Powershot S5 vs G9 vs EOS Rebel XTI

[dvdreds]

Budget: 350-450 (400-550 $)
Size: As small as possible for the features
Features: 8MP
What optical zoom will you need? 10-12x
How important is “image quality” to you? 9
Do you care for manual controls? yes
What will you generally use the camera for? portrait (also indoor) ,sport,animals,landscape
Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? not extensively. A few...
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? half of the times
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? yes
Are there particular brands you like or hate? I am used to canon and I would like to stay with it. (Able to switch if differences are consistent)
Do you need any of the following special features? IS, hot shoe is an asset.
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Powershot S5
Powershot G9
Eos 400D (Rebel XTI)

I used (and still have) a canon film reflex with 28-80mm and 80-200mm. (Never been too satisfied with the speed of the 80-200mm and the printed image quality...maybe it was just the printing). I am currently using only my Ixus 400. I would like to upgrade it but I am still undecided whether to buy and DSRL mainly fot these reason:
-higher cost
-size, weight, need of lenses change (between the 2 zoom I have, or need of upgrade)
-lenses upgrade to PRO would be too expensive (I couldn't make a bundle with a pro lenses under 1000$

I started looking at the Powershot line and I ended up selecting the Powershot G9 or the Powershot S5. Now, since I care about:
-zoom AF speed (USM would be a plus)
-Image quality (RAW capabilities would be a plus)
-little weight and small size

Which would you suggest as best choice for me??? If you have other suggestion I would appreciate them.
thanks a lot
Davide

[Rooz]

the g9 is the right size but its only 6x zoom so that seems to fall short of what you need. forget the xti, for your budget and small size requirement it's not going to work. so that leaves the s5 which is one of the better and more compact ultrazooms.

[Turn]

I never get tired about telling people that lens are just as imporrttanntt.


well I think you should go for a dSLR, if you're going for professional-like portrait photos and its going to be low light you should skip the S5.

the G9 has RAW again (woot), as its not out I don't know how well it performs but guessing from the G7 it probably would be a bit better than the S5 in low light.

but in the end the dSLR is going to cost you quite a chunk, sell your wife, your dog and your shoes.

[dvdreds]

Thanks for your quick reply!!!

I know the replex is so much better but as you said lenses matter as well. I am just scared that if I will buy the reflex I might be disappointed by the lenses I have (I will have to carry them and change them all the time), spending more!!!

On the other side I am concerned with the speed of the Powershot G9 (is it fast focusing? I guess a G7 owner would know) and with the Image quality+lack of RAW recording of the Powershot S5.

I am going to canada next month and I would like to have it but I am just scared I would regret it in the future if It comes out the S7 with Raw and a bigger sensor....

[griptape]

I am just scared I would regret it in the future if It comes out the S7 with Raw and a bigger sensor....

The S5 JUST came out. All cameras get replaced at some point. You either buy something and have it now to actually use, or you wait until you're in a nursing home so you can take pictures of your pre-chewed food because the camera that finally has enough upgrades for you was just released.

[Rooz]

Thanks for your quick reply!!!

I know the replex is so much better but as you said lenses matter as well. I am just scared that if I will buy the reflex I might be disappointed by the lenses I have (I will have to carry them and change them all the time), spending more!!!

On the other side I am concerned with the speed of the Powershot G9 (is it fast focusing? I guess a G7 owner would know) and with the Image quality+lack of RAW recording of the Powershot S5.

I am going to canada next month and I would like to have it but I am just scared I would regret it in the future if It comes out the S7 with Raw and a bigger sensor....

as griptape said, there will be an s7, then an s9 etc etc. have a look at the s3 thread in the canon forums and you will see that the s3 takes great shots. just becaue a new model comes out doesn;t mean that somehow your camera all of a sudden cant take quality pics.

the dslr will obviously give you better quality pics in most instances but your budget and preference for a small, light kit don;t suggest its a good idea for you. you also will get nowwhere NEAR the zoom range you are after without heavy and expensive lens'

[dvdreds]

You are right. But I am not going to wait that much...;-)
I just can't decide between these two and I am mainly concerned with the IQ of the S5.
Look: if I buy a camera I am going to use it for years. 7-8 months for a relevant upgrade....I can wait. For sure I am not going to wait for a minor upgrade (S3-->S5)! upgrading to a CMOS sensor and RAW capability would you think it can bring a consistently better image quality (DSRL like??)

