I was curious...

[downtrodden]

Alright- so when i was purchasing my camera it was a toss between the S3 and the A620. My sis had the A620 so i knew the camera already. My decision was down to the zoom and megapixels of each camera vs. cost. For me the decision came down to- could i make up the lack of 12x zoom by using 4x zoom and cropping the LARGER 7mp image down to the composition i wanted and still have a large image for printing. And was doing it this way worth the hundred bucks i'd save.

I ultimately decided the IS would make the 12x zoom pix better anyway and yadda yadda yadda. However, in a different thread i read someone suggesting someone else buy an A620 and do what i thought i'd do and they'd still be able to get the same useable image from a 4x zoom camera at the same 12x zoom distance of the S3. This user also said that the A620 had a larger sensor than the S3 and so should have better picture quality.

I *KNEW* this wouldn't be the case, but i decided to borrow my sis's cam today and set up some tripods outside and my ever wonderful test subject "Charlie"

For my first shot i used the S3 at full telephoto and had the A620 set up on a tripod right next to it at the same height. i tried to get the camera settings as close to identical as possible- ISO 100 was used, 1/160.. and the F numbers were set to the minimal the camera would allow for full zoom.

After i got my shots i took the pix to my computer, the S3 shot filled the fram how i wanted and i cropped down about an inch off the side to make it an 8x10 size, since the A620 would have to be cropped too. I then took the A620 image and selected the same amount of background as the S3 picture and cropped it to 8x10. I took every effort to try to get exactly the same items in both images- to reproduce the image from the S3 using less zoom but larger source image. here are the results.

S3:
http://static.flickr.com/98/236492468_ccdeee22af.jpg
Camera: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 72 mm
Focal Length: 0, 0, 0, 250

A620:
http://static.flickr.com/91/236492470_5677ab9ffe.jpg
Camera: Canon PowerShot A620
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4.1
Focal Length: 29.2 mm
Focal Length: 0, 0, 0, 250

This was not meant to defame the A620 or in anyway put down it's abilities, i was just curious as to whether it could be done. I love the A620 and almost bought it instead of the S3. I will post this in the thread that originally sparked the idea for me. Any comments or anything i may have missed anyone?

Thanks!
Cory

(sorry for the longwindedness)

[BowerR64]

I think you should of used a slower shutter since it was on a tripod. The A620 does not look in focus or somthing. I cant imagine that camera taking that poor of a shot. The IS shot does look alot more crisp but its such a dark shot i cant see hardly any color or anything.

I think it would of been better about 1/50th to 1/60th with all the other same settings. 100 ISO and the larger apature 3.5

[downtrodden]

I will give a slower shutter speed a try on sunday. I wanted a darker picture because i wanted the color in the fourth of july thing, the geese and Charlie to all be what stood out since those were the objects i arranged. i wanted the bush and window sill to kind of drown out. However, if you think the slower shutter will help improve the results i'll give it a shot! and this time i will post before and afters too.. that is one thing i think would have helped.

any other suggestions?

Like i said my point was to show that larger megapixel and cropping will not get you the same results in most cases- as just have the full zoom you need. I think it shows pretty well here even though i did drown out the background colors.