Powershot S3 IS vs. Rebel XT slr- need advice

[buttrfly]

Aloha From Hawaii,

I'm moving to India at the end of the month and want to have a great camera to capture all the incredible imagery I will be experiencing. Have researched cameras quite a bit and have narrowed it down to Canon, either the Powershot S3 IS (to be released any day now):rolleyes: and the Rebel XT slr...

I have heard such rave reviews about the S2 IS from photographers, including a friend who says he loves it so much he hardly uses his slr anymore. I like the idea of it being smaller and lighter with no lense changes so not having to deal with dust (which there is a lot of in India!) It has a 12x zoom with telephoto, so very versatile.

The Rebel is a great camera too, but it's a little bigger and bulkier, have to get lenses, a little more of a show when I'm taking pictures which will draw lots of attention which I'm not keen on either...

Bottom line is I want excellent quality photos, the ability to do continuous shooting at key moments, and to love the camera and what it can do.

Any advice, info, suggestions, pros and cons, etc on either would be incredibly helpful as I need to make my decision asap!

Thanks so much....

[RossW]

Hi, Buttrfly... welcome to the forums. If you truly want "excellent quality" photos, then I think you have to ante up the cash for the dRebel at least... and some good lenses. If merely "very good quality" is OK, and you know the convenience of the S3 will mean you will actually take the camera with you on outings, then go for the S3. Only you can really decide whether the bulk and cumbersome nature of the SLR is worth it for somewhat better quality. Personally, I'd go with the S3, rather than lug something larger over India.

By the way, you've posted in the "G-series" forum, which may or may not get replies from people with experience with either of your choices... but at least you picked a middle ground for your question.

By the way, I love my S2 but wish it had a flash hot shoe or sync connector. If that's important to you, you need to consider that negative point of the S3. And I still get "lens envy" sometimes when I see wildlife photos taken with a DSLR and a long lens... or maybe it's "sensor envy." Still, S-series is a great all-purpose takealong camera.

[buttrfly]

Thanks so much Ross. What you have described is exactly what I am struggling with. Guess I'm wanting someone to say one is way better than the other, but both are really good with different benefits.
I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, was looking for a general camera questions thread. Maybe I'll post it a couple places.

[lostdoggy]

Buttrfly, you are comparing 2 distinctly different cameras. S3 is a very capable camera (this is to make sure the P&S fans don't attack me) indeed but it is limited to just that. Where as XT allows you room to grow and add better lenses and BTW that is one off the most important part of the camera. The other factor here is the size of the sensor. The S3 has a sensor about the size of your pinky nail and the XT is almost the size of a 35mm film frame. This translate to lower noise particularly in low light situation. If you ever took pictures w/ a P&S digital camera w/ flash you'll notice more offen then not a reddish halo effect along the subject and largish grains as well. These are the biggest drawback in the P&S cameras. Of cause I know you have you heart set on the S3 and by all mean you should follow you heart, but if you feel that you will be getting more into photography then XT would be a very good base to start from.

[lostdoggy]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, was looking for a general camera questions thread. Maybe I'll post it a couple places.

DEon't worry if the MOd think you would be better serve in another section they will move the thread.

[Rubberhead]

I have a 350D that I just recently got and a Sony DSC-H1 (which is comparable to the Canon S2 IS) that I have had for a while. The Sony H1 has reviews that are as good or maybe even a little better than the Canon S2 IS.

The long and short is that the non-SLR point-and-shoots are small-sensor cameras that have the problems of small sensor cameras. The good news is that they are very versatile at the macro and telephoto ends. And, they take very good videos. Most will take AA batteries or their rechargeable equivalents which can really be a plus when on vacation.

If I were going on vacation where space was a premium, I’d carry the H1 and a handful of memory cards or a mass storage device and I’d be pretty happy.

If I were trying to get published in a magazine or make the readers of photography-on-the.net go "wooooooo", I'd get something better than the XT.

Just my opinion.

[raymie_v]

Cosider really if you are going to take night shots. I believe you can carry the extra weight of the XT but there is really nothing much you can do with the flash of the S3. :-)

[Andy_T]

For good night shots ... just use a solid tripod on both cameras.

Also take a look at this older thread asking a very similar question (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49026).
Although the camera in question is the G6 and not the S3IS, the arguments pro/con P&S / DSLRs are very much covered and discussed.

Best regards,
Andy

[dbump]

Another option, which many folks here have taken, is to purchase two types of cameras, one compact and discreet, and one DSLR. Some start with only one of those two, and plan to add the other in the future, but accept the limitations of the one they get for the meanwhile.

[buttrfly]

Thanks everyone! All your feedback really helps. I'm leaning towards the XT as it leaves me with room to grow, and the speed thing is very important to me... like things to be fast!!

[Andy_T]

Just some statistics ...

this question asked on the G-series board ... 9 answers
this question asked on the EOS board ... 45 answers

last thread on page in G-series board ... 1 week ago
last thread on page in EOS board ... 4 hours ago

Looks very much to me like the popularity of the EOS cameras is overshadowing that of the smaller compact digital cameras.

