I've been trying to decide on my first digital camera purchase (long time SLR user) and I am trying to make comparisons between the Canon PowerShot S3 IS and the Sony CyberShot DSC-H5 (as these 2 cameras seem to offer everything I want for now). I would be interested in the opinions or others on the pros and cons of each of these 2 cameras, as this will help me with my decision.
The Canon S3 IS uses 4xAA batteries, the Sony DSC-H5 uses 2xAA. So all other things being equal, the batteries on the Canon are likely to last twice as long. The Panasonic FZ7 uses a proprietary Li-ion battery, which means that although it might be lighter, a spare to carry as a hot-swap is a lot more expensive.
The S3 and the FZ7 both use SD memory cards, which are very widely used in everything from the smallest ultra compacts to DSLRs. The H5 uses Sony's proprietary Memory Stick cards, which tend to be a bit more expensive.
The H5 has 7 megapixel resolution, the others 6MP. This probably isn't going to make that much difference. All of them have 12x zoom lenses and image stabilisation.
If I remember right, the Canon has a few more bells and whistles like stereo sound for movie mode and a fully tilt & swivelling LCD.
So which one's best for you probably depends on the details of the sort of photography you're planning on doing.
For what it's worth, I looked at all of these (and others) before settling on the Fuji S9000/9500. I'm into landscapes & architecture.
I keep going between the Canon S3 and the DSC-H5..
Right now, I'm leaning towards Canon.
It's cheaper, one mega pixel wont matter, SD is cheat than the Memory Stick DUO (all my sony stuff takes memory stick and is now useless with new Sony stuff, which really doesnt make me want to give them my $), and the swiveling LCD screen
The Sony has a nicer screen, but go and hold one. It's hard to use the viewfinder without totally futzing up your LCD screen. And it's so huge (3in) that it will probably EAT batteries. The memory stick thing is an issue, previous sony cameras and my somewhat-recently purchased laptop all are compatible with the Memory Stick. True, i can buy an adapter for the DUO to fit in the Memory STick things, but not the other way around.
The sony also will give MUCH longer video time. I've heard that 1GB of video on the Canon only lasts 9min, where as it's much much longer for sony. Also, the Sony H5 can zoom in/out WHILE you are recording, something that the Canon cannot..
After viewing the Canon, I was dissappointed in the few changes from the S2 to the S3. It only had a slightly larger LCD (from 1.8" to 2") and it is black. I had heard about more significant changes from the Sony DSC H1 to the H5. The 3" LCD is a big change. The most significant change is the lens going from the crappy sony lens to the Carl Zeiss lens. I am hopefull that the image stabalization on the new Sony H5 is better than the H1 (and that is what I have been hearing). the other thing I like about the sony is their viewfinder (which you need to use on most cameras with LCD's in bright sunlight). The image quality through the viewfinder is far superior to that of the same on the Canon. I do like the Canon's flip & twist feature on their LCD. Very useful for over the head shots and to protect LCD when not in use. I only with that Sony had moved away from their memory sticks for the H5 and gone with the SD cards (much cheaper) as the camera is certainly large enough to accomidate that. All this being said I have pre-ordered the Sony DSC H5B (they allow a 30 day tiral period) and they expect the camera to be shipped to me by the end of next week (May 26th). Once I have it to work with I should be better able to give you an opinion.
Two great things about the S3's movie mode are its stereo sound recording and the fact that you can zoom during filming. That ultrasonic motor allows you to zoom in and out silently, just like on a camcorder.
In my experience, the richness of color and smoothness that results from a Canon camera is more than that of a Sony. I would get the Canon.
Same here. I have always noticed that Canon's colors tend to be richer, while Sony's colors were a bit undersaturated. Its nothing most image processing programs couldn't fix easily.
Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs Sony CyberShot DSC-H5
Linear Mode
