About average, in some cases slower than average, speed for a consumer camera.

The Canon PowerShot S5 IS' performance ranges from average to slightly slower than average, depending on what you're trying to do. It starts up reasonably fast, but mode-switching is a little sluggish. Shutter response is good at both wide angle and telephoto, at about 0.4 second, and "prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure results in speedy lag time of only 0.074 second. Shot-to-shot cycle times are about average, at about 1.60 seconds for large/superfine JPEGs, but the camera appears to capture shots continuously in single-shot mode without having to stop and clear the buffer. Continuous mode could use a boost, at only 1.52 frames-per-second for large/superfine JPEGs (which slows to 0.75 frames-per-second if you want the camera to autofocus between shots), though the camera appears to be limited only by card capacity in this mode. The flash takes 8.5 seconds to recharge after a full-power shot, which is also on the slower side. Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, download speeds are speedy enough that you shouldn't feel the need for a card reader. Bottom line, the S5 IS is responsive enough to handle most family photo opportunities, though its continuous mode isn't quite fast enough to handle fast-paced action.

Battery
Average battery life for AA alkalines, though much better runtimes with NiMH rechargeables.

The Canon PowerShot S5 IS uses four AA-type batteries for power, and ships with a set of ordinary alkalines. Because battery life is vastly improved with NiMH rechargeable batteries, we strongly recommend you pick up a couple of sets of good-quality NiMH rechargeable batteries and a good-quality charger, as they'll save you many times their cost over the life of the camera.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on either a fresh set of disposable batteries or a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Canon PowerShot S5 IS accepts SD/MMC memory cards, and comes with a 32MB starter card.

We strongly recommend buying a large capacity SD/SDHC memory card at least a 1GB card, preferably a 4GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings and video. (Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)