Canon SD800

[Sandbob]

I had posted quite some time ago, and had settled on buying either the Canon SD600 or the SD630. I never did get to buy a camera, but a friend bought the SD630 and raves about it. Now that those models are discontinued, I am looking at the SD series, and have found an SD800 on close out at a nearby Office Depot for $249.99. I have done alot of research and I think that this is a good price. If I remember correctly the SD1000 is the former SD600 and the SD750 is the former SD630, which is the camera I was going to buy until I found this deal. Is the SD800 a better camera than the 750? I am sold on a Canon, and pretty much have decided on an SD. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I thought I had read that the 800 was the top of the line SD. Where does the 800 fall in the pecking order.

[David Metsky]

The SD800 has the 28mm wide angle lens as its big selling feature. If that's not important to you, you can others slightly cheaper. It is important to me, and I just bought one, but I paid slightly more then you.

[Sandbob]

I am not all that interested in the wide angle lense; however, I think the SD 750 is around the same price that I can get the 800 for, perhaps even more, so I thought why not get the 800. I think the best I can do on the 750 around here is $299.

[sjseto]

The SD800 IS also has an optical viewfinder and image stabilization, both of which the SD750 lack. In my opinion, the SD800 IS the camera with better specs. It's an older camera than the SD750 (and Canon recently announced the 8-megapixel SD870 IS, which has the same 28-105mm lens but no optical viewfinder), so that might be why you can get it for less now.

Stephanie

[Sandbob]

Well, when something seems too good to be true, it usually is. I went back to Office Depot where the SD800 was $249.99. It was not on display, so I asked to see the camera, even though I had already seen it at Circuit City. The salesperson brought it out, and everything was in a large manila envelope. There was no box. I asked if someone had brought it back, and was told no, and that it was a display model. I got a bad feeling about all that, so passed. In trying the 800, the 750, and the TZ3, I was really impressed by the zoom on the TZ3, I would like to take pics of the kids in their school plays etc. and when they are in the third and fourth row, a good zoom would be nice. The TZ3 is rather pricey compared to the other two. I have been researching for quite some time and really need to get a camera. Knowing that the 800 is an older model than the 750, I may just opt for the 750, knowing full well that I'd love the Panasonic. Not being much of a picture taker, it is hard to make a decision. When spending $250-$350, I want to get a camera that I will be happy with. Somebody please help, and suggest which would be best.

[David Metsky]

If you aren't interested in the Wide Angle, don't bother with the SD800. Do you care about IS or an optical viewfinder? If so, the 750 doesn't sound like the model for you. I won't buy a camera without and optical viewfinder, but I don't think too many people have that as a dealbreaker.

More zoom is good, but you may not be able to take pictures of kids in the school plays because there simply won't be enough light. The flash won't reach that far, and you'll have to push the ISO up so high that the images will be very noisy. For that you'll want to look for a camera that has good high ISO performance, like the Fuji S6000, which is much larger then the TZ3.

[Sandbob]

The view finder is not a deal breaker for me. I can't see without those darn glasses anyway, so the larger screen would be good. I thought the Panasonic TZ3 was a little larger than I would like, so one that is larger would not work for me. I have a Canon G-2 Power Shot, and really don't use it much because it is a bit big, and can't be put into a purse etc. I just want something that is easy to take with me, and a camera that will take decent pics of the kids, the dogs, and just everyday family picture taking. I hear what you are saying about the kids in plays. I saw someone taking a pic and noticed how he could zoom in. I didn't see the end result, and, as you say, there was probably not enough light. Sooo, should I go with the 800? the newer 850?

[David Metsky]

I doesn't sound like the 800 would make much sense, as you're not interested in the wide angle lens. If you want IS, look at the SD850. If you don't care about IS, the SD1000.

[Sandbob]

Wouldn't I be better off to get one with IS? I hadn't looked at the 1000 because I figured it was the low end of the series. I kind of like the bigger 3"screen", which is why I like the 750. I'll check out the 850. How do you like the 800 that you have? I really liked that skin that you mentioned for $15. It sounded like a great item.

[David Metsky]

It's been shipped, it hasn't arrived yet. :)