S3 IS or G7?

[hector]

Greetings,
I am in the market for a new camera. I am keen to learn more about photography, and previously had a Casio point and shoot camera which I had outgrown, which is why I am after something more serious.

Can anyone suggest what sort of camera would suit me? My budget is around £250, and I don't want to stretch to a DSLR yet as I can only afford one camera and so it therefore can't be too bulky. I am not bothered about it being really small, but at the same time don't want a camera that is too big (I use the camera on my phone for fun snaps).

I have done loads of reading of reviews and these forums, but cant really work out what the pros and cons are of the Canon G7 are against the S5 IS. Both are around the same price on Amazon (£230 ish), but which will I be able to further my hobby with, and get the best photos?

Any help would be most appreciated!
Many thanks,
Hector

 

[DaveP]

In my opinion some of the major differences:
G7 has much larger sensor (and megapixels)
S3 has a much larger zoom (12x vs 6x)
G7 can shoot raw (though the "firmware" hack for the S3 enables this and works quite well)

And there are tons of what could be some more minor differences: battery type, hot shoe for flash, size and weight, and lots of difference in the functionality of the camera

It depends on what you want to use it for. Personally, if I just wanted it to take shots of people, scenery, etc, the G7 is the way to go. If you really need to zoom, then the S3 has a big advantage there. Both are excellent and it depends on your needs.

I find dpreview.com an excellent site for specs, analysis, etc and it among others can be used to perform a detailed comparision

 

[M@lew]

The S3 closer resembles a DSLR with the layout and controls whereas the G7 is more a very advanced point and shoot. So it depends what you want. Portability = G7. You can always add a Lensmate extension + Grip for extras on your G7.

 

[MAW]

I bought the s3 for it's intervelometer which I don't believe the G7 has.

 

[hector]

Thanks for your replies, most of the photos i take are of people and scenery, so is it fair to say that the G7 would take a better quality of photo than the S5 IS?
I am really not too bothered about zoom, image quality is most important for me. I guess I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that because the S5 IS looks like a more serious camera that it would take better photos than a high end point and shoot model.

Are there any other cameras that I should consider in this price range? Thanks again for your help!