S3 and S5 owners: Is red eye really a problem?

[shellyshell]

Hi all! I've been researching cameras to buy all day and was wondering if the red eye is a big problem in the S3 and S5s (the reviews on this site worried me!). If so, which one seems to be better in this respect?

Thanks in advance!

[Andrizzle]

Well, I haven't had a problem with it, but the truth is I prefer to take my pictures with available light. Here is a sample crop of a picture I did take with the flash on my S3 though:

https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/adbauer/IMG_6946.JPG

My experience is that even if you do end up with red eye, photo editing software will clean it up with no problem. My advice would be don't let something like red eye prevent you from getting this camera.

[shellyshell]

Whew! That's what I wanted to hear (or read). I do have Photoshop so I guess if I do have a problem I could edit it; I just didn't want to have to on every single picture. But your picture looks good to me. Thank you for your response! Now I just have to choose between the S3 or S5. :)

[griptape]

It was extremely rare that I ended up with red eye on my S3. The flash is far enough away from the lens that it rarely finds the angle it needs to create red eye.

[downtrodden]

Red eye a problem? Not if you don't use the flash. :D j.k. j.k

Seriously though, every now and then it creeps up- but a couple of simple clicks in almost ANY editing software will remove red eye, so it's not a big concern, and it IS a problem you will have with just about any point and shoot. So is red eye a problem with the S cameras? probably. Anymore so than any other Point and Shoot? Not at all.

~Cory

[donato]

Whew! That's what I wanted to hear (or read). I do have Photoshop so I guess if I do have a problem I could edit it; I just didn't want to have to on every single picture. But your picture looks good to me. Thank you for your response! Now I just have to choose between the S3 or S5. :)

(still) owning both I suggest without any doubt to go for the S5. Except having the same (still very good!!) lense and the same-size sensor like the S3 it is actually a new camera, with many advantages. I like the S3, I really love the S5!

BTW The S5 has an in-camera red-eye remove, in case you have to print right out of the camera.

[Zadillo]

(still) owning both I suggest without any doubt to go for the S5. Except having the same (still very good!!) lense and the same-size sensor like the S3 it is actually a new camera, with many advantages. I like the S3, I really love the S5!

BTW The S5 has an in-camera red-eye remove, in case you have to print right out of the camera.

Are there really that many advantages? I just picked up an S3IS because the price was just too good to pass up on ($209, because the store was closing it out as a "discontinued" model).

From reading the DCR review, it seemed like the two main advantages I could see were the hot shoe (which I don't know if I'd use or not) and the larger LCD (which would be nice, but so far I'm not having a real problem with the LCD on the S3).

Are there really that many other advantages that make the S5 clearly worth getting over the S3, even for $200+ more?

[downtrodden]

there's no quick and easy answer for that question. Still owning both myself i can tell you the upgrade is NOT worth paying 275 bucks more for. (taking the S3 to be the price you got it and the general price range of the S5 at 470ish)

Yes, those are the two main advantages. Oh don't forget 2 megapixels more. But what does that do for you? Nothing. How many times have you printed an image larger than 8X10? Yes, the two extra megapixels give you more latittude for cropping, but they also add more noise to the image (just as Keller pointed out the slight raise in noise in his review). To me, the disadvantage of adding a slight bit more noise cancels out the advantage of greater cropping latitude. IMO.

So you're left with the only advantages being face detection, in camera red eye removal, larger LCD and Hotshoe. you said yourself you don't think you'll use a hotshoe.. and even without a hotshoe, a couple members here have used external flashes set to a trigger switch that fires the flash when their onboard flash fires... these switches are cheap and to me cancel out the advantage of a hotshoe (as you can place a slave flash across the room) Not to mention you can use the saved money to BUY a flash as opposed to spending the extra money to get a hot shoe.

So it comes down to if you'd like to pay 200-275 bucks more for +.5 LCD and face detection and red eye removal. To me- not at all worth it.

Worry not, you did well with your S3 purchase, you got a steal. It's one hell of a camera and in a few months the price of the S5 will drop to S3 prices (350 range) and this will make the S5 a more viable option. Until then, anyway you slice it, the S3 is a better value that sells based off of great reputation and package contents, NOT based off of gimicky features like on the S5.

That's just my opinion though, I could be wrong.

~Cory

[donato]

for your interest:

http://www.mycanong7.com/301.html

may help, to me it did :)

[tim11]

Get S5. Get a flash. Pop that flash on the S5 and bounce it off the ceiling. No more redeyes - ever. Yep, I'm a big fan of external flash. :o

[berniej]

I have never had a P&S that was not pretty bad on red eye. I will be interested to see how people like the in camera help on the S5. Since my house is fairly dark inside I avoid using the S3 because it just does not fair well for me in low light.
I grab my old Kodak 3.2mp. It is much better indoors.