Compared to... Canon S3 IS

Below you will find a studio comparison between the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and the Canon PowerShot S3 IS at ISO 400.

Studio scene comparison ( @ ISO 400)

• Sony DSC-H5 : Aperture Priority mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.7 EV compensation
  
  
• Canon PowerShot S3 IS: Aperture Priority mode, ISO 400, Default Image Parameters,
  Manual white balance, +0.67 EV compensation
   
• Lighting: Daylight simulation, >98% CRI

Sony DSC-H5	Canon PowerShot S3 IS
ISO 400, 1/400 sec, F4.5	ISO 400, 1/250 sec, F5.0
3,008 KB JPEG	3,013 KB JPEG

As we saw when testing the H2, at ISO 400 the differences are slightly more pronounced, thanks to Sony's much heavier noise reduction, which produces a superficially cleaner-looking image, but one with slightly more obvious noise reduction artefacts. It's a matter of taste, but for me the S3 IS has the edge thanks to Canon's less heavy-handed approach to noise reduction.