Canon S3

[Mom2Ashli]

Okay now you just blew me out of the water. I had my heart set on the S3 and now I am not sure if that is a wise decision after reading this.

 

[jann1033]

sorry

my crazy husband now is talking about the canon rebel xt( will he never learn????)...i really wonder if the mps will make that much difference or not. i kind of wonder if i wouldn't rather have a better lens and the pentax than a 18-55 lens and the canon. not really sure which is better but i am sure of the dslr..

 

[Mom2Ashli]

sorry

my crazy husband now is talking about the canon rebel xt( will he never learn????)...i really wonder if the mps will make that much difference or not. i kind of wonder if i wouldn't rather have a better lens and the pentax than a 18-55 lens and the canon. not really sure which is better but i am sure of the dslr..

All I know is you guys are talking a foreign language to me. I know Canon S2 S3 - and Auto and maybe a little bit more. But the other stuff is WAY over my head. That why I thought that one of the newer Canons would be great for me.

 

[jann1033]

my camera now is a film slr canon...I think with any slr, digital or not , you just have more control over the shot you take... which can be good or bad.
so imo a lot depends on what you want to do with it...if you want to mostly just point and shoot and maybe eventually get into learning some other stuff to customize your shots( like different shutter speeds etc) i think the canon s2/3 is good for that. i just bought my daughter the canon A610 ( i think that's right#, it's the 7 mp) cause that's what she wants to do, take a snapshot type picture. the pictures are very good on that and it has a few adjutstment type modes so you can do a little creative stuff if you want to. but if you want to get into maybe more specialty type shots where you change the shutter speeds etc ( which is more like what i want to do) i think a dslr is more "made " for that. the reviews for the canon s2/3 are good and i'm not sure why some are posting problems..if it's a camera problem or if those who happened to have problems post more. i think the canons2/3 movie mode especially seems great, it's just a decsion as to what you want to do with it.
i think on the canon website there might be a place where you put in what you want to do with your camera then they tell you good choices...

 

[Mom2Ashli]

my camera now is a film slr canon...I think with any slr, digital or not , you just have more control over the shot you take... which can be good or bad.
so imo a lot depends on what you want to do with it...if you want to mostly just point and shoot and maybe eventually get into learning some other stuff to customize your shots( like different shutter speeds etc) i think the canon s2/3 is good for that. i just bought my daughter the canon A610 ( i think that's right#, it's the 7 mp) cause that's what she wants to do, take a snapshot type picture. the pictures are very good on that and it has a few adjutstment type modes so you can do a little creative stuff if you want to. but if you want to get into maybe more specialty type shots where you change the shutter speeds etc ( which is more like what i want to do) i think a dslr is more "made " for that. the reviews for the canon s2/3 are good and i'm not sure why some are posting problems..if it's a camera problem or if those who happened to have problems post more. i think the canons2/3 movie mode especially seems great, it's just a decsion as to what you want to do with it.
i think on the canon website there might be a place where you put in what you want to do with your camera then they tell you good choices...

I have a Canon A70 now and it works fine and takes Great pictures. But I would like to get into a little bit more creative with my shots and I love the zoom on the S2/S3.

I was just upset to hear the BAD reviews on the camera.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

The MP count won't make too much of a difference. If you're buying the Canon for MP count, you're buying it for the wrong reason.

If you're buying the XT thinking that their kit lens is better than Pentax kit lens, then you're buying it for the wrong reason.

You've mentioned that you already have some Canon lens. Then it's the right reason for you to buy RebelXT. (make sure that your current Canon lens collections are EF mount). IF you want faster startup time, Canon is the answer; you want cleaner ISO 1600, Canon is the answer. Also, if you want to go crazy one day and buy crazy lenses such as my $1,100 18-55mm f/2.8 IS, or $1,700 70-200mm f/2.8L IS or my dream lens $7,000 400mm f/2.8L IS, these types of lenses are not (yet?, no longer?) available for Pentax.

Pentax ist*DL, is a VERY DECENT camera. If you ask me between S3 IS vs ist*DL, I'll take the ist*DL anytime. Definitely no more point-and-shoot or bridge camera for me (camera looking like dSLR minus all the perks).

Honestly, there is always something better for a bit more money out there. However, you mention about the $1,000 max budget. So for that budget I'll go with RebelXT (body only, about $700 after the current Canon rebate) and for the time being Sigma 18-125 (about $230).

 

[jann1033]

beach has the body for 700 with out the rebate applied so it's getting even closer

 

[Kelly Grannell]

there you go. so it's $600 for a camera with better flexibility, and add $230 for the very decent Sigma 18-125 lens. You'll still have enough money to buy the Hoya Macro Filter and extra memory card. (Rebel XT, IIRC uses CF cards which tend to be cheaper than SD counterpart)

 

[nee]

I would like the S3. I can cope with the noise issue but reviews say the quality of the photos are not quite as good as a DSLR.
What exactly do they mean, is it the colors or what ?

 

[JR6ooo4]

It is like comparing a Ford car to a Ferrari.
They both have door locks, windows, brakes etc....
One is just a little better quality. Probably in every category!

Mikeeee

 

[Anewman]

Dynamic range
Per pixel sharpness
Color accuracy
And that is just on photos that were captured properly, a DSLR is also capable of caputring images that the point and shoot cameras will never be able to because of obvious reasons.

