Is this camera worth the money?.

Definitely..

How hard is it to learn to use this camera? Is the interfacerelatively simple to learn?.

Pretty easy, like all Canons. You can start off in auto or Program, then move on to more advanced features. There are plenty of them, but all logical if you read the book..

Are some of the upgrades from the S3 IS really that important?.

The bigger screen is a nice upgrade feature. The hotshoe too, though many people will never use it. It's not much more now than the S3, so probably worth getting unless your budget is very tight..

Can anyone who has already bought the S5 IS maybe tell me someareas where I might be let down with this camera?.

Depends on your expectations. It's not an SLR, even though it looks like one. So don't expect miracles in dark rooms or if you set the ISO higher than 400. I think most people would be delighted with it though because of the long zoom, compact size, flip out screen and excellent video..

Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it...

The S3 is a bargain right now. The new S5 also adds face detection I believe. Its a pretty nice feature which actually works. I've used the S3 before and it's a very fast and accurate camera. In the superzoom category I'd be my pick. Also check out the Panasonic FZ8..

Do note, even though it looks like a mini SLR, it's really more of a P&S with a long zoom. IMO, at 3x zoom it probably won't look much better than other much smaller P&S's like the A710. Don't get me wrong, it's a VERY nice camera, just don't expect dSLR quality...

Afrikaner07 wrote:.

Are some of the upgrades from the S3 IS really that important?.

The flash shoe that takes a dedicated Canon TTL flash looks like the big one. If you take photos indoors, an external bounce/tilt flash would help you to avoid the harshness of direct flash and to reduce the chances of "red eye"..

Can anyone who has already bought the S5 IS maybe tell me someareas where I might be let down with this camera?.

You might want to see what reviewers say about noise at high ISO...

I purchased the Canon S5 a week ago. Circuit City staff had no readl experience. The default settings do not have FD turned on, the de fault settings do not allow some of the major featurs of the camera to use. Thus you are stuck with the auto setting. This is a disincentive, if I spend othis money for the IS 5 and keep it in the default auto settings, then why have all those features no one clearly knows yet how to work..

The camera is so new, Canon does not have a dedicated Inteneti support for the product to handle incoming questions. I emailed Canon a question about explaining to me in detail how to set up the face detection and I got back a PR reponse on what face detection is..

Canon is not ready to help cpnsumers with this cameera; as a new digital buyer I am very disappointed in the support and knowledge base for this camera and it is sites like this with good and understanding folks who can help out best..

I am going to China and not sure what in the hell settings to use most of the time other than scenery and not sure how to get the most of this camera by taking it out of default settings..

Goog luck..

...and can wait, the review on this web site should be coming upmy guess within two weeks. Some of the S5IS comparisons have already appeared in the review of the Sony H7..

Bob..

I'd have to disagree. The only review I've seen suggest the S5 image quality is no better, arguably worse, than the S3. Given the S3 price and the fact it is a well respected camera, I'd direct you towards that instead of the S5..

The review is on dcresource.com if people want to make their own evaluation ( which you should )..

StephenG.

Fuji S9600Fuji S5200Fuji F30Fuji E900Canon A710ISPCLinuxOS..