Canon S3 or S5

[JPagliai]

I'm not a professional photographer, and I don't have a desire to be. I'm looking for a camera to take reasonably decent pictures of my tank. I have a Canon Powershot S10 (1MP) right now. I've been looking at cameras over the past few days and I think I've narrowed my choices to the Canon S3 or S5. The two cameras are very similar, except the S5 is about $200 more and has 2MP more. Is it worth the $200 to get the S5? Would a non-professional like me even notice a difference?

 

[gregr]

The lcd is quite a bit better, aside from that and the bigger sensor there are only minor improvements according to the specs I just read. If you come across any reviews let me know and I'll read them to see if there's anything else significant.

 

[JPagliai]

Thanks! Those are the only differences I read on CNET. From the descriptions, the only major differences are the LCD is a little larger and 2MP and the two have similar ratings. I keep reading how some lower pixel cameras can actually outperform other cameras with larger pixel capabilities, just wasn't sure how two cameras from the same manufacturer would measure up just on the pixel count alone.

If I went with the S5 with its 8MP, would I have a better chance of getting a good picture post editing? I use Photoshop Premier Elements to edit most of my photos.

 

[gregr]

The thing with megapixels is the manufacturers are all in a hurry to pack more megapixels onto the sensor but it's not necessarily a good thing. Somewhere there is a perfect compromise between the size of the individual pixels and how densely they're packed together. When they're packed too densely image quality suffers.

If I went with the S5 with its 8MP, would I have a better chance of getting a good picture post editing?

Really the main benefit is you'll be able to crop a little more because of the bigger image to start with. Aside from that it's hard to say without seeing image samples from each camera. Theoretically the newer model should have better image quality because Canon is always improving their in-camera processing. They may have also been able to increase the speed [power up, processing, shutter lag, etc.) but again, without seeing a comprehensive review it's impossible to say.

 

[JPagliai]

That's it! I didn't notice it before, but they did improve the processor. The S3 has the Digic II and the S5 has Digic III (improved face detection and red-eye correction). It sounds like I might have less editing to do with the S5, if the Digic III does its job. I think the S5 might be the right choice. Thanks for your help Greg! I'll be sure to post a couple of pictures once I figure out how to work the darn thing.