Sony DSC H2/H% Against the Canon S2/S3

[powerslave]

I know the specs, but there's so much more than meets the eye!

I have no experience with the sony cams, but I generally hold them in good regard.

But the kinda photos I've been getting from my friends POwershot A510 has made me believe that there is a lot beyond just MP that determine the quality fo a picture. In short, two cams having smae MPs have very different image qualitis...and canon rocks in this dept.,

Can somenoe please tell me the pros and cons of each cam...the finer details.

 

[SachinOnTop]

Canon S3 IS uses 4xAA batteries, the Sony DSC-H5 uses 2xAA. So all other things being equal, the batteries on the Canon are likely to last twice as long.

The S3 use SD memory cards, which are very widely used in everything from the smallest ultra compacts to DSLRs. The H5 uses Sony's proprietary Memory Stick cards, which tend to be a bit more expensive. but i guess H5 also suppports SD cards too. check it yourself!

The H5 has 7 megapixel resolution, the S3 has 6MP. This probably isn't going to make that much difference. Both of them have 12x zoom lenses and image stabilisation.

Canon S3 has stereo sound for movie mode and a fully tiltable & swivelling LCD.

H5 has better LCD screen than S3. BUt being quite large it might eat up batteries a bit quickly! BUt Sony's screen is much more crisp and clear than S3's.

SonyH5 will give MUCH longer video time.
I guess 1GB of video on the Canon S3 lasts 9mins only, whereas it's much much longer for H5.

H5 can zoom in/out optically WHILE you are recording, no idea abt s3. Be double sure abt it so check it yourself!!

Canon's colors appears to be richer in almost every sample pic available on net, in comparison to Sony.

one more thing for you to check out
Can S3 or H5 act like web cam? i guess not!!! so check that!!!

i guess the optical zoom of the Sony H5 can be boosted higher by lowering the Megapixels...can the S3 IS do that?

pheew... google is such a grrreat tool!!! 8)

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Sachin first off SD card is used in only a few DSLR?s, most of the DSLR's use CF card for storage. Secondly there is no use of the digital zoom, it lowers the image quality. Want to do the same, then just crop the image!

Powerslave check out the review of Canon PowerShotS3 IS and Cyber-Shot DSC H2

In the end it comes down to personal preference and the skills of a photographer. I use a 4mp Kodak cx7430, which is rated way bellow many digital cams. But on occasions people have asked me which DSLR I used for clicking a particular photograph! Believe me a little bit of skill, a touch of photoshop and a helping hand of luck is all that is needed to turn out great photographs.

 

[Sunilg]

Hi Manas,

There is no big difference between these two cameras.

But, when you are buying a digicam, the power consumption factor is big deciding force and in this case, Canon wins over Sony as pointed out by Sachin. The second most important factor is the memory storage; certainly, SD cards are the most common storage device used in digicams these days, so it could be quite convenient to share the SD cards with your friends in case you buy a Canon. And, the Sony memory sticks are quite costly when compared with SD cards.

One more important thing is the swivel-type screen; that's a very useful feature if you wanna try out some creative angles; it might not look useful until & unless you use it; but i am using this feature and its fun working with swivel-type screen.

lastly, I read somewhere on DPreview.com that all Sony cameras produce a slightly oversaturated images when compared with the Canon's naturally colored images.

 

[nav75]

Nice topic.

I currently use Olympus Camedia C-350, 3.2MP, 3x Optical Zoom. Bought in Jan 2004. Planing to move to a better camera and guess what, I also zeroed down on Canon PS S3 IS.

Considered the following other cameras:
- Kodak DX 7590
- Sony DSC H5

After talking to more and more people and reading more and more. I think I have made the right choice. Will be getting the cam before my next ride.

 

[SachinOnTop]

Sachin first off SD card is used in only a few DSLR?s, most of the DSLR's use CF card for storage. Secondly there is no use of the digital zoom, it lowers the image quality. Want to do the same, then just crop the image!

arrey bhai, i know that very well...but google brings only such results!!!
kya karein!

well in the end it all boils down to the rider
ok...photu-girafer...!!!

 

[darkside_of_d_sun]

So peebrain needs a camera...OK!

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

One more important thing is the swivel-type screen; that's a very useful feature if you wanna try out some creative angles; it might not look useful until & unless you use it; but i am using this feature and its fun working with swivel-type screen.

Quite true, this is one thing missing from DSLR's and a feature that would be appreciated by a lot of photographers.

 

[powerslave]

OK ! So many things to consider. :Surprised:

Abot the memory stick from Sony, I've heard it offers advantages over SD Cards. It's got better write capabilites or something. Will check that out.

Secondly, about the Swivel screen, thats what's putting me OFF the Canon. Cos over time I've learnt, in gadgets things that move, don't last. It is a HUGE consideration cos this cam is definitely not gonna be used for a yr or two. It is gonna be used pretty much more than that.


I have to agree about the quality of the Canon's being superb. I mean all my pics till now have been with the powershot a510 3.2MP which has given amazing results. And people actually have wondered what cam was used.

But then I have used a friend's DSC-Px few times and it's got amazing load time. Click ON and it's ready! Good for those "moments".
I have seen the carl zeiss lens does it give it crisper images.

 

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Don?t think swivel screen should have any problem till you use it with care; Sunil would be in a better position to comment on this since his camera has a swivel screen. As far as image quality goes, each cam has its own way of compressing and enhancing images. Best option is to check out the sample shots of both the cameras at www.dpreview.com it should give you an indication of the color and other differences in both the cameras.