Confused about Pentax Optio 5Si or Canon SD300 or Canon SD500?

[Brenda_sheldon]

Hi:

I am looking for a ultra compact camera (slip in to pocket or purse) that I can use to capture the smile on someone's face before it fades and below are my order of priorities:

1) Image Quality - 10
2) Indoor / low light pictures as well as outdoor - 8-10
3) Be able to print 8" X 10" pictures
4) Some manual focus desired
5) Don't mind spending up to $500 - $600
6) 4 - 5 mega pixels
7) Don't care much for movie clip.....

I tried Sony DSC-W5 - what I saw when I shot the picture is diffrent from what it captured, even though I liked the fact that it can be operated on AA batteries.

I have narrowed my choice to one of the above three... I would appreciate any help on deciding which one I should go with...or are there other recommendations?

Thanks in advance...
Brenda :confused:

[MrForgetable]

SD300's pictures are OK. Mediocre. Normal. Not bad, not good. Granted I haven't been taking many pictures in daylight (just got the camera yesterday) I suggest you get something else if your priority is photo quality.

I say a S410 or S500 is good for you. Photo quality in those two babies are top notch, but they are a little bigger and heavier (and a tad bit slower) than the SD300. I think it'd be worth it if your main thing is picture quality.

But if you like a fast camera, I must say the SD300 and SD200 are amazing. They both startup very quickly. In no time at all.

There is literally no shutter lag (the time you press the shutter release to the time the shutter releases). The menus are snappy. Everything about the SD300 is snappy. The video quality is top notch, but I don't think I will use it much either. Of course, the photo quality is quite mediocre for the price range, but you pay for the speed and the tinyness of this camera.

Also, the SD300 does not come with manual focus.

[olias]

I'd go with the just released SD500 which is ultra-compact but comes with better flash range than the other two on your list.

[speaklightly]

The Pentax Optio S5i has better photo quality than the Canon Sd series, and fully automatic or manual controls as well.

Sarah Joyce

[Brenda_sheldon]

Sarah,

I was also leaning towards the Optio 5Si, I was just concerned with the response time...in some reviews I read that it is not as fast capturing the shot..(I had that kind of problem with the DSC-W5 - I thought I took a picture of my son smiling but the real shot turned be him closing his eyes and doing some thing else...) Will I run in to similar problem with the optio? Or is there an alternate way to overcome that in the Optio?

Thanks to all the others also for responding to my queries.

Brenda :confused: