DCViews to spice things up have done a comparison between two popular digital cameras, the Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 and the Canon Powershot S3 IS. Both are good cameras in the right however it was the Powershot S3 which emerged as a winner on parameters like noise, interface, and zoom and so on.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 is a 7.2 mega pixel digital camera with a 12x optical zoom and a 3-inch LCD for easy viewing. The camera includes a dual-hinged cover for the Memory Stick Duo. The H5 also has some cutting edge technologies onboard including double anti-blur technology and Steady Shot image stabilizer So say hello to sharp and detailed images. The onboard Clear RAW NR system has a signal-to-noise ratio which eliminates color and luminance noise. Color modes include Vivid, Natural; Sepia to black and white and 640 x 480 videos can be recorded at 30fps.

The Canon Powershot S3 IS S3 IS uses a 6 Mega pixel CCD and has an ISO range of 80 – 800. It features a F2.7-3.5, 12X optical zoom lens which is equivalent to 36 - 432 mm. The flash has a working range of 0.5 - 5.2 m at wide-angle and 0.9 - 4.0 m at telephoto and includes a 2.5" rotating screen LCD with 115,000 pixels. The camera for an enhanced performance includes the DIGIC II chip and also supports the PictBridge system for direct printing. The movie mode is excellent and the camera can record high-quality VGA (640 x 480 pixels) movie mode at 30 fps and increase it to 60 fps in QVGA (320 x 240) movie mode. Available My Color playback modes include Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, and Vivid Red; lighter and darker skin tones, as well as options for creating black & white, sepia, neutral and positive film effects.

The comparison ends by the reviewer writing “The Canon Powershot S3 IS and the Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 are two very capable and compact all-round cameras and when you have to travel light they are the ultimate partners. They are consumer cameras due to absence of AdobeRGB and RAW, and responsiveness and image quality do not stand up to that of d-SLR's. With their manual controls however they are more than point-and-shoot cameras and can fulfil the wishes of even the more demanding amateur. On most points the Powershot S3 leaves the Sony H5 behind, but the latter has a very appealing LCD and resolution and image quality (besides the CA) are better. The colors of the H5 are somewhat more natural and the visible noise is less at higher ISO's. Both cameras can make breathtaking macros and very nice movies. The cameras are each others equals and won't disappoint its usersegment: all-round (travel) photography”