S60/S70 vs. A95....S1IS?

[rebsblack]

Any thoughts on these two cameras? Most photos would be taken while hiking in the backcountry and while travelling overseas. I was hoping for a big zoom but don't knowif that's entirely necessary...hence I have also looked at the S1IS (but it's 3MP is scaring me away). Any opinions would be helpful. thanks...Rebecca

[lowkl]

For me, a superzoom is invaluable for travel photography. The flexibility to frame shots from less than perfect positions far outweighs the value of higher MPs. Of course with such a long lens, you would need a tripod or at least Image Stabilization. A flip out LCD might give you good extra high or extra low shots, and a whole bunch of intuitive manual controls would allow lots of creative shots.

Hmm... waitaminute... that sounds like *gasp!* the S1!!

What do you do that needs the higher MP, btw? 3+MP makes flawless 4x6 prints, and I understand pretty good 8x10s.

[Rhys]

Any thoughts on these two cameras? Most photos would be taken while hiking in the backcountry and while travelling overseas. I was hoping for a big zoom but don't knowif that's entirely necessary...hence I have also looked at the S1IS (but it's 3MP is scaring me away). Any opinions would be helpful. thanks...Rebecca


Why does 3mp scare you? I standardised on 3mp deliberately. I calculated that since most printers do A4 (near enough 8.5 x 11) and few do A3 that there wasn't really much point in having a camera that'd take pictures to much higher resolution that can be printed well at A4. With a 10x zoom, I crop in camera rather than post-camera but then, as a former slide photographer, I already compose my images precisely as I need them in order to eliminate cropping.

It also strikes me that A4 is the biggest size that it's comfortable to place in an album and that A4 does look quite nice on a wall. A3 is better on a wall but how many can you hang on the wall of the average home?

While I like the idea of more and more memory card capacity and ever increasing megapixels, I do feel that for the average user (IE me) there's not a lot of point in getting larger or more. Sure, if I was doing landscape photography and wanted something a lot bigger then I'd go for something else. Having said that, I'd probably be looking more at medium and large format photography anyway for that.

[rebsblack]

As I'm leaving the country in less than a week, I will needto purchase soon. Any ideas out there on when Canon MAY announce an S2 that itseems folks have been talking about? That would eliminate most of my MP concerns. Otherwise....any mor comparisons between the A95 and S60/70 would be appreciated. Thanks to all who have given info already!

[speaklightly]

Rebsblack-

Canon announced today (01/20) the introduction of the A-510 a 4X optical zoom, 3mp replacement for the Canon A-75. There is most probably no reason to expect any further announcements this week.

It is time to act. You cannot go wrong with the S-1 IS, the Pansonic FZ-3 or the A-85/95 or the S-50/60/70 cameras. Please just keep in mind that the A series cameras are more rugged than the S series cameras.

Sarah Joyce