Canon vs Sony.... Help!

M

MickeyBabe

Member
So I go to purchase my new Canon SD800 IS (sight unseen) and I find there are more cameras that appeal to my senses.

First, the SD800 IS is bigger than I thought it would be. Not much, but definately bigger. Now it also seems to me to be cheaper looking, plastic and didn't feel as substantial as say the SD630 (which I sort of liked the size and look of). It could be that they didn't actually have batteries in the SD800 IS but that still doesn't make it smaller.

Admittedly I am big on bright and shiny/sparkly things so of course the uber cute looking new Sony DSC T-50 jumps right out at me. ::)

I am also swayed by the small size of the Canon SD630 and the 3 inch screen, but no IS. (Is this a good idea to lose?)

Both of these have the 3 inch screen which is very desirable to me, yet they both must trade off with no optical viewfinder. (Is this a good idea?)

The Sony has a version of the IS that was one of the "selling" points for me on the Canon SD800 IS.

Help me... I am sooooo confused!

Any thoughts on the Sony?

My criteria?



Let's see I wish to have the best product I can buy at this time covering these situations.....

* Least amount of shutter lag possible (don't want to lose precious moments)

* Larger screen size (my current is 1.5 inch) :o

* Rechargable battery pack

* Great photo clarity/quality

* The abliity to experiment with manual modes.

Since my initial digital was meant to take along with me easily on vacation (WDW) I'm thinking, if possible....

Night time shots

Interior attraction shots (with no flash)

Zoom and wide angle capabilities





That is for me.


***
I also need a camera for my daughter,she broke her last one, a Sony (can't remember the model), which she was quite happy with. (She is hard on electronics) I'd like to stay around the $150 price point but as low as $130 would be nice and I might be willing to go as high as $200 for the right camera.
 
mickeybabe,

click here for the specs on the canon sd-800 IS http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/C ... d800is.asp

click here for the specs on the sony t-50 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/S ... dsct50.asp

personally, based on what you are asking, i would go for the canon (higher ISO capability for the darker interiors of rides and you dont need sony memory sticks and can use cheaper SD cards), but that is just my opinion. i havent used a point and shoot in years so i am pretty unfamiliar with them.
 
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Tim,

I have spent my morning pouring over this reviewer site and others making comparisions.


My head is about to explode.



Anyone experience with any of these?
 
I haven't used the new Canon IS P&S models...but....

Sony uses a digital/sensor IS while Canon as far as I know is still using a lens based IS, which is superior. But without an optical viewfinder it's hard to really see it!

Read about the other brands IS and an average hit ratio of 50%.
 
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I've tried the 800 IS.

Here are the main points I absolutely love from the 800 IS

1. I can handheld the camera at shutter speed as low as 1/8 second
2. true wide angle (28mm)
3. ISO 1600 capability. Although ISO 1600 sucks, ISO 400 (which is extremely useful for indoor shots) is very clean for a camera of its class and ISO 800 is decent enough to be useable.
4. face detection, so when you hand the camera to somebody who doesn't know how to focus-lock-and-reframe, you'll get everybody's faces (up to 10 people) to be in focus (instead of that brick wall behind them).

Admittedly, I am biased towards Canon for cameras... just like I'm biased towards Sony for professional display devices (IMO their cameras are awful for the amount of $$ they're charging)
 
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So Kelly.... The Image Stabilation is important enough that going with the SD630 would still not be an option in your opinion? (The bigger view screen and overall smaller camera size being a factor)
 
to me, viewing screen doesn't mean much because I'm used to dSLR (the viewfinder is less than 0.5").

