Hi everyone,
I am purchasing a new digital camera. I selected the Canon A640 based on the excellent reviews of the unit, but I realized that the camera was too bulky to fit in my pants pocket. Can someone please recommend a good Canon or Sony camera that would easily slip into my pocket with comparable reviews to the Canon A640?
Thanks Both the SD900 and the sd850is look excellent. I am leaning toward the SD900 because there are more reviews for it...How important is image stabilization and is the flash powerful enough to take clear, true to life pictures in low light situations like bars and inside a house at night with low light? After answering questions here for about 8 months, I finally decided to get a Canon Powershot SD900. I was going to buy the SD700-IS as I think it is a great camera and a few respected members own it and recommend it highly, but they were out of stock everywhere and it gave me time to re-think my purchase. This is going to be a pocket camera to use when I don't want to carry one of my SLR's with me, but I still want really great image quality from the camera. Anyhow, after months and months of reading reviews, the SD900 was my top choice. I found a review in Popular Photography the day after I ordered my Canon that suggests that maybe the Pentax Optio A20 would have been a better choice, but, I'm happy with my purchase. The Pentax does have shake reduction, so that's a plus, but I doubt this will be necessary in a camera that only zooms to an equivalent of 114 mm.
Go here to see the comparison article on 5 compact cameras with 1/1.8" sensors and see what you think. If you really don't want to read reviews, I am still happy that I am got the Canon SD900 and this would be my recommendation for anyone at this point, since it is what I chose for myself. I ordered from B&H Photo where the price is $330 (today) for the SD900. (Please note that this chart incorrectly states that the Pentax Optio A20 has a 1/2.5" sensor. That is incorrect. It has a 1/1.8" sensor.)
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3471/hig... Click on the name of each camera to read a detailed review.
After about one month of using the SD900, I was so happy with it that I bought one to give to my niece as an engagement present. I am that confident in the camera.
I also bought a 5-year Mack warranty for $50. If you are even a little paranoid or clutzy, I feel that it is money well-spent. These are somewhat delicate compared to SLR's.
Here is a comparison page with all five 10 MP cameras mentioned in the PopPhoto article. Click on "In-depth review" and "Read Owner Opinions" for each camera. Be sure to note that the reviews are many pages long so you don't stop after page one. Check the sample images, also. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the link below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like fringing or noise.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_...
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_revi...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd9...
http://www.cameras.co.uk/camera-reviews/...
Here is one photo I put on-line that I took with the SD900. Click on "All Sizes" and view this as large as possible and check out the birds. This was taken right after sunset and there were no enhancements in afterprocessing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04...
Here's another photo with no post-processing at all. It was taken at the full 111 mm (equiv) zoom. It was taken in the fully automatic mode with no help from me at all. The horizon is crooked because the camera was resting on the top of my car. I did not want to alter anything, because this is part of a 3-image series comparing optical zoom with cropping to digital zoom. You can look at the other pictures while you are there and see why optical zoom is all that matters.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04...
Here's another photo with no post-processing at all. I uploaded it straight from the memory card. This shows the SD900 at it widest focal length in macro mode, but bear in mind that the aperture was wide open at f/2.8 also.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Here's an SD900 photo with a moderate amount of post-processing, but not so much as to make it appear artificial. This was taken in macro mode from about 6 or 8 inches away.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei...
Here is a comparison between 10 MP image from the SD900 and a 6 MP image from an SD700-IS, but you can use it as a sample image from the SD900.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04...
Here is another sample that is not intended to show off the SD900 so much, but to comapare it for the sake of a discussion on sensor size. However, you can get an idea of the general quality of the image.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04...
In case I missed any, go to my Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstei... and click on "Tags." Then click on "SD900" and you will find a few pictures made with the SD900. Click on "All sizes" and then "Original" and judge for yourself. You can also click on "See all public photos tagged with SD900" from the first page of the tag. You might think it is safe to read about the SD700-IS and transfer the accolades to the SD850-IS, as it is the upgrade of that camera. It looks like the SD900 flash is stronger, though. Report It
http://www.dpreview.com/review... Report It
canon put out a new camera a couple of weeks ago... you should look up or read more reviews on the canon sd850is....its 8 megapixels with a 4x optical zoom... or you can look into the sony t-100 that's also 8 megapixels with a 5x optical zoom.... the sony is more compact(small)... they are about the same price... retail at 400 bucks... any of the sd series in the canon line Look at the following sites to help narrow down your choice. Great reviews on just about every camera.
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/ | 