Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Advice - Camera for my wife

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Total consensus on the Canon name! I have never seen a web board in total agreement about anything before. EVER! I certainly know which brand to buy.

I am now more open to a proprietary battery. I hadn't realized they had improved so much. My only experience was an ultra compact digital of some sort that I used to take inspection pictures of Central Offices and the outside plant. It did about 20 pictures max if indoor with the flash before the flash switched off. Then about 20 to 30 more if you left the flash off.

In research last night, I came up with several of the same models you recommended, so that is encouraging. The only non-Canon I looked at was the Fiji Film FinePix F50fd or older 25 ver. that was said to have superior photo quality due to a larger sensor chip but I was soon swayed by the commonality of canon's reputation in reviews across so many of their models.

I found a page that does side by side comparisons so I think I'm ready to take the recommendations and make a decision.

THANKS GUYS! I have never had such an easy time narrowing things down. Availability may be the toughest thing I have to overcome, considering the time of year.

Side story if your bored enough to keep reading.....
I went into a minor panic as I started reading reviews of all these great cameras except that they all seemed to suck at higher ISO levels. After a bit more research into how ISO works, I realized that all digital cameras are weak at higher ISO levels and that it wasn't really a concern so much for our shooting habits and certainly wasn't worth doubling (or more) the price to get a moderate increase in this feature. I guess film still wins in some categories.

Shopping is only fun when you learn stuff before you buy, instead of after.

Well, Tuesdays being the day of totally irrelevant conference calls, I 'multi-tasked' to avoid boredom and did some more checking. I eliminated some on price and others because they didn't have Image Stabilization. I have naturally shaky hands (runs in the family) so every little bit helps.

When it came down to the remainders, the Powershot A series came out on top. Looking at the A710 IS and the A570 IS. Both are almost identical with the only big difference being a little more optical zoom on the 710. Both are priced between an average of $200 and $250 which is amazing considering they come highly recommended for picture quality in their class, have an unusual number of manual options, for its class, that I can play with but my wife can safely ignore AND you can even swap lenses to a couple of other options, which I will probably never do, but it's cool that you can do so for under $250.

Actually, on paper, these guys look better than some fo the $450 plus models I eliminated for price.


Thanks again for getting me rolling.

I know you asked for pocket cameras, but you also said you would prefer an SLR.

I bought the Olympus 510 for just under a grand last summer and just noticed that it’s for sale on Amazon for about half that. A disgustingly low price…..

It comes in two different kits. One with the 14-42 lens for $525
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Digital-St...97389252&sr=8-4

and the two lens kit that adds the 40 – 150 lens. This kit is going for $660. http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Digital-St...97389252&sr=8-1

I’ve been having a lot of fun with this camera

Thanks Drew.

I'm afraid to even open the link in case the sale is that good. I personally would like to go SLR but I have to remember that this gift is for my wife who is the primary picture taker. It really needs to suit her more than me.

I think the Canon A series will be an excellent choice, Murph.

You can't go wrong with either the A series or the SD series. The SD series is just that much smaller for easier transport in a pocket, the metal body and proprietary battery are about the only big differences between the two.

I got myself caught up in the ISO ratings as well and Fuji's seem to really market themselves as having the best ISO speeds but in real world tests they are no better than any of the other cameras out there.

There is a different style of chip(the name escapes me rigt now) that has much better low light response but it has never made it main stream. It is only available in SLR's and expensive ones at that, only just one brand if I remember right.

Sony T200 and Canon &10, 570 side by side

I kind of like the Sony, but it is a little higher MSRP.

I think that Sony would compare more towards the SD series as it is an Ultra compact like the SD series. On the other hand it shows that the A series is very good.

I have the A710IS. A good combination of a point and shoot with a good set of manual adjustments if you choose to use them. It's worth noting that if you look around on DP review you will see that there is some aftermarket firmware available for it that allows RAW and some other little additions to the factory firmware. Supposedly it is much better than the new A720IS that replaces it for which there is no aftermarket firmware.

This thread gave me a good idea for a gift for my wife, I just purchased the Canon PowerShot A560 Digital Camera for $128.00 at BH Photo, I wanted a point and shoot that she could just stick in her purse and this fit the bill great.