Sony H5 vs Canon S3 IS vs Panasonic FZ7: Head-to-Head-to-Head Digital Camera Review

by Patrick Singleton
Published on July 31, 2006

Navigation
Intro	Metering / Exposure / Focus
Still Imaging Performance / Image Quality	Video Capture
Components	Model Design / Physical Tour
Spec Comparison	Overall Impressions / Conclusion

Viewfinder (Advantage: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5)
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5’s electronic viewfinder has a 201,000-pixel display, according to the specs, but we didn't find it particularly sharp. The Canon PowerShot S3 IS and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 have much lower-resolution displays – the FZ7 is listed at 114,000 and the S3 is about the same – but both aren't as sharp as the H5. The S3 has a comfortable cushioned eyecup, while the other two cameras use hard plastic to frame the viewfinder’s window. The FZ7 and the H5 have convenient diopter adjustments, and the S3 has one but it is harder to adjust.

It's far from the best viewfinder we've ever seen, but the Sony H5's EVF is the best in this bunch.

LCD screen (Advantage: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5)

The Cyber-shot H5's 3-inch, 230,000-pixel display is large enough for a PDA, let alone a camera, but it has a couple of drawbacks: it is not as sharp as its resolution suggests; its refresh rate is slow, making it hard to pan the camera or focus manually; and the live image is very noisy. The 2.5-inch, 114,000-pixel LCD on the Panasonic Lumix FZ7 isn't sharp enough for manual focus, and makes it hard to evaluate sharpness on saved images as well. The FZ7's LCD has a limited angle of view, but adds an “Overhead” setting, which boosts brightness so much that it can't be viewed from straight on, but works pretty well when seen from below. The PowerShot S3 IS offers a 2-inch, 115,000-pixel display, which swings out from the camera and pivots like a camcorder display. It's not sharp enough for focus or image review, and a 2-inch display looks tiny these days – even much cheaper cameras have bigger LCDs.

Again, though it is by no means an excellent display, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5's large LCD has the advantage by dint of its size and high pixel count.

Flash (Advantage: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5)

The Cyber-shot DSC-H5's flash reaches out to nearly 30 feet, a good 10 feet past the Lumix FZ7's range, and close to twice that of the PowerShot S3 IS. All of the flashes are small and fitted in pop-up mechanisms that rise directly above the cameras' lenses – just where a flash should be to minimize shadows. They'll deliver light in dark places, but on-camera direct flash is ugly light. None of the cameras have hot shoes or flash sync termianls to connect external flashes, which is a significant drawback, and a big distinction between these cameras and the more expensive models in the manufacturers' lineups. The PowerShot S3 IS is compatible with a slave flash – and any of the cameras could trigger a slave, but managing exposure would not be as convenient as it should be. Photographers who plan to shoot flash regularly ought to invest in cameras that can accept an external unit with through-the-lens exposure control and bounce capability.

There are a few other distinctions between the flashes: The Cyber-shot DSC-H5 allows the user to set red-eye reduction separately from flash mode. The PowerShot S3 IS allows the user to sync flash to the beginning or the end of the exposure. The Cyber-shot DSC-H5 flash pops up automatically, the Lumix FZ7 pops up when the user presses a button, and the PowerShot S3 IS's flash must be pulled up manually. The automatic feature on the H5 ought to save a few shots for users who forget to turn on their flashes.

With a bit more power and automatic activation, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5's flash has the advantage.

Lens - Controls / Handling (Advantage: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5)

All three cameras have 6-72mm zooms. The Sony has Carl Zeiss branded glass, the Panasonic is labeled Leica, and the Canon is a Canon. All three lenses are equivalent to a 36 to 432mm lens on a 35mm camera – an enormously long zoom range, running from a slight wide-angle to a long telephoto. All are equipped with optical image stabilization, which senses camera motion, and compensates with a moving element in the lens.

The maximum apertures of the zooms vary with focal length. The Canon S3 IS runs from f/2.7 to f/3.5; the Panasonic FZ7 runs from f/2.8 to f/3.3; and the Sony H5 runs from f/2.8 to f/3.7. All have a minimum aperture at the wide angle end of f/8.

The zoom control on the Cyber-shot DSC-H5 is the best of the lot. It's smooth, and has relatively little backlash. The Lumix FZ7's zoom controller is a ring around the shutter release, and it has a backlash problem. With both the FZ7 and the S3 IS, we found it difficult to hit exactly the zoom setting we wanted.

Other sections of the review cover distortion, color fringing, and resolution, each of which relates to lens quality and performance. As far as handling goes, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 has the best lens.

Macro (Advantage: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7)
We photographed a penny to demonstrate the cameras' macro capabilities. The penny takes up about half the height of the frame at each camera’s closest focus. Our crops show sections of the image at 100 percent. The Canon PowerShot S3 IS gets the largest magnification, followed in order by the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and the Panasonic Lumix FZ7. On the other hand, the sharpness of the penny showed a reversal: the FZ7 delivers the sharpest image, followed by the H5 and the S3.

The advantage in sharpness is more significant than the magnification advantage, so the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 has the best macro performance.

Battery (Advantage: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7)