Canon's New PowerShot S5 IS And SD850 IS Digital ELPH Cameras Set New Standards

The extended zoom range of both cameras makes optical image stabilization (OIS) essential. Canon's lens shift OIS provides an effective antidote to camera shake, particularly at longer zoom lengths or during long exposures when even the slightest hand-held shake is magnified to picture blurring proportions. Superior to electronic image stabilization systems that simply use software to mask movement, OIS actually shifts the lens proportionately to compensate for unwanted motion, making it easier to snap great images and smooth movies, even when the camera is hand-held or in low light conditions.

The steady effectiveness is further enhanced when paired with the new "Auto ISO Shift" feature which, at the touch of a button, can automatically increase the ISO speed setting as required to maintain fast shutter speeds when shooting in low light conditions without a flash.

Eye-Easy Displays
Both cameras feature bright, high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD displays that offer users a wide viewing angle, ideal for viewing and sharing. For extra flexibility to shoot self-portraits, aim over a crowd or go low for a new perspective, the PowerShot S5 IS digital camera features a Vari-Angle LCD display that swing outs with two-level brightness control for easier viewing under different lighting conditions while the PowerShot SD850 IS Digital ELPH features the new PureColor LCD that offers superior color accuracy and brightness and a multi-coated screen finish that provides enhanced resistance to glare, scratches and fingerprints. For conventional viewing, both cameras feature eye-level viewfinders.

Flexible Photo Modes
Both cameras also offer users a broad spectrum of creative options to customize their pictures. The PowerShot S5 IS digital camera features 22 shooting modes from fully automatic to fully manual. Accessible at the turn of a dial, these modes include Full Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Super Macro, Portrait, Landscape, Night Snapshot, Sports, Stitch Assist and Movie. Users can also select from a variety of special scene settings including indoor night scene, foliage, snow, beach, fireworks, aquarium, color accent and color swap.

The Canon PowerShot SD850 IS Digital ELPH camera is equipped with a new Creative Light Effect special scene mode that can alter the shape of background bright spots - into hearts, stars and the like - when shooting a night scene. The Creative Light Effect is but one of 18 shooting modes accessible to PowerShot SD850 IS Digital ELPH users at the mere touch of a control dial.

PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera Features:

Movie Action and MovieSnap
The PowerShot S5 IS camera features four movie modes with Canon's Face Detection AF and AE. Similar to its still mode role, Face Detection AF focuses on the faces in the movie scene while Face Detection AE measures and accounts for the brightness of the faces when it is evaluating the appropriate overall scene exposure. What's more, the one-touch "modeless movie" feature makes the decision to capture movies virtually instantaneous by engaging the movie function at the press of a dedicated button, without first switching to a shooting mode.

For even greater flexibility, The S5 IS camera's MovieSnap feature enables users to capture high-resolution eight-megapixel still images at any point during the movie. This "best of both worlds" solution transforms the family photographer into the family videographer, and preserves moving memories and milestones in their original action format while making key moments a snap to view in frames, photo albums and easy-to-share in emails.