As far as IS go, to me it's really important because the smaller and lighter the camera, the more prone it is to shakes. Heavier cameras, up to a certain point, forces you to hold the camera more carefully (none of those "holding the camera at an arm's length") which in return makes it more stable (less shaky).

a snippet from my photo tips:

The way to hold a camera have been shown numerous times on TV, in the movies, in real life... the wrong way.
You do NOT hold a camera at arms' length
You do NOT hold a camera with one hand
You do NOT hold a camera with both hands in a mirror-image fashion
You do NOT hold a camera with the tips of your finger as if the camera is a dainty thing

If you continue holding a camera that way, stop from reading this lesson and give your camera away. ;D

The proper way of holding the camera is as follows (some points may not apply):
Hold the camera as closely to your body as possible
Hold the camera with BOTH hands
The right hand GRIPPING FIRMLY the camera vertically
The left hand (or most of the fingers) located horizontally at the BOTTOM of the camera
Stand in a comfortable yet stable position
One leg protrudes more than the other creating an approximately 90 degree angle
Contrary to popular belief, DO NOT EVER HOLD YOUR BREATH
Click to expand...
 
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Thank you Kelly :)

No I truly understand the need for IS.

Your tips made me giggle...
If you continue holding a camera that way, stop from reading this lesson and give your camera away. ;D
Click to expand...

Put it down and step away from the camera....

:D
 
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forgot to add:

IS does NOT stop the subject's movements, it will only stop the camera movements. So if your subject is moving and shaking like there's no tomorrow, then IS or no IS will make no difference.

another snippet from my article:

When people buy a camera, most of them won't even see the high ISO capability of the camera they're about to buy. This is an extremely wrong move.

In ye olde tyme you buy a camera and that's it. You then buy films of varying speeds from ISO 100 to ISO 1,600. This rating indicates the film's sensitivity to light. ISO 400, for example, is twice as sensitive as ISO 200 (or in photography term: it's 1-stop faster or higher sensitivity by 1-stop). Now in digital times, the camera sensors try to emulate the ISO levels. Some cameras' ISO 1,600 are actually as sensitive as ISO 2,000 but some are only as sensitive as ISO 1,200.

Just like films, the higher the ISO, the higher the noise would be. Unlike film, if you don't like the performance of any given ISO on your digital camera, you can't change the sensor (which is the replacement for film), you'll need to change your entire camera.

The rule of thumb is the larger the sensor size, the better the high ISO performance would be. However, just like any rule there are exceptions. Nikon D50, for example, uses the same sensor size as Nikon D70. However, the cheaper Nikon D50 yields a cleaner high ISO in contrast to Nikon D70. In fact, some may argue that ISO 800 on a Nikon D70 is as bad as ISO 1,600 on a Nikon D50. This is not to put down Nikon, I'm just using Nikon as an example.

Which ISO to use? Basically the dimmer the lighting, or when faster shutter speeds are needed, you'll need a higher ISO.

A quote from Canon's guidebook:


Quote:
Lower ISO speeds for higher image quality


In shooting modes other than Full Auto and Basic Zone modes, you can freely set the ISO speed for any individual shot. When you change the ISO speed, the shutter speed or aperture setting will change for the same scene. Set the ISO speed to match the scene's brightness or subject.

For example, for sunny outdoor shots, use ISO 100 or 200. The image quality will be very good. In less light such as early morning, rainy days, and at night when you cannot use a tripod, set ISO 400, 800, or higher. You can then use a faster shutter speed to prevent camera shake.


NOTE:
To prevent blooming / washed out picture, use the lowest ISO possible for any given situation. This will require practice, practice and practice.

Now that you know what ISO is, let's move on to IS (Image Stabilizer). Basically a stabilizing system within a camera system (be it in-body or in-lens). Companies have colourful ways of naming it and they all are very descriptive. Names such as Optical Image Stabilizer (Panasonic), Vibration Reduction (Nikon), Image Stabilizer (Canon), Anti Shake (Minolta), Shake Reduction (Pentax), Super Steady Shot (Sony).

Unless indicated, the first three companies use in-lens optical image stabilizer which is the best solution, on average it will give you at least 2-stop advantage for stabilizing your camera vibrations. AS and SR are in-body stabilizer. The vibration reduction advantage really depends on the length of the lens. For wide to mid focal length you'll easily get 2-stop vibration reduction advantage just like optical image stabilizer. However, on the longer length, you may only get up to 1-stop advantage. Super Steady Shot by Sony is a completely different beast. It can mean absolutely anything. From digitally manipulated vibration reduction (some companies call it DSP Shake Reduction or a variant of that name), to optical image stabilization, to ISO boost, to in-body image stabilization, to a combination of any of those.

