Compared to... Olympus SP-550UZ

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Canon S5 IS and the Olympus SP-550UZ at ISO 800..

Studio scene comparison (@ ISO 800)

  • Canon PowerShot S5 IS: Aperture Priority mode, ISO 800, Default Image Parameters,
    Manual white balance, +0.67 EV compensation
  • Olympus SP-550UZ: Aperture Priority mode (F5.0), ISO 800, Default Image Parameters, Manual (preset) white balance, +1.0 EV compensation
  • Lighting: Daylight simulation, >98% CRI
Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Olympus SP-550UZ
ISO 800, 1/403 sec, F5.0
ISO 800, 1/320 sec, F5.6
3,728 KB JPEG
2,979 KB JPEG

At ISO 800 Canon's more light handed approach to noise reduction actually pays off, producing output that is very grainy (thanks to the low luminance NR), but does at least retain some detail (and looks a lot less processed than the Olympus output). Again, not a setting you'd want to use for anything serious, but for quick portraits in low light without flash - and as long as you're not intending to produce enlargements - it has its uses.