Canon S3 IS vs S5 IS for a photo booth project

[microman23]

Looking at the reviews (DPreview) it seems like the S3 is sharper generally.


Anyone know what camera has better IQ in general?


Anyone used both? What about AF?

[pointerDixie214]

I have the S3 IS and have played with the S5...

I think they both have fairly comparable IQ, but cramming 8 megapixels on such a small sensor would have to affect it I'm sure... I doubt seriously that you could go wrong with either of them.

[johngalt_ny]

Micro,

I moved to the S5 from the S2 (5MP).

The image quality is very similar but if you are a person who tends to crop a lot, the 8 MP is useful over the 6 MP. The downside is that 8 MP on the 1/2.5 sensor gives you a touch more noise than the S2/S3. Thus if you are the type who composes well in the camera (I'm not) and doesn't need to crop a lot, the S3 is probably slightly better. In either case you're talking hairs breadth differences.

Of course, if you need a hotshoe or would like face detection, the S5 is the end of the game.

If you'd like, take a look at the S5 Test Shots gallery on my pbase site. They may help you a bit.

Good luck.

[pointerDixie214]

I was thinking. one BIG BIG advantage to this would be the hot shoe on the S5- the S3's flash can be powerful, but nothing compared to a good 430 or 530...

[microman23]

yeah I think the hot shoe is going to do it for me :):)