.9 fps
Help
 Around 70% faster continuous shooting
Fastest shutter speed Faster max shutter speed 1/3200s vs 1/2500s
Help
 More than 20% faster max shutter speed
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Learn more about
the Canon S5 IS

Advantages of the Canon SX120 IS
Screen size Much larger screen 3.0" vs 2.5"
Help
 More than 20% larger screen
Size Significantly smaller 111x71x45 mm vs 117x80x78 mm
Help
 2.1x smaller
Weight Significantly lighter 285 g vs 550 g
Help
 Around 50% lighter
True resolution Higher true resolution 8.6 MP vs 8 MP
Help
 Capture around 10% more detail in your photos
Thickness Significantly thinner 1.8" vs 3.1"
Help
 More than 40% thinner
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $225.24 vs $244.78
Help
 The best price we've seen is $20 cheaper (around 10% less)
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX120 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent digicams, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot S5 IS
32 vs 32
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
Green arrow Too close to call! Snapsort considers these cameras too competitive to make a clear recommendation. This recommendation, however, should be taken with a grain of salt since it doesn't always make sense to compare a super zoom with a travel zoom.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonPowerShot S5 IS
 Canon PowerShot S5 IS vs Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
CanonPowerShot SX120 IS
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
0
0
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
0
0
Vote Vote
Features Low light image quality Low light image quality
Lack of noise, sharp details
0
0
Vote Vote
Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
0
0
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
0
0
Vote Vote
Performance Image stabilization
Ability to reduce blur from hand shake
0
0
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Aperture Wide aperture Help
S5 IS:f/2.7
SX120 IS:f/2.8
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
Macro focus Good macro capabilities Help
S5 IS:0 cm
SX120 IS:1 cm
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
S5 IS:1/3200s
SX120 IS:1/2500s
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
36 mm
True resolution Capture low resolution images Help
S5 IS:8 MP
SX120 IS:8.6 MP
Weight Heavy Help
S5 IS:550 g
SX120 IS:285 g
Sensor size Very small sensors Help
1/2.5" 5.8x4.3mm
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
Movie format Movie support Help
480p @ 30fps
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
1,600 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S5 IS:1.5 fps
SX120 IS:0.9 fps
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S5 IS:207k dots
SX120 IS:230k dots

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

Travel zoom

$127 - $245
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Wide angle Has a much wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Aperture Has a significantly narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX130 IS vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Travel zoom

$169 - $199
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Wide angle Has a much wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Aperture Has a significantly narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX150 IS vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Compare the PowerShot SX150 IS vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Nikon Coolpix L120

Nikon Coolpix L120

Super zoom

$227 - $230
Zoom Has significantly more zoom
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Compare the Coolpix L120 vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$379
Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Compare the Powershot SX40 vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Fujifilm FinePix S2950

Fujifilm FinePix S2950

Super zoom

$139 - $200
Zoom Has slightly more zoom
Movie format Records lower quality movies
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the FinePix S2950 vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Compare the FinePix S2950 vs the PowerShot SX120 IS

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Super zoom
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Zoom More zoom
Size Larger
Aperture Slightly narrower aperture
Compare the PowerShot SX20 IS vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$420
Zoom Much more zoom
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Size Significantly larger
Thickness Significantly thicker
Compare the PowerShot SX30 IS vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Super zoom
Size Slightly smaller
Weight Slightly lighter
Screen size Much smaller screen
Macro focus Much worse macro capability
Compare the PowerShot S3 IS vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Placeholder

Canon PowerShot G5

Pro digicam
Aperture Significantly wider aperture
Sensor size Much larger sensor
Screen size Much smaller screen
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Compare the PowerShot G5 vs the PowerShot S5 IS
Fujifilm FinePix HS10

Fujifilm FinePix HS10

Super zoom

$496
High-speed framerate Records high-speed movies
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Size Much larger
Thickness Significantly thicker
Compare the FinePix HS10 vs the PowerShot S5 IS

Canon PowerShot SX120 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$130 - $233
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Screen size Significantly smaller screen
Zoom Slightly less zoom
Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Travel zoom

$305 - $379
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Aperture Narrower aperture
Macro focus Significantly worse macro capability
Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$389 - $500
Wide angle Much better wide angle
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen
Screen size Smaller screen
Zoom Slightly less zoom
Compare the PowerShot G12 vs the PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot SX110 IS

Canon PowerShot SX110 IS

Travel zoom
Sensor size Larger sensor
True resolution Higher true resolution
Compare the PowerShot SX110 IS vs the PowerShot SX120 IS

appearance

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX120 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

Find similar cameras

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discussion Which do you think is better?

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