Canon PowerShot S3 IS vs Sony CyberShot DSC-H5

[Sparksie]

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.

[newbee]

mind if i complicate matters?

i'm in the same boat - looked at both of those cameras but with an added panasonic fz7 on the list.

... so depending on your requirements you might want to consider that one too.

[AlexMonro]

OK, a few thoughts.

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.

[TheNetwerk2020]

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..

hope this helped...

[Sparksie]

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.

[David Metsky]

Also, the Sony H5 can zoom in/out WHILE you are recording, something that the Canon cannot..
Not true. Read the review (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/):
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.

-dave-

[Majarvis]

Also, the Sony H5 can zoom in/out WHILE you are recording, something that the Canon cannot..
Not true. The Canon PowerShot S1/S2/and the new S3 IS can all zoom in and out while recording.

[leweeoh]

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.

[Sparksie]

The camera arrived today. Looking forward to trying it out this weekend.
I see the first dcresource review has already been posted on this website.

[Turo]

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.

[Sparksie]

:D
Well, I've had an entire weekend to play with the Sony DSC-H5B. The image stabilization is excellent (in my opinion) and the photo quality is also excellent. The large 3" LCD is very crisp. This larger LCD format allows for the immediate showing of the photos you just took to others (as one may not always be near a laptop to download them). This is perticullarly handy when you are travelling or visiting other family members.

I am using a 2 Gig memory card (Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo regular speed, as it has a write speed of 15 Mbps compared to Sandisk with write speeds of only 3Mpbs - even a Sandisk Ultra II only writes at 9Mbps). You do not need the High Speed Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo as it offers no benefit, the camera cannot process any faster that the 15Mbps offered by the regular stick.

Even in the bright sunlight I found the LCD display easy to read and the viewfinder, which is useful under certain conditions, beats the Canon S3 IS's viewfinder hands down (I do not think you could perform a manual focus using the viewfinder on the Canon S3 IS - it would be hit and miss).

The Sony DSC-H5B is a bit bulkier than the Canon S3 IS, and took me a while to learn to keep my left hand off the camera (as I kept placing my left hand index finger over the pop-up flash,and you guessed it, stopped the flash from popping up - I am too used to operating my old SLR with both hands). However, despite the drawback of being a bit bulkier, when I compare these two cameras head to head for my requirements, the Sony DSC-H5B wins hands down.

I will be putting it to further tests this upcoming weekend as I take it with me on an ALPHA retreat. So let's see what develops (pardon the pun).

[roberthx]

I have few questions:

1. Canon's S3 zoom button looks better situated than Sony's H5. I have Sony S600, wich is similar in terms of zoom buttons and I can tell it is impossible to zoom in or out one handed. Your opinion?
S3:H5 - 1:0

2. Panoramic photos - made easy with S3, how is with H5?
S3:H5 - 2:0

3. S3 uses 4 AA batteries, H5 just 2. It's better to have 2 than 4 bat. in your bag in reserve.
S3:H5 - 2:1

4. I like to have my photos in format YYYYMMDD####.jpg and zoombrowser (S3) can do this conversation well. Cyber-shot (H5) is just for viewing. Anything else sucks.
S3:H5 - 3:1

5. Can S3 or H5 act like web cam? And why not. (This is not S3 remote capure). I miss sequential shots eg. every 30 sec. Things like lcd size are unimportant for image quality. I think we all want the best end result.

PLEASE WRITE ABOUT THINGS WICH ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER!

[Sparksie]

The zoom button is located on the back of the camera and is easily accessable by you right hand thumb.

The camera also has a 16:9 widescreen mode that you can switch to.

I keep fully charged batteries in reserve all the time. I have 2 in the camera and 4 fully charged ones in the bag. As the camera ones deplete I set them for charging (which takes 6 hours for full charge) and start using the back-up supply. Keep in mind there are quicker charging batteries but they generally do not last as long. Keep the mAh in mind, the higher the mAh the longer its charge will last. The Sony batteries are 2500 mAh.

There are several choices for date format on the Sony.

Insofar as sequential rapid shooting the Canon does have the advantage an advantage (about twice as fast), however the sony does offer the burst mode which takes a series of shots very close together - it's like watching an old movie in which you see each frame and the very slight pause in between.

[Duwenbasden]

I like the Canon's photo quality over the Sony -- better color (maybe the lens has to do with it?) ;)

[roberthx]

My choice is Sony H5.

Carl Zeiss lens is superior to Canon lens.
I have 1 GB memory stick pro duo from sony S600 (which is really bad).
I need only 2 batteries for backup (with S3 you need 4).

Tomorrow I'll go out to shoot some pictures.