Updated (September, 2010): Compare the Canon PowerShot S5 IS vs Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

56

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

Image stabilization
Image stabilization
Lens
Screen flips out
Flip-out screen
Great for movies
External flash
External flash
Better lighting
Canon PowerShot S5 IS

47

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Image stabilization
Image stabilization
Lens
Screen flips out
Flip-out screen
Great for movies
External flash
External flash
Better lighting

differences

Advantages of the Canon S5 IS

Size Smaller 117x80x78 mm vs 128x88x87 mm
Help
Around 30% smaller
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)
Weight Lighter 550 g vs 600 g
Help
Around 10% lighter
Thickness Thinner 3.1" vs 3.4"
Help
More than 10% thinner
Continuous shooting Shoots slightly faster 1.5 fps vs 0.7 fps
Help
More than 2x faster continuous shooting
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Learn more about
the Canon S5 IS

Advantages of the Canon SX20 IS

Wide angle Much better wide angle 28 mm vs 36 mm
Help
More than 20% better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution 9.8 MP vs 8 MP
Help
Capture more than 20% more detail in your photos
Zoom More zoom 20x vs 12x
Help
Around 3x more zoom
Movie format Higher resolution movies 720p @ 30fps vs 480p @ 30fps
Help
Shoots high resolution HD (720p) video
Sensor size Larger sensor 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm vs 1/2.5" 5.8x4.3mm
Help
More than 10% larger sensor
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Learn more about
the Canon SX20 IS
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent super zooms, and ignoring price

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot S5 IS
47 vs 56
Explain scores
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Canon PowerShot SX20 IS.

advice

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similarities

Compared to recent digicams

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Aperture Wide aperture Help
S5 IS:f/2.7
SX20 IS:f/2.8
Macro focus Good macro capabilities Help
0 cm
Image stabilization Good image stabilization Help
Lens
External flash Support external flash Help
Better lighting
Viewfinder Both have digital viewfinders Help
Digital
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
1/3200 of a second
Weight Heavy Help
S5 IS:550 g
SX20 IS:600 g
Thickness Quite thick Help
S5 IS:3.1"
SX20 IS:3.4"
Light sensitivity (boost) No boost ISO Help
Lacks boost light sensitivity
Screen size Very small screens Help
2.5"
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
Size Large Help
S5 IS:117x80x78 mm
SX20 IS:128x88x87 mm
Sensor type Lower-end sensor types Help
CCD
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
1,600 ISO
Continuous shooting Slow continuous shooting Help
S5 IS:1.5 fps
SX20 IS:0.7 fps
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support
Touch screen No touchscreens Help
More buttons
Screen resolution Low resolution screens Help
S5 IS:207k dots
SX20 IS:230k dots
Wide angle Poor wide angle Help
S5 IS:36 mm
SX20 IS:28 mm
Movie format Poor movies Help
S5 IS:480p @ 30fps
SX20 IS:720p @ 30fps

Compared to recent super zooms

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.

Supports RAW No RAW support Help
Less editing fidelity
External mic jack Neither has an external mic jack Help
Limited to the in-camera mic
Zoom Poor zoom Help
S5 IS:12x
SX20 IS:20x

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon Powershot SX40

Canon Powershot SX40

Super zoom

$347 - $380

Zoom Has way more more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Size Is significantly larger
Canon PowerShot G12

Canon PowerShot G12

Pro digicam

$390 - $496

Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Screen resolution Has a slightly higher resolution screen
Canon ELPH 300 HS

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$148 - $179

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Wide angle Has a significantly wider wide angle lens
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder
Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Super zoom

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Size Is slightly larger
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$544 - $949 body only

$649 - $867 with 18-55mm lens

Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a much larger screen
Screen flips out Doesn't have a screen which flips out
Image stabilization Doesn't have image stabilization
Fujifilm FinePix HS20 EXR

Fujifilm FinePix HS20

Super zoom

$299 - $335

Zoom Has much more zoom
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is significantly heavier
Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Canon PowerShot SX150 IS

Travel zoom

$138 - $179

Screen size Has a much larger screen
Size Is slightly smaller
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Viewfinder Doesn't have a viewfinder

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon Powershot S100

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$356 - $430

Wide angle Much better wide angle
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Screen flips out Screen does not flip out
Zoom Less zoom
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$619 - $700 body only

$745 - $1,000 with 18-55mm lens

Sensor size Much larger sensor
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Image stabilization No image stabilization
Size Larger

Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS

Super zoom

$420

Zoom Much more zoom
Wide angle Significantly better wide angle
Size Larger
Thickness Thicker
Nikon Coolpix P100

Nikon Coolpix P100

Super zoom

Screen size Much larger screen
Movie format Higher resolution movies
Image stabilization Worse image stabilization
External flash No external flash support

appearance

Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot S5 IS Canon PowerShot SX20 IS

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