S3 is better than S5?

[wadpro]

I am a S5 user and I am really disappointed when I see the review of S5 on the dpreview.com. In the conclusion of the review, they say "recommended" for S5. However they had said "higly recommended" for S3. I am really confused.


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonS3is/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonS5is/

What do you say guys?

[Visual Reality]

You can't compare them based on those two sentences alone. The S3 was out long before the S5 and therefore, at the time it dominated the market. Now that there is much more competition that may not be the case.

Also it depends how Jeff was feeling that day...I wouldn't worry too much about how he worded it.

[lantern]

Well, seeing as you are an owner of the S5. Would YOU highly recommend the S5? If the answer is yes then that is all you need.


As far as the review goes the previous post nailed it when they said it came down to how the S3 and S5 compared to the competition at the time of their releases. If you read the whole review you'll see where he points out what is better in the S5 and what is about the same.

Enjoy your purchase!!:)

[donato]

just my thoughts:

in May 06, the S3 did get a "Highly Recommended", although it was (quote) " ... in reality a minor upgrade" (compared to the S2)

The S5 doesn't get this "Highly Recommended", although ... (quote) "the improvement of the S5 over the S3 is bigger than the one of the S3 over the S2 was ... "

Maybe, they took more in consideration, what else they expected instead of just the camera as it is, I don't know.

I did the upgrade and am very happy with the S5 :) - the combo with the Speedlite 430EX i.e. is really hot!

[Turn]

from what I've gathered:


S5 IS does improve some parts of S3 IS but is worse in other areas so it is not the ideal follow-up of the S3 IS

[griptape]

I think the general consensus is that it's better, but it's not almost twice the cost better. The upgrades to the S5 are only valuable to those who will use them. That doesn't mean it's not a great camera, it just means it's not a great value, as said, compared to the rest of the current market.

[JPRATT]

My girlfriend just picked up the S5 last night. I tried to talk her into getting the S3is, but she played with the S5 and wanted it. I messed around with it last night after I got home from work. Seems to be a nice camera so far. Have to spend a day with it.. :D

[altaf007]

I think Canon is slowly losing to others in the Ultrazoom ground...the first thing is that it uses same 12 x zoom lens whereas others have started fitting 15x and 18x zoom lens, no RAW file support (panasonics have)....and relatively high price tag
It does have many advantages over others but the improvements r very minor ....Hot Shoe is very big improvement ...but most of the budget UZ buyers would like to pick a camera with Powerful Flash,, so they don't have to spend on buying speedlites. and those who can afford to buy spedlites for DSLRs.
since sony gives very powerful flash (9 m range)..most users feel satisfied with built-in flash...
i think canon (which has 5.2 m range)should also start making powerful built-in flash in order to compete other cams.

[Visual Reality]

Actually the S2, S3, and S5 can do RAW with a modified firmware. Any camera is capable of it, its just not made available from the manufacturer.

[wadpro]

I think Canon is slowly losing to others in the Ultrazoom ground...the first thing is that it uses same 12 x zoom lens whereas others have started fitting 15x and 18x zoom lens, no RAW file support (panasonics have)....and relatively high price tag
It does have many advantages over others but the improvements r very minor ....Hot Shoe is very big improvement ...but most of the budget UZ buyers would like to pick a camera with Powerful Flash,, so they don't have to spend on buying speedlites. and those who can afford to buy spedlites for DSLRs.
since sony gives very powerful flash (9 m range)..most users feel satisfied with built-in flash...
i think canon (which has 5.2 m range)should also start making powerful built-in flash in order to compete other cams.

I agree with you. Fuji, Olympos and Panasonic have raised 18x optical zoom technologhy but Canon has still been at 12x optical zoom even the latest 3 models (s2, s3 and s5).

[David Metsky]

I agree with you. Fuji, Olympos and Panasonic have raised 18x optical zoom technologhy but Canon has still been at 12x optical zoom even the latest 3 models (s2, s3 and s5).
But is the image quality any good from the new 18x lenses? We now have 12 MP cameras but the image quality is going down, not up. It may win the sales race but it might not be producing better cameras.

[JTL]

But is the image quality any good from the new 18x lenses? We now have 12 MP cameras but the image quality is going down, not up. It may win the sales race but it might not be producing better cameras.Isn't it interesting? Camera companies are basing their entire P&S marketing strategies (and subsequently, their engineering decisions) on consumer ignorance. It's truly fascinating.

[e_dawg]

Actually the S2, S3, and S5 can do RAW with a modified firmware. Any camera is capable of it, its just not made available from the manufacturer.

The S5 too? Really? They were able to crack the DIGIC III processor already? Please confirm...

[Turn]

Isn't it interesting? Camera companies are basing their entire P&S marketing strategies (and subsequently, their engineering decisions) on consumer ignorance. It's truly fascinating.

its the sad truth
the thing I'll be dreading would be the day that I argue with a customer about megapixels
*shudders*

[donato]

The S5 too? Really? They were able to crack the DIGIC III processor already? Please confirm...

see here:

http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK/FAQ#Q._What_camera_models_are_supported_by_the_CHD K_firmware.3F

[Scorpio]

see here:

http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK/FAQ#Q._What_camera_models_are_supported_by_the_CHD K_firmware.3F

Am I missing something? To me it reads, "DIGIC III (G7, A570IS, S5IS) is not supported. It might be possible, but reverse engineering takes alot of time, and nobody seems to be working on it right now."

[donato]

Am I missing something? ...

no, you're not missing something - except maybe the title in my post "no hack for S5". Sorry for not putting it more clearly.

[XaiLo]

I've come to learn... never to underestimate hackers:eek:

[Scorpio]

no, you're not missing something - except maybe the title in my post "no hack for S5". Sorry for not putting it more clearly.

ah. I never seem to notice titles in individual posts.

thanks for clarifying :}

[Visual Reality]

The key word here is, "yet".

[Legion]

Anyone else here who's still happy with their S2 and feels there's no good reason yet for a costly upgrade? :D

[canon_A620]

Based on the reviews and info. I've found in these threads, I purchased a S3 yesterday. I simply couldn't justify the extra $ for the S5. If I really like the S3 and want to stay with the model, I'll go with an S5 for my next cam. It was $237 to my door with with a Dell discount coupon.

[Ferdster]

Anyone else here who's still happy with their S2 and feels there's no good reason yet for a costly upgrade? :D

I've had my S2 a couple of years, and when the S3 came out it looked like just a minor update, so I had no temptation to move up to it. But now with the S5, there is enough advance in a number of features that I may bite when the price drops a little (unless they have an S6 out by them). I'll also have to reread the review of the S5 carefully, seeing how DCRP's review of the S2 convinced me to buy it (and I'm not the least bit sorry).

[Turn]

the S5 is getting the skip from me

I would really like Canon to ask for feedback so we can all say

"ITS NOT AS GOOD AS THE S3, THE HOTSHOE ROCKS!"

[XOO]

Anyone else here who's still happy with their S2 and feels there's no good reason yet for a costly upgrade? :D

My only upgrade was to add the S3 alongside my S2.