The image sensor size is one important issue.

S3 sensor
5.760mm X 4.290mm

Typical DSLR(aps-c) sensor size
23.700mm X 15.700mm


Lens is also an important issue, just look at the glass on any point and shoot camera, and compare it to even the kit lens from any DSLR.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

The reviews are correct, so does everybody who have posted on this thread so far. S3 vs dSLR (well, unless you want to compare to the new slow-poke Panasonic newly released dSLR), the dSLR will always win.

 

[nee]

I was hoping that it was something that could be fixed with software. I want to get rid of my rebel as it is too big and heavy to carry around every day.
Thank you all

 

[Kelly Grannell]

well, you CAN get rid of the noise using freeware, you CAN make the picture look better using Photoshop. It doesn't mean it's shoddy in any way. But comparing P&S to a dSLR is not a fair comparison.

PS: honestly, you should not get rid of the Rebel, it's only a matter of getting used to a certain weight and size. In the beginning, using 70-200 f/2.8L IS zoom lens with my dRebel was a big chore and I can't use it more than 2 hours. Now I can literally run around (stop and go) between 8 to 10 hours with my 30D + battery grip + 2 batteries + that heavy lens. Yes it took more than 1.5 years of getting used to, but you're worrying over nothing serious.

Now I have a different problem, I can't use a P&S without getting the pics blurry, they are too small and light for me (I'm talking about those credit-card-sized P&S, not S3 or dSLR-looking P&S)

 

[jann1033]

then why not get a little p& s like the Canon A620 for days you don't feel like using the rebel..that way you'd have it when you need it but have something with some creative modes still if you don't feel like taking it...i just bought a rebel xt and if it's to heavy ( right now just have a larger lens so can't really tell although i can get some ok closer range pictures so i think it will be fine) i'm going to get the A610 ( around 200) for days i can't handle the rebel( mine is a medical problem so using it longer won't help any).
the a 620 pictures are good, not as good as the rebels but not bad either for snap shots

 

[lambo606]

I have recently purchased a Sony H5 and am delighted with it - some of the photos i've taken are phenomenol! Maybe someone on the boards could give me some advice. I have read in various places that getting a 'circular polariser' is a great idea as it can enhance your photos (reduce shadows, increase colour saturation?) as well as protect the H5's all important lens!

Now here is the question. I went into Jessops today to ask about this, and the very nice lady agreed with everything I said and sold me a 52mm HOYA lens. Problem - now I have it home I cannot figure out how I am supposed to attatch it to the camera!

Perhaps someone can tell me:

Is it possible to fit a circular polarising lens to a Sony H5?

If so, is a 52 mm lens the correct size?

Do I need to buy some kind of "adapter" (was looking at the manual and saw some mention of this?) - If so, where in the UK sells them?

How do you use a polarising lens properly... I read you angle the mark on the moving part of the lens towards the sun?! Can you leave the lens attatched when shooting night photos or fireworks?

Thanks for your help!!!

David

 

[boBQuincy]

I use a polarizer on my Kodak p&s by holding the polarizer up to my eye, rotating it until I get the desired effect, then placing it over the camera lens and taking the photo (being careful not to change the rotation).

I seem to have acquired a fair selection of polarizers so I just pick one that covers the entire lens barrel. This p&s does not seem to care if it is a circular polarizer or not, but if you ever plan to use it on a SLR it should be a circular polarizer.


boB

 

[Jilly16]

David- I was going to buy the Sony DSC-h5 but nobody was there to answer my questions. I figured I'd better think it over first before I drop $500. How do you like the camera? Is the zoom good? How about the picture quality?

 

[lambo606]

Hi There Jilly!

I really love my Sony H5... I have seen it take a few knocks lately from those who seem to be primarily using dSLR cameras (and i'm sure rightly so, compared to a dSLR!) but I have to say for a P&S i'm very impressed by it. A lot of postings mention poor battery life - I regularly manage to take approx 300-400 photos using the supplied batterys. And that is with using the flash for a good number! So in my book, although the battery life might not be as impressive as some, it is more than ample for my uses. Also, for me personally, I don't mind carrying around a few extra batterys in my pocket just so I can admire the huge bright LCD screen!

Picture quality is fantastic for outdoor photos - absolutely crystal clear focussing 99% of the time. Indoor photos are also very good and the flash is highly effective. Night photos are as difficult with this camera as they are with any other of this calibre - with practice though I have been able to capture some really nice photos especially using longer shutter settings on manual mode. The camera has various scene settings all which work great for me - I used to use a Casio Exilim and I was never sure about the scene settings, however I am impressed by what the H5 has to offer.

Oh, and you'll just love the zoom...

In summary, I had some reservations before I bought this camera because I had read some mediocre/negative comments about it on various websites. Despite these I went to various stores and tried it out - I compared to Canon S2/S3, and some panasonic model. The LCD screen and the zoom sold it to me - I loved it. Now having used it I am 100% glad I bought it!

Dont know if you have seen the dcresource website, but there are some interesting H5 related threads in the Sony forum... Sorry DISboards won't let me post the link - search in google.

Hope this is useful!

 

[lambo606]

Having researched some more I think maybe I need a polariser which is 58mm? Can anybody confirm for me? Thanks