s3 or wait for s5

[ballhawk57792]

Hi everone! This is my first post. I had finally made up my mind, after a lot of research, to get a s3. But now the s5 is about out. I am a complete newbee at photography but would love to learn more. I have a powershot A60, just 3.2 mp and a little zoom. The zoom and more pixles is what I like about the s3, and the price is just short of 300. The s3 has alot of different modes and adjustments. Do you think the s3 will be too much for a beginner. Should I wait for the s5? I think it will cost alot more than the s3. Any comments would help me alot. Thanks

[Visual Reality]

I don't think it will be too much at all. You can use it on auto mode until you have a feel for the settings, then flip it to P to start using your own functions. It will be ready for you when you decide to use the M mode.

I vote S3 over S5. Not enough of a difference to warrant the $200.

I got to play with the new Sony H9 for a few moments today also. The LCD screen is enormous, 15x zoom is good, but overall the camera still has a cheaper feel to it. Nothing like the Canon. And they apparently made their LCD "lift" off the body slightly connected to an arm, so you can tilt it up and down. Useful, but not as useful as the S3 which gives you full swing-out and spin-around upside down action. And you couldn't flip the Sony LCD around to hide it from damage during traveling and storage.The menu had some sort of graphical interface, almost like some of todays MP3 players, but it was sluggish. For daily use and live-ability I would go with the S3 which is still one of the best bang-for-the-buck cameras you can buy.

[ooverdrive]

A major improvement in the s5 is hot shoe and that is not a big deal for a newbie.If you are ready to wait till the release of s5(August?)then the s3 wld be available at cheaper prices,imo@$230!

[WebDesignPresident]

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/PowerShot/PowerShot_S5_IS/index.asp

Release date for UK --- June 2007
Price tag --- £409

Now that i know the price I don't regret I bought S3 IS last week. I'd rather get lens converters for the extra 150 quid I'd have had to pay for S5 IS.

I'm not saying I wont switch to S5 IS. I probably will --- but for me, a newbie --- extra lenses are more desirable than DigicIII, hot-shoe or 8MP.

[FirehawkNS]

Agree with the above. I got my S3 in the mail yesterday right when I was seeing the specs for the S5 and was like "Damn :( ". But for me the S3 is just a stepping stone into a DSLR before the year is out, so I think I will be ok especially after seeing what people on here think of the differences from the two cameras. I got mine for $290 USD so I think I came out pretty good sticking with the S3.

[griptape]

I don't think the small improvements justify the cost at all. You'd be much better off with the S3 and saving the money (possibly towards stepping up to a DSLR) for relatively minor improvements.

[XaiLo]

Step up to a DSLR .

[Visual Reality]

I don't think the small improvements justify the cost at all. You'd be much better off with the S3 and saving the money (possibly towards stepping up to a DSLR) for relatively minor improvements.
Yeah for the price is the S5 I would also get into an SLR camera.

You can also get an S3 plus almost everything in my signature for the price of just the S5.

[FirehawkNS]

Yeah for the price is the S5 I would also get into an SLR camera.

You can also get an S3 plus almost everything in my signature for the price of just the S5.

Werd

I got all pictured (plus 2gb SD Card and Two filters) shipped to me new for $340.

http://www.pewterz28.com/forumstuff/S3/S3.jpg

[TooMuchButtHair]

Honestly, I was going to wait for the S4 (which, as we know, turned out to be the S5), but after I saw the specs the S5 has yesterday, I decided to go to Best Buy and get an S3 this morning. HAH!

Honestly, there isn't anything I see worthy of an extra $200. Hell, even the Sony H9 probably isn't worth the extra $200 over the S3. If you really need big zoom, you can buy a 1.5x lense for the S3, to give you a total of 18x optical zoom for less than $100 NEW! The S3 was one hell of a camera last year, and it still is one hell of a camera this year.

[XaiLo]

Viva la S3 IS. ;) :D

[forno]

Is that manual focus on the lens I see now??

That would be a massive inprovement if its right

[radium56]

Just to be fair - the MSRP $499 is the same as it was for 3IS 14 month ago, but the actual start price will be lower, you know that. Another improvements of IS5 not yet mentioned here:

better LCD display (2.5"/207.000 pix vs. 2"/115.000pix - huge difference IMHO)
control to incorporate facial brightness in Face Detection AF (DIGIC III)
continuous shooting speed

high speed 2.3fps vs 1.5fps
normal 1.5fps vs 0.9fps


Cons: 10% more weight
So for some of us all these goodies are worth the wait, i personally was waiting just for external flash support (I own already 550EX). And allthough I like DSLRs, I cannot take them with me anytime and anywhere I would like to, especially skiing/snowboarding/snowkiting.

[DirePenguin]

continuous shooting speed

high speed 2.3fps vs 1.5fps
normal 1.5fps vs 0.9fps



I believe you've got these backwards, the S3 is faster than the S5....

[mark97701]

looking at the specs of the S5 I would go and get the S3. Once you know all the tricks you either have around $250 (difference to the S5) to start towards a DSLR or you know that the S3 has everyhting you need and can spend the money on some nice accessories.

'hope this helps

[Larsanna]

I have a nice DSLR setup (Canon 20D, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L, EX380 +more), but I want a nice and handy camera for every day use and for when I go hiking up some crazy mountain.

I plan to purchase the S5 for a few reasons... #1 the Hot Shoe adapter, #2 the DIGIC-III processor and #3 Improved face detection... (#2 & #3 are related I know)

$250 or so more than the S3 is quite irrelevant, once you've spent +$5,000 on your DSLR equipment.


Larsanna
Happy Canonographer

[downtrodden]

You are right, 250 more isn't a big deal when you've spent that much. But it may be a complete waste of 250.

None of us *KNOW* yet. but Usually squeezing more pixels into the same size sensor, the same sensor which already has too many pixels on it, will result in more speckling, as mentioned before. Not to mention the S5 has a much slower shooting rate than the S3. So you get a hotshoe? And face detection... you can't see the faces on the LCD and focus and expose accordingly?

All i'm saying is you'd be wise to wait for a nice technical review before deciding to drop 250 more on a hotshoe.

I just gotta figure out how to get 3,500 more for the canon 1d markIII. but by the time i manage to save up 4 grand, the Mark IV should be out and maybe it will have a swivel display. Canon should do that.. what good is an expensive macro lens if you can't see what you're taking a picture of?

Just my opinion though.. i could be wrong!

/end babble

~Cory

[truflip]

why dont u wait till the S5 comes out?
Im sure just about every retailer is gonna put the s3 out on clearance sale :D

[Larsanna]

So you get a hotshoe? And face detection... you can't see the faces on the LCD and focus and expose accordingly?
I sure can, but pls notice the order I wrote.. keypoint for me is the hot shoe.


Larsanna

[ballhawk57792]

Thanks for all the info-I couldnt wait anymore and bought the s3. I havent had alot of time to tinker with it yet, only read a little of the manual until my sandisk extreme 3 2gb card comes from amazon. I should have bought the s3 from there too (alittle cheaper) but I got my hands on it and it was like a junky with crack- had to have it. Keep up the work with the forum its a very interesting read!