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Wanted: New digital camera... dead or aliiiiive

ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
My first instinct on pretty much any new tech purchase is to check out Cnet's reviews to get an idea of what to look at.

Their first page of reviews in the $200-$300 price range is pretty straightforward.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6501_7-0.html?filter=100021_10061972_&tag=dffl1_6&sort=edRating7+desc
The Sony Cyber-shot, or the Cannon PowerShot

I'll be using this for general point and shoot, I have no photography experience worth mentioning, and plan on shooting and storing at the maximum quality. The last digital camera I had was damn near 6 or 7 years ago. Is it safe to assume that 8 MP is good enough for me? I don't think I'll want to blow something up to a canvas sized image, but you know, quality and all that. I have a video camera, so that ability is pretty moot to me.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-dsc/4505-6501_7-32331737.html?tag=pdtl-list
http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-sd850-is/4505-6501_7-32441340.html?tag=pdtl-list

What are the important difference between these two? My initial worry is the Sony name honestly. I never really liked any of their bulky software, and that whole proprietary media format thang they do. Other than that... fuck if I know the difference here. The reviews basicly say that the Sony is smaller and is quicker on the photo taking. But if the software is required and bloaty and obnoxious and the memory is expensive et all, then it's not worht it. Does anyone have experiences with these?

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Posts

  • taliosfalcontaliosfalcon Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I'd go with the canon, they have much better support than sony, it doesn't use memory sick duos which are overpriced pieces of crap and it has an optical viewfinder, which is great for both preserving battery life and taking pictures in bright direct sunlight

    Also, as long as your not planning on blowing images up to huge sizes, lower MP is probably better, it means less noise in low light higher ISO photos

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  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator Mod Emeritus
    edited December 2007
    I stopped trusting CNet after the whole Gerstmann/Gamespot fiasco (Gamespot being owned by CNet). I would check reviews from a site that's not owned by its advertisers.

    Personally, I would go with Canon over Sony because Canon is a camera company and Sony is an electronics company. Also, Nikon is a pretty good camera brand, if you find something in your price range that you like.

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  • imbalancedimbalanced Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I got the girl I'm dating a Casio Exilim, and she reeeaaaaaally likes it. Seems like they get good marks too. The one I got is like this one on Newegg, but it was red instead of black.

    casio_ex_z1080_main.jpg
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830124040

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  • MKRMKR Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    This is the camera I bought. I went through about 30 reviews, and the only real dislikes the reviews bring up seem to be that one of the control wheels (the one on the back) takes a little practice, and anything over ISO400 tends to be noisy.

    The summaries range from "Rocks for the price" and "Great for when you can't carry your DSLR with you."

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  • WeretacoWeretaco Cubicle Gangster Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    good place to check is www.steves-digicams.com for reviews

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  • PheezerPheezer Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited December 2007
    Go with the Canon. You'll be able to use memory cards that cost about 1/2 of what a Sony Memory Stick will. Also if Sony stops supporting Memory Stick, that camera becomes pretty obsolete pretty quick, while Canon only uses open standards based memory formats (SD and CF)

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  • krapst78krapst78 Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    I recently bought the Sony T2 and I was able to easily transfer photos and movies without installing any of the software. Windows basically recognizes the camera's storage as a removable USB drive. For a true ultra compact point and click camera, I would totally recommend the Sony T-series. They are extremely portable (it's around half the size of my DS-lite and weighs around the same with the battery in) and are quick to shoot from the moment you turn the camera on until the first shot is taken.

    If you don't need the 5x optical zoom on the T100, you might want to look at the new t70 which has the touchscreen LCD. It also has a "smile shutter" feature which automatically takes a picture when someone smiles, although this is much more of a gimmick than something I've actually used. The only real caveat I have against Sony is their use of the relatively expensive proprietary Memory Stick format. However, Sony products are pretty ubiquitous these days so it's not too hard to find support for Memory Stick. I was impressed enough with the T70 that I've bought 3 of them as gifts for my siblings.

    The best thing to do is to actually go to the store and try out the cameras. It was there that I was able to test out how quick the camera was in taking the first picture that convinced me to go with the Sony over the Olympus, Canon, and Fuji (which on the other hand had awesome face detection).

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