help me choose f31fd/f40fd or canon sd900/950

[emagine]

i currently own a sd550 and would like to upgrade. i am looking at the fuji f31fd/f40fd or canon sd900/950. the camera will be mainly used on vacations for both day and nite shots. i am a novice so i would like to take it out of my pocket and just shoot away but i am willing to learn. i will be using the new camera for next years olympic opening ceremony, silk road trip and tibet. budget is under $500 and the size should compact to ultra compact. image quality and color will be of most importance.

[David Metsky]

Canon SD850 would be my choice for an all around camera even though you didn't mention it specifically. The Fujis excel at low light, but it doesn't sound like much of your shooting will be at low light.

From the stands at the Olympic opening ceremonies don't expect to get great shots with any of these, things will just be too far away. Flash will be useless, but the Fujis will allow you to keep the shutter speed faster and capture better images.

The problem with all of these choices is that they all take proprietary Li-Ion batteries. On a trip like this, where you may be a long way from a recharger, a camera that uses AAs could come in handy in a pinch. You can carry some extra sets of heavy duty or lithium AAs to keep you going until you can plug in again. If you stick with these choices, the Canons have an optical viewfinder which will allow you to turn off the LCD and save battery power. It may be the only way to keep shooting on a long trip away from the electrical grid.

-dave-

[speaklightly]

emagine-

In view of your projected uses, you might want to consider the Canon A-720IS, the Canon A-650IS, or if camera size is really a high priority, take a look at the Olympus Stylus 780.

Sarah Joyce

[emagine]

how about the panny tz3? how is the noise level, image quality, vividness, day, nite & indoor shots compared to the canon sd550? will it be an upgrade or not? will the f40 or f31 be better than my old sd550? again noise level, image quality, vividness, day, nite & indoor shots. i keep thinking about the f31 since it so hard to get and read many good things.

[Rooz]

no canon compact performs as well from a noise point of view or has better indoor/ low light performance than the fuji's.