PS (for who owns an S5 or a G7):
-how fast focusing are they (wide and mainly tele-end)?
-can you get a well-blurred background effect when shooting portrait?
-do you see straight lines getting curve when shooting at wide zoom (I saw a picture of a swimming pool: it wasn't straight anymore)??

Thanks for your help again

[Rooz]

there will always be something better around the corner. will the next upgrade by dslr-like ? unlikely given that the sensor is so much smaller. you;re after the IQ and speed of a dslr for the price and size of a compact. aint gonna happen.

[Turn]

the S5 would have better blurred background as the 12x zoom is quite useful (if limiting) for that (look at my pics if you want to see)

[dvdreds]

congratulation for you gallery!!! Pictures showed a bit of noise but i guess it's coz they are resized, right? How are the originals???
By the way, some picture have a nice blurry effect: I liked it. I guess i just have to try one to directly see how it works.

Thanks once again for every suggestions. I know thaa having a P&S size with DSLR quality and speed is a dream: but I want to find out how close they really are.

If anyone else has any other suggestion (or direct experiece) on the Powershot S5 vs G7/9 please share it with me.

D.

[Paul79UF]

The S5 JUST came out. All cameras get replaced at some point. You either buy something and have it now to actually use, or you wait until you're in a nursing home so you can take pictures of your pre-chewed food because the camera that finally has enough upgrades for you was just released.

LOL :D That's great.

I only had my S3 for a year and sold it to get the S5 & a 430ex flash.

Even if you pick a camera and regret it you can always either return it or sell if for close to the original price. So don't worry so much. :)

Personally, I love my do-it-all S5, especially with the external flash capability.

[CAMILO R]

I am in the same situation of dvdreds
I need a camera, but I don´t know wich one I should buy.......

I like the feautures of the CANON S5 IS, but it has some negative things, as the missing RAW format, and the 8.0MP resolution instead of 10MP.
I also think I am going to wait for the next "S7".....
But while reading some posts, I noticed many people think that the CANON S3 is better than the S5...so I don´t know what to think about it....

I need a good image quality, and a good resolution for impression.

My choices are:

NIKON P5000
CANON S5 IS
CANON G7

Is there a Nikon equivalent to the S5????
Which is the difference between the canon series (A, G, S, and SX ..... By example A650 and G9, or G7 and A640, or a S5 IS and SX100 IS)?????

[dvdreds]

It's been a week since I started looking carefully at all the pictures I could find online, taken with the Powershot S5 and a Rebel Xti (400D).
Well some pictures are amazing, and I couldn't believe they were taken with a compact. When the ISO goes up above ISO200 (sometimes even at ISO200) the IQ decrease rapidly. I wouldn't use it above ISO100.
I saw really nice pictures taken with the 400D, but some wondering remains, because of the lenses used: I am not sure my lenses (28-80mmUSM and 80-200mm) could give the same result. Plus my lenses, especially the tele, were really slow and I am not fully convinced that they would get faster with a new body.

Conclusion: still undecided but I understood something. Unless canon is going to put a new CMOS sensor (a LOT bigger than the actual ones, with a lower pixel density) in a sperzoom, the choice is up to me, and it's useless waiting for something that won't arrive...:-(. I wouldn't be satisfied with 12 MP in a 1/1,7" CMOS sensor either. It would be a waste of time....

The S5, I think, best fit our needs. (nikon does not produce anymore a superzoom). If I can try it and I will be satisfied of its performance (speed) working at 80-100ISO even with low light...I think I am going to choose that one. If not I might think about the 400D with a new 50mm f1,8.

What do you think?

PS: If only the 400D could produce videos....I would have already bought it!!!!