Best regards,
Andy

[Sophia]

Just some statistics ...

this question asked on the G-series board ... 9 answers
this question asked on the EOS board ... 45 answers

last thread on page in G-series board ... 1 week ago
last thread on page in EOS board ... 4 hours ago

Looks very much to me like the popularity of the EOS cameras is overshadowing that of the smaller compact digital cameras.



Especially now the G-breed is gone. Meaning not much newbies (am still a newbie though:) ) who should be having their G7 if Canon released one. DSLR is now getting bargain and more compact. But I still agree, compact and DSLR is still a perfect combo.

[Sophia]

Just like to add... the more you see people ask fresh questions and more answers, it's somewhat easier to justify and even just for an ounce, it makes life a little bit better.

[dbump]

Andy,
Only if there's a direct correlation between posts on this newsgroup and poularity among all camera owners.
Have you ever read Freakonomics?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006073132X/sr=8-1/qid=1144959895/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3928978-8944042?%5Fencoding=UTF8
Wonderful collection of essays. I'm sure he'd have an interesting story to tell if he had sufficient numbers to play with on our boards and camera owners in general.

I do suspect you're right about the popularity, but a number of other possibilies are quite plausible:

EOS owners may post more than G owners
(more expensive camera/system; more expendable income; more likely to have internet/broadband; more likely to post)
(more wordy ;) )
(more questions from EOS owners than G owners, due to lens sytsem complexity, owners' background in digital, etc.)
etc.

The number of posts on a folder may not accurately represent the camera model owned by posters
(Maybe lots of non-EOS owners posting to the EOS groups)
etc.

Insert your own theory here

I want more data :)

[Sophia]

In the end, he got the Rebel XT. Not sure if he based his decision from the replies etc. Oh well, as long as we are happy on our cameras (or we should be happy on what we purchased), I think that's what matters. There is always better out there whether we like it or not. Best today, just ok tomorrow. "Best" I think is a psychological. Yes, best on reviews or best on the market, but do we really need the "best" one? Why do I need a big house if every room is never used?" Why I need a fast car if going to my office only needs 6o mph? Why 60GB MP3 and I only got 1000 songs etc:D

[Andy_T]

Andy,
Have you ever read Freakonomics?

:lol:

Your theories really crack me up!!!

Believe it or not, today was the first time I heard about that book (read about it in the newspaper literary supplement) and decided to get it.

Best regards,
Andy

[dbump]

Why do I need a big house if every room is never used?" Why I need a fast car if going to my office only needs 6o mph? Why 60GB MP3 and I only got 1000 songs etc

These are questions a good, patriotic consumer never asks.

Of course, they're excellent questions.

Andy,
It's a really interesting book--hope you enjoy it!

[justchris]

"Best" I think is a psychological. Yes, best on reviews or best on the market, but do we really need the "best" one? Why do I need a big house if every room is never used?" Why I need a fast car if going to my office only needs 6o mph? Why 60GB MP3 and I only got 1000 songs etc:D

Ah, but you're comparing quantity rather than quality. An extra 40 gigs on your Ipod won't make the songs you listen to sound any different, it will merely allow you to store a greater amount of them. Same thing with the house - merely adding an individual room to a house won't make the other ones any more useful or attractive.

[dbump]

I'm not a fan of McMansions (and am proud of my conservative square footage), but I have definitely been in homes where the existing rooms could be made more useful and attractive by the addition of storage space.
Regardless, I think Sophia was suggesting that consumers tend to buy the absolute best, even when their needs do not justify it. Hence the proliferation of "gourmet" kitchens in the huge houses of people who eat out every night. Or sports cars for commuting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Or professional cameras for snapshots. There are owners of all those things who really take advantage of them, but they are a minority. And no, I don't want to take my snapshots on a snapshot camera ;)

[Saudidave]

I haven't got an S3 but I have got a 350XT, an ixus 40 and a Panasonic FZ7. The XT image quality is superb but its relatively bulky and it costs relatively a lot. The FZ7 is much smaller, cheaper,more versatile as a tool but image quality is a little less, yet still good enough 95% of the time. The ixus? Small, highly portable , less flexible, least image quality but good enough 80% of the time. The Ixus is the one I'd keep if I had to choose just one, and it's as cheap as chips! (French fries if you're in the states). Its up to you!

[lakiluno]

that brings up an interesting thought - the camera's discussed on this board are now completely dead and never to be replcaced (we think)...so, I guess eventually the board will die...

(saying that, some people still use G1's and G3's, so it might take a while to die)

ah well...you could always move S4IS and S110 discussion into this board :D

Leo

[dbump]

Based on how other popular, discontinued products maintain a following, that could take a while. For example, would you predict that folks would still be posting news items about the Amiga, which has been basically abandoned since the early 90's? www.ann.lu is still active, and I'm sure there are other sites too.
There's something of a martyr effect in cool tech that was killed by marketing, I think. Irrational, but potent.

[Sophia]

Ah, but you're comparing quantity rather than quality. An extra 40 gigs on your Ipod won't make the songs you listen to sound any different, it will merely allow you to store a greater amount of them. Same thing with the house - merely adding an individual room to a house won't make the other ones any more useful or attractive.

Quality is subjective. It's more of dealing of your comfort zones. Buying something (even the best one) and never maximize the use of it is considered waste.