justin83
08-28-2004, 03:21 PM
Hi. I've been shooting with digital cameras for years now, my first was a Sony Mavica FD51, and then I upgraded to a FD73 when the 51 was stolen...anyway, my FD73 is a bit outdated now, and I have been looking to purchase a new digital camera. I purchased the Mavicas because I wanted an easy storage medium (3.5 floppy) and the 10x optical zoom was also great. I was also lucky and was able to snag them under or at $350.
I've been heavily considering the Cannon PowerShot S1 IS or the Sony DSC-W1, I've read that these cameras were to directly compete with each other. I chose these two for their comparable prices. But there are a few things that I don't really know about, and if anyone can help me out I would appreciate it.
Shutter speed is very important to me, I like to take many action shots, and I am not sure what the 15 1/2000 on the Cannon versus the 30 1/1000 on the Sony shutter speeds translates to. Which one will capture the pictures faster, and be ready to shoot again quickly? The Mavicas were quite slow in the writting to the disk and shutter speed, so this feature is very important to me.
I really like the 10x optical zoom on the Cannon, I havent used anything less then that for as long as I can remember, so I really don't know how big a difference the 3x zoom on the Sony is, and I've also read some reviews that when zooming in the Cannon can take a while to focus.
As to picture resolution I don't really plan on using the maximums, but I have read and seen pictures that the Cannon sometimes gives the "purple fringe" effect. I'd like to avoid that. I also have a very shaky hand, and was wodnering if the Cannons IS system will avert much of that, from what I've read it is a superior stabilization system, and I would benefit from that greatly.
I don't care much for the software and the viewfinders, software I have a-plenty and viewfinders have always seemed to me a way to feel more important about yourself (though the swivel on the Cannon can protect the viewfinder while traveling, seems like a great plus)...anyway, one other thing I do care about is battery life. I wind up in a small prediciment here, the Sony is clearly advantagageous as it comes with re-chargables, but my family has a habbit of touching things and losing things that aren't theirs like batteries and battery chargers. I'm not sure on the price point of such batteries, however if it is under or about $30 for the charger abd batteries, I'd be sold on buying that to make up for the Cannons lack thereof, and it could be replaced if lost for a small ammount of money.
I don't plan on using the video function at all, this camera will be strictly for photos. Which brigns me to the point, am I even looking at the right cameras? I need to keep my budget at $400 for the camera, not including things like batteries, case, bigger memory card...
Well, I'm pretty sure those are all my questions/concerns. Any help is greatly appreciated.
I've been heavily considering the Cannon PowerShot S1 IS or the Sony DSC-W1, I've read that these cameras were to directly compete with each other. I chose these two for their comparable prices. But there are a few things that I don't really know about, and if anyone can help me out I would appreciate it.
Shutter speed is very important to me, I like to take many action shots, and I am not sure what the 15 1/2000 on the Cannon versus the 30 1/1000 on the Sony shutter speeds translates to. Which one will capture the pictures faster, and be ready to shoot again quickly? The Mavicas were quite slow in the writting to the disk and shutter speed, so this feature is very important to me.
I really like the 10x optical zoom on the Cannon, I havent used anything less then that for as long as I can remember, so I really don't know how big a difference the 3x zoom on the Sony is, and I've also read some reviews that when zooming in the Cannon can take a while to focus.
As to picture resolution I don't really plan on using the maximums, but I have read and seen pictures that the Cannon sometimes gives the "purple fringe" effect. I'd like to avoid that. I also have a very shaky hand, and was wodnering if the Cannons IS system will avert much of that, from what I've read it is a superior stabilization system, and I would benefit from that greatly.
I don't care much for the software and the viewfinders, software I have a-plenty and viewfinders have always seemed to me a way to feel more important about yourself (though the swivel on the Cannon can protect the viewfinder while traveling, seems like a great plus)...anyway, one other thing I do care about is battery life. I wind up in a small prediciment here, the Sony is clearly advantagageous as it comes with re-chargables, but my family has a habbit of touching things and losing things that aren't theirs like batteries and battery chargers. I'm not sure on the price point of such batteries, however if it is under or about $30 for the charger abd batteries, I'd be sold on buying that to make up for the Cannons lack thereof, and it could be replaced if lost for a small ammount of money.
I don't plan on using the video function at all, this camera will be strictly for photos. Which brigns me to the point, am I even looking at the right cameras? I need to keep my budget at $400 for the camera, not including things like batