Canon A720 or Sony DSC-W55?

[CamS]

This is my newbie question and would appreciate any feedback/advice:

I want to get a cam and it will be primary used for taking family/kids shots. I have narrowed my choice down to 2 models of cameras:

Canon A720IS
Sony DSC-W55

I understand both are good cams therefore the advantages of each cam I listed below are only relative to each other.
As I already have a 2 GB SanDisk SD card, rechargeable battery + charger, the out of pocket expense of these 2 models is about the same to me:
Here are the features that I like for each of the cam:

Sony W55:

Durable metal body.
Better indoor performance: (Some say A720 has a longer shutter lag when indoors)
Better movie mode (W55 do a better compression job than the A720)
Better continuous/burst shooting mode (?)
Better battery life.
Faster flash recharge between shots.

Canon A720:

6 x optical zoom. (I don’t have to run towards my kids for a shot :-)
Better/sharper image quality
Optical IS (does this make a big difference relative to W55?)
AV cable already included for TV playback
Manual modes (I’d LOVE to explore the wonder of photography, however in all honesty, It maybe a long time before I get a chance to try the manual modes. Again, I will mainly use to for family kids shot)

Again I would appreciate your advice.

[AndyfromVA]

With the Canon, you would be able to use your SD card. Not so with the Sony.

Also, the Canon's battery life is great if you use the right rechargeable batteries.

Another thing to consider is that Canon's manual controls give you tremendous flexibility. With a little practice, you can get good shots under most lighting conditions, which would be impossible with the Sony.

Finally, the Canon has optical image stabilization but the Sony does not.

The Canon A720IS is a far more versatile camera than the Sony W55.

[David Metsky]

And while the Canon movie compression is not the greatest, SD memory cards are exceedingly cheap these days and the movie quality is excellent.

The Canon burst mode is actually slightly better then the Sony's (1.3 vs 1 fps).

The W55 is a pure P&S, but a good one. However, the W80/90 or W200 would be a better choice, IMO.

The Canon is a more all around camera with manual controls and is certainly more capable in the long run. But it's bigger.

[ooverdrive]

Always better to choose one with manual controls....may be useful for your kids to learn a new hobby in the future.

[CamS]

thanks guys, what you've pointed out are all good points.
for manual shooting basics, this there a good photography "101" site out there or the A720 user manual will be suffice?

Cheers

CamS

[faisal]

A W80/90 more of a compedition to the A720 then the W55...being used both I'd say they both are equally matched as per there abilities.

The W90 is a more slim, lighter package with a standard zoom of 3x and decent IQ that performs well in all situations that is required from a P&S. The A720 with the added manual functions is great but its time consuming to get the right settings (unlike a DSLR) and with limited ISO, I find the manual functions not a life saver. Its 6x zoom is great and IQ is again decent. I prefer my W90 over the A720 due to sheer slimness and easy to use in situations where I dont care about perfect images. It all comes down to preference in the end though....

[JTL]

thanks guys, what you've pointed out are all good points.
for manual shooting basics, this there a good photography "101" site out there or the A720 user manual will be suffice?

Cheers

CamSKnow your user guide/know your camera! That's the only way you can make sense of how to apply your lessons. But, the user guide only explains how to use the camera...not the basics of photography.

So, here's a decent set of "photography 101" tutorials to get you started:

http://www.photoxels.com/digital-photography-tutorials.html