.....to get a Canon S3 IS. It was between that and the Sony DSC H5, but after reading lots of reviews, I think I will go with the Canon. It has 1 less MP and a smaller screen, but the quality of the pics and the camera itself just seems far better than the Sony. I have owned 2 Sony P&S's and they did ok, but I am starting to get into more pic taking and want something better, without going the dSlR route yet.

Anybody have the S3? Ever used one? What do you think of it?

Canon also has the new G7 out, but I didn't want to spend that much. I can get the S3 for about $350 right now. I think the G7 is around 650ish.

 

The S3 is a great camera, I think you'll enjoy it.

 

Congrats on the cam. I'm sure you'll be happy together

 

I have a G6 and I feel like it takes great pics. The G7 looks like it's got a ton of great features but I can't stand the size. It feels small compared to the G6.

My dad has the S2 IS and it's great... I'm sure the S3 will be even better. 12x optical zoom is great for taking shots at sporting events.

 

There was a great review of the G7 posted on The Luminous Landscape this weekend: http://luminous-landscape.com/review...Canon-G7.shtml

When Canon released the specs for the G7, I knew the lack or RAW would be a deal-breaker for me. It seems Michael Reichmann would agree. Otherwise, it looks like a great little camera.

 

^^
It sounds like Canon is trying to keep some separation between its entry level DSLR's and its higher end prosumer cams. That's the only reason I can think of for taking away RAW functionality from the G-series cams.

 

That's definitely the case, and it's a shame.

Personally, I'd love a small P&S body with an APS-C sensor and a fast 35mm equivalent prime. I'd keep it in my jacket all the time...

 

Or, they realized 95% of people who buy these camera's don't use the RAW option.

 

Most likely the case. My G6 can use RAW format but I rarely use it. My only complaint is my G6 doesn't have image stabilization (which the G7 does) and the 4x optical zoom is pretty weak.

 

On the flip side, it seems completely stupid to load up the high end digicams with all the manual "you have control" settings and then fail to include one of the most important ones.

 

Chuck Westfall (Director of Media & Customer Relationship, Canon USA) said it was a "marketting decision" not to have RAW enabled on the G7. Take that however you want. Since every image the camera records starts off as a RAW image before it creates a JPG, this would be a no-cost option to have it enabled. If the consumer doesn't want to use it, that's fine they can still shoot JPG. But by removing it completely, it limits the camera's usefulness.

The camera literally throws away half of the recorded information when it creates a JPG. If you have a shot with blown-out highlights, there's no way to recover them with a JPG. If you shoot with the wrong white balance, you have to use destructive methods to correct it. If the image is over-sharpened, has too much contrast, or too much saturation, you're out of luck once JPG is made.

There are so many reasons to shoot RAW and I'm sure there's a good number of DSLR owners who would love a small P&S cam that can shoot RAW. The Pro1 was (and still is) a highly-coveted camera that was discontinued because it took sales away from the Rebel line. There's much more money to be made in the entry SLR market than there is in the P&S market, so the Pro1 got the axe.

 

 

So what you're saying is I'm a fool for not shooting in RAW all the time with my G6

 

Well not really...
I know shot-to-shot times with RAW can be slow on a P&S camera, so I can understand it if people don't use it all the time. If you're shooting something worthwhile, then definitely use RAW.

 

Thanks for the tip

 

I'll have to put on muzzle on that Chuck Westfall.

 

Hell, lots of SLR owners don't even shoot RAW.

I don't really understand why, since RAW is sort of like free photo insurance,
but to each their own.

As far as I know, Point and shoots don't have the write speed or enough buffer speed to be used as RAW full time. I remember I shot TIFF once with my Oly 2020. By the time the camera got done writing the picture out, the camera was already out of date.