Think about an S5 IS looking opinions

[walrus127]

I have had a 35mm SLR for years and a cheap P & S digital. I have been thinking about buying an DSLR and have been looking around but they are just too expensive for my budget. I have been reading here about the S5 and this looks like it would be a great camera for my needs. I like to shoot family, landscape, and NASCAR races for my personnel use. I have been told that I need to be able to shoot in RAW, but I'm thinking for my use 8 X 10 would most likely be the largest print I would make and I'm thinking JPEG would be fine for this. Am I on the right track? Thanks in advance for all your help.

[Alex_H]

I think you're on the right track. I have an a640 and have read that it can make 8x10 prints. I don't know about using RAW on a P&S camera since I don't have a card reader to install the RAW hack on my memory card (the a640 only shoots in jpegs unless you install the RAW hack).

[raimisch]

You never NEED to shoot in RAW. People choose to shoot in RAW, but it is never needed, no matter how large you want to have your pics printed at, shooting raw vs jpg does nothing.

[teekay]

I think if anyone doesn't know anything about the pros and cons of RAW then they don't need it! I know all about it and used to use it all the time but don't need it or want it for the type of photography I do now.

Many Canons would do a fine job for what you describe. The two main features of the S5 (in my opinion) are the 12x megazoom and the fact it has IS. On the other hand it is larger and less pocketable than say the A640, another fine camera.

I suggest you try and handle both these models in a store then decide which suits your needs best. There are of course many other choices. As for me, I bought an S5 yesterday after reading all the reviews :lol:

[richg99]

There are still a lot of S3's around for sale, brand new. That camera has access to the hack that allows for RAW. I haven't loaded it, but I read nothing but good from the 'net.

Some of the pictures posted here and other places show what an S3 or S5 can do...with JPG as well as the RAW hack. I can afford a DSLR but I don't want to be changing lenses ( and paying big bucks for them ) for every different photo opportunity.

regards,Rich

[eccles]

I have the raw hack for my S3 and always have it turned on. There are downsides, a delay of around 3 seconds between shots plus the memory card fills up quicker. But a little effort with Photoshop can almost always turn in superior and cleaner looking images than the camera produced jpgs. I can see the difference on an A4 print.

[tedr]

I have an A700 6MP which doesn't have the RAW facility and I don't miss it. I like getting a finished picture right out of the camera. RAW is work, there has to be a reason to need to spend time doing it, professionals do it to squeeze the last drop of quality or to get effects not possible with JPEG. If you are making pics 10 x 8 for your own pleasure I think JPG is the way to go, don't be sidetracked by RAW.

Have you looked at the Canon XTI and Nikon D40X, both well under $1000. The image quality I see on dpreview for these two is amazing and they are better suited than P&S for shooting kids and cars that move fast because of the faster response to shutter press, I believe all DSLRs are faster than all P&S in this detail.

[Jon]

RAW won't let you enlarge your photos more; it gives you more control over post-processing but pixels per inch (so, total pixels) are what control print size. For an 8x10" print you need 1600x2000 pixels or better in most conditions whether JPEG or RAW.

[tracy]

where is the raw setting on the s3?

[Jon]

There's a software hack that enables it. If it's still in my clipboard, it should be here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=305198). It wasn't, but I remembered what page to look on, so now it is.