I bought the Canon S3IS two years ago which is similar in size to the Canon S5IS and have used it on 2 tours and got great pictures. It's a bit to large for my liking, after having previously used a Canon S30 Powershot for a number of years. I took a lot of good pictures with the S30 but also had the conveniance of being able to carry it in my pocket when not using it. I can't do that with the S3IS and must either carry it in a case or hang it around my neck which can become uncomfortable at time. Other then my size issue the S3,4,and 5IS are great cameras with lot's of flexibilty.

I do find the Canon S5IS to be quite heavy to wear around my neck on a neck strap. And while it fits without trouble into the bag I generally use as an all-purpose purse and carry-bag for touring- after a while, that bag also feels heavy. On the other hand, I have quite small hands and it fits my hand very comfortably.

On balance, I really like the camera - I just wasn't expecting it to be as heavy.

Hi ZeldaSue, just to add some interesting twist to this conversation. Have you tried a Nikon D40 with 18 - 55 mm lens? The whole package is amazingly light for a digital SLR. Of course, this will not meet your >10 times zoom requirement.

To get around this requirement, you can get a 18 - 200 mm VR lens instead of the 18 - 55 mm lens. But it is not a cheap lens at all.

Since you already have a Canon G6, are you buying another camera?

Ok people, the topic is about "small" digital cameras. If you venture into S5 and D40, you are already off topic.

Yes, agreed. However, this has gone off topic a while back already.

It is interesting to see how the original post started off with a topic and as replies were posted, the discussions covered many other subjects seemingly related or not related to the original question.

I noticed that this is not just the case with this message. When I scanned the posts by the title, I very often noticed the discussions were quite off topic. May be it is the dynamic of this bulletin board.

So, we should start a new thread from this point on.