S3is or s5is which to choose

I am in the market for a new point and shoot digital camera. I love canon and have had film Canon cameras in the past. I like sport photography so a long zoom is mandatory. I have done a lot of reading in the last week about the S3 and S5. With a zoom of over 400 this is an ideal camera for me.

I know the S5is is newer and had 8 MP and sells for about $310.00
I can also get a refurbished S3is from Canon for only $220.00

The question is the S5 worth the extra $90.00. From what I have read the picture quality is not that much better.

Any thoughts from those that have used these cameras will be greatly appreciated.

Rich

I have the S3---I love it but am "out growing" it----one of these days I will get a "real" camera. I have to say though....for a P&S-----it is awesome. The S5 as I understand it is not much different except of the increased MP's.
I have to say...it has definetely taken me to new levels...without a doubt!
Theres another guy on here that does some pretty awesome macro work with an S3.....ck the macro thread---
Hope this helps with your decision

You should buy a used S3 IS... say one where someone on POTN has all the original paperwork and boxes and it still work flawlessly.

Say that person would let you have it for $210 shipped and paypalled... (Read- me... )

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=509460

richd44 wrote in post #5640113
I am in the market for a new point and shoot digital camera. I love canon and have had film Canon cameras in the past. I like sport photography so a long zoom is mandatory. I have done a lot of reading in the last week about the S3 and S5. With a zoom of over 400 this is an ideal camera for me.

I know the S5is is newer and had 8 MP and sells for about $310.00
I can also get a refurbished S3is from Canon for only $220.00

The question is the S5 worth the extra $90.00. From what I have read the picture quality is not that much better.

Any thoughts from those that have used these cameras will be greatly appreciated.

Rich

I have the S5 IS. I didn't get the S3 IS because it had a smaller LCD screen, and a few other things that it. Keep in mind the S5 IS has a hot shoe. Between both models, not much of a difference, for example..the S3 does not have face detection. Whereas the S5 IS does, and the S5 IS has 2 more mps. I would go with the S5 IS. You'll out grow the S3 IS before you do the S5 IS. Or you could simply wait till the S6 comes out which should be really soon.

Have you read the DPReview yet? It points out a few minor flaws in the S5 IS, where the S3 IS is actually better.

http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/canons5is/

1) SD card slot now in battery compartment - battery cover awkward to open and close
One big disappointment is that the SD card slot is now located in the battery compartment, so changing cards means powering down - and possibly dropping the batteries - which is really annoying. The battery door has been redesigned and now puts up a heck of a fight as you try to get it closed and locked into place. If you regularly remove the card (shooting in the studio, for example) this could be a serious issue - it certainly was for us when doing the test shots for the S5 IS.

2) No intervalometer

3) Continuous shooting speed down (1.5fps S5 vs 2.3fps S3)

4) Better battery life on S3

The only useful upgrades that I can see are...

+ SDHC vs SD memory card

+ Flash Hot Shoe

+ Larger LCD screen

Apparently, although it's not well-documented, the S3 is also SDHC-capable. Several people on here have reported using SDHC (not over-capacity SD) cards on their S3s.

I have the S3 IS and loved it but wanted more at a point, did took over 10 000 shot in a little less then a year, made some quite good shots, I'm still using it occasionnaly for the video capability and the extra reach it has (I don't have a telephoto yet for my 40D)
of course the fact that the S5 has a hot shoe is appealing, but the fact it has not the intervalometer like the S3 (that I used sometimes) is to consider, it will depend of the type of photography you will do

msowsun wrote in post #5642071
Have you read the DPReview yet? It points out a few minor flaws in the S5 IS, where the S3 IS is actually better.

http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/canons5is/

1) SD card slot now in battery compartment - battery cover awkward to open and close
One big disappointment is that the SD card slot is now located in the battery compartment, so changing cards means powering down - and possibly dropping the batteries - which is really annoying. The battery door has been redesigned and now puts up a heck of a fight as you try to get it closed and locked into place. If you regularly remove the card (shooting in the studio, for example) this could be a serious issue - it certainly was for us when doing the test shots for the S5 IS.

2) No intervalometer

3) Continuous shooting speed down (1.5fps S5 vs 2.3fps S3)

4) Better battery life on S3

The only useful upgrades that I can see are...

+ SDHC vs SD memory card

+ Flash Hot Shoe

+ Larger LCD screen

And also the S5 IS has face dectection

Jon, what did you mean by "not over-capacity SD", I am/was going to get a 2 gig SDHC card for the S camera when I get it.
You are right on the S3 IS accepting the SDHC cards, at least that is what Canon told me (by email) when I asked them, they also said there was no limit to the size of the memory card, the camera will accept up to 1 terabyte (if there was such a card made).
The above was verbatim, straight from Canon, is there something wrong with what they said?

Nothing wrong at all with what they said. However, before the SDHC standard was finalized a number of SD card makers tried various "tricks" to get SD cards that were more than 2 GB capacity. These worked with varying degrees of reliability in different devices. See also the sticky here. SDHC is entirely different from these kludges, and any SDHC card works reliably in any equipment that supports the SDHC standard.

Jon, that was a long read, but worth it, thanks for the link. I should add that your advise and expertise "Shined" through the whole posting, not to mention your temper, LOL.

i'll throw in my 2 cents... i think u'd be fine with the S3is. I've had one since they came out and i've taken over 6000 shots with it. My dad ended up gettin the S5is when it came out and it's nice, but not for almost $100. the S3 is definitely fine for learning the Manual controls etc.

i bought a lens adapter, UV, Polarizer, ND filter, and a Raynox DCR250 macro lens. I've loved this cam and its a good one to learn the ropes with, and when the $ is there, im ready for an EOS 40D!

here's a link to my pics, they were all taken with the S3

www.flickr.com/photos/​aparis99

Does the S1-S5 use the same sensor/size?

Yes, the S1, S2, S3, and S5, all share the same 1/2.5" sensor size.

Actually, the S1 has a 1/2.7" sensor. The other 4 have 1/2.5. Equally important, the different pixel counts mean they all have different pixel densities, which can mean differences in noise levels.