measekite wrote:

The Pan FZ8 has an improved EVF while the S5 is the same as your
camera, the S3. How bad is it?

I don't know. I'm used to using it. It's the first camera I've owned that
has an EVF. At 115,000 pixels, it's the same resolution as the LCD, but
looks smaller. At that resolution, it's sometimes difficult to tell if the
subject is in focus. If I'm in any doubt, I'll take the shot and then zoom
right in while reviewing it. Or I'll focus at infinity if that's
appropriate.

Do you notice at longer zoom that the camera focuses slow or hesitates?

It depends on the light conditions. When there's not much contrast, it tends
to hunt a bit. And sometimes, when I half-press the shutter release, it
takes a while then focuses, then goes out of focus and stays out of focus.
But this usually happens under conditions when I could just focus at
infinity. I don't know if the S3's AF is any worse than any other camera's
under low-contrast or low-light conditions. The only other camera I can
compare it to is my Casio EX-Z700 which seems about the same.

--
Garry Knight