There are also "fake" anti vibration technologies such as Sony's original Steady Shot, Fuji's Real Photo Technology, Samsung's Advance Shake Reduction Technology, Casio's Anti Shake DSP, Olympus' Digital Image Stabilization.

These so-called anti vibration technologies are actually use automatic ISO boost when the camera thinks that the shutter speed is too slow or uses gyro sensors to detect the angles and speed of camera shake, feeds the information to the DSP to compensate for the movement, or a combination of both.

One thing you need to remember:

(high) ISO stops the subject movement, (optical or in-body) IS stops the camera's movement.
Ideally you should have both. But when you can only choose one, I'd rather have the power of ISO than OIS because more often than not, you have no control of the subject you're taking but you do have control of your camera movements.
Click to expand...
 
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Well... I took the plunge!!!

I now have a Canon SD800 IS in a box in my room

In my hot little hands soon (too much working ;) )

I will let you know how it goes and if I have any questions you can bet you will be the first to know ;D
 
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congratulations on new camera, now for the important part
read the instruction book, read the instruction book, read the instruction book
take 10 photos, reread the instruction book, take another 10, delete 9 and keep what you feel is the best 1, read the instruction book again, take another 10, keep 1, reread the instruction book
if it sounds like a broken record it's because it's the best thing outside of wearing out the shutter by taking lots of pics that you can do for yourself

true story, may 06, disneys magic, walking around the deck 4 exercise deck, come across a nice family puzzling over brand new looking olympus, one of the higher end p&s, they look dissapointed and i hear them very sadly discussing that maybe camera is bad right out of the box, offer to help and even though i am not familiar with the make, i figure out the basics of the lcd menu pretty fast, they are taking bright daylight full caribe sun photos on iso 800, of course they are blown out, i ask how to set iso and family all give me that deer in the headlights look, so after a little button stabbing i get it down to iso 100, work a little manual magic and presto a nice family on the pretty boat pic, turns out they just purchased 2 weeks before cruise, and only got as far as how to quick start in the manual, they did fess up to having it with them so i gently suggested reading it a little bit each day, this ain't brain surgery people, i see thenm 2 days later in st. martiins and they are already filling up a card with some useable photos
gary
 
"gary" said:
congratulations on new camera, now for the important part
read the instruction book, read the instruction book, read the instruction book
Click to expand...

AMEN, g-money. classic advice.
 
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What you two gentlemen fail to realize is that you are talking to a woman. ::) We always read the instructions. ;) (...and ask for directions for that matter) ;D

I am not exactly new to cameras, both 35 mm SLR and digital. I actually got this now so that I can experiment at Christmas, read up on the new features and be locked and loaded for my Spring/Summer Disney trips.

Thanks for the great advice. :)
 
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Okay, so we aren't so good at instructions!!! (unless they come as pictures!!!)

For me - Canon every time!

Kelly - where's the full Kelly tips list? And babies? What??
 
"mcpaul" said:
Okay, so we aren't so good at instructions!!! (unless they come as pictures!!!)

For me - Canon every time!

Kelly - where's the full Kelly tips list? And babies? What??
Click to expand...

Here's the not-so-full-list (tips 18/19/20 are still missing) listed on my friend's blog space http://photographybasics.blogspot.com/

about babies; well, if babies come with instruction manual, it's going to be easier to raise them :D
 
"MickeyBabe" said:
What you two gentlemen fail to realize is that you are talking to a woman. ::) We always read the instructions. ;) (...and ask for directions for that matter) ;D
Click to expand...

as they say in That 70's Show.... that a BURN!
 
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"Kelly Grannell" said:
about babies; well, if babies come with instruction manual, it's going to be easier to raise them :D
Click to expand...

To paraphrase H.I. McDunnough: "Heres the instruction manual" as he tosses a copy of Baby and Child Care into the getaway car.....
 
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