[John F]

I am attracted to the Canon S5 mainly because it has image stabilisation and a 12x zoom going up to 400+ mm. At the same time I am very suspicious of a 12x zoom. Has anyone any experience with this lens and would it be suitable for bird photography? I wouldn't expect it to replace my 100/400 mm f4.5/5.6 l IS but it might be useful for times when I don't wish to lug the latter around.

John.

[Dabhand16]

I know nothing about this camera, but I am suspicious about any lens that goes over 4 x zoom on the grounds of quality.

However, it may well be that my prejudices are completely unfounded as they are based on ancient technology that modern techniques might have overcome.

For a compact I'd be looking at the Canon Powershot G7.

[Boofers]

I have a cheaper Olympus that goes 10x and the pictures don't always come out and have alittle noise, it has the sensor stab--, my friend has the canon model S3 with the 12x and his pictures come out better then mine, and from what I have seen on my computer, a lot less noise if any. He has sent me pictures taken of birds in flight from his fishing boat that are pretty good. Not as good as my 100-400 IS, but pretty good for what it is, a small fairly sharp picture takeing camera that feels pretty good in the hand. The only draw back is the lens cap. bad design. Falls off. Hopefully they have addressed that problem.

[John F]

Your thoughts are the same as mine except for the G7 and that is only because I already have the Powershot A640. This with its 4x zoom gives excellent results but I would like the 12x zoom if modern technology can deliver the goods. Thank you for your comments.

John.

Originally Posted by Dabhand16

I know nothing about this camera, but I am suspicious about any lens that goes over 4 x zoom on the grounds of quality.

However, it may well be that my prejudices are completely unfounded as they are based on ancient technology that modern techniques might have overcome.

For a compact I'd be looking at the Canon Powershot G7.

[John F]

Thank you for your comments. I just wonder what size pictures your friend showed you, or were they the ones you viewed on your computer?

John.

Originally Posted by Boofers

I have a cheaper Olympus that goes 10x and the pictures don't always come out and have alittle noise, it has the sensor stab--, my friend has the canon model S3 with the 12x and his pictures come out better then mine, and from what I have seen on my computer, a lot less noise if any. He has sent me pictures taken of birds in flight from his fishing boat that are pretty good. Not as good as my 100-400 IS, but pretty good for what it is, a small fairly sharp picture takeing camera that feels pretty good in the hand. The only draw back is the lens cap. bad design. Falls off. Hopefully they have addressed that problem.

[Boofers]

I have viewed about 150 of his photo's, we work in the same area. S3 is a 6 mega pixel camera. I have viewed his photo's on three computers, two at work and mine at home where I did some work on a white bird at a lake. On that all I did was seperate the bird from the background by making the background darker. The bird about 150 feet away had sharp long tail feathers, apart of the herron family I believe. Their was no noticible noise in the picture as I had it blown up to mask. His photo's where about 2mg or less, and I remember his camera only shot jpeg's. Last week we viewed on a projection screen some of his pictures taken at 12X of hornets in an old pipe taken at about 50 feet and I was impressed with the detail on the little buggers. We also bought the S1 3 mega pixel years ago for my daughter inlaw and it was very impressive and had very sharp pictures that I printed. I like the camera and would have bought it if it weren't for the fact that it dosen't shoot RAW. I ordered and recieved the leica d-lux 3 because it shoots raw. There is always things like pros and cons written about camera's, you get what you buy, the leica was a pleasent surprise. The sensor stabilisation works, I would perfer the optical stabilisation such as the S5.

[John F]

Thank you for the details which I will weigh on the +ve side. The Leica wouldn't be suitable for me because I am looking for that 420 mm focal length. Apart from that I am more than happy with the A640.

Originally Posted by Boofers

I have viewed about 150 of his photo's, we work in the same area. S3 is a 6 mega pixel camera. I have viewed his photo's on three computers, two at work and mine at home where I did some work on a white bird at a lake. On that all I did was seperate the bird from the background by making the background darker. The bird about 150 feet away had sharp long tail feathers, apart of the herron family I believe. Their was no noticible noise in the picture as I had it blown up to mask. His photo's where about 2mg or less, and I remember his camera only shot jpeg's. Last week we viewed on a projection screen some of his pictures taken at 12X of hornets in an old pipe taken at about 50 feet and I was impressed with the detail on the little buggers. We also bought the S1 3 mega pixel years ago for my daughter inlaw and it was very impressive and had very sharp pictures that I printed. I like the camera and would have bought it if it weren't for the fact that it dosen't shoot RAW. I ordered and recieved the leica d-lux 3 because it shoots raw. There is always things like pros and cons written about camera's, you get what you buy, the leica was a pleasent surprise. The sensor stabilisation works, I would perfer the optical stabilisation such as the S5.

[John F]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I finally saw some images. They were ok but not as good as I was hoping for so I will stay with my existing equipment and struggle with the weight.