Cannon A95 or 520 for first time digi cam

[Gregg]

I am looking to buy my first digital camera and am currently looking at both the Cannon A95 or the A520, The x4 zoom of the 520 is an attraction while the 5 megapixel of the A95 appears its strenght.
I have heard that both these camera's have a bit of a problem with noise can you advise on differences in picture quality.
Also I have seen many comments on the robustness (or lack thereof) of the A95's case has anyone got any feedback on this issue and is the case of the 520 similar?

Thanks

Greg

[Oli-G]

Ive had great experiences with the A95.

I'm known to be pretty picky, and as such i've had no degree of success getting satisfying indoor shots under any setting. Maybe this is picking too much. But the detail in macro shots has been nothing short of stunning, and it has given great results with outdoor night shots at long exposures...

Not sure if this helps, just my experiences. The guide and sample shots on the dcresource site are pretty thorough.

I've dropped the A95 once onto a hardwood floor, with no noticeable blemishes at all, save for a very minor rub mark... and no loss of functionality...

[Newbie]

Depending on what you want to do with the camera, the number of megapixels isn't an issue, I would actually recommend the A510, there isn't a huge difference between 3, 4 and 5mp.

Now, the advantage of the A95 isn't really the 5mp, its more the swivel LCD and the 4AA batteries that give you a better flash recharge time and for some(myself included) prefer that the batteries last longer before recharge even there is 4 instead of 2.

The A510-520 advantage is a little more than just the 4x lens, its the fact that the lens starts at 35mm(instead of 38mm like on the A95) and then the 4x, which makes it go to 140mm(compared to 114mm). The size is also smaller and so is the weight(tho these may not be advantages for everyone). Also, the A510 suffers from less noise problems than the A520(it is also faster.

With that being said, I bought my A95 almost a year ago and I like it very much, independently of the camera you choose, I think you'll get good results. Feel free to have a look at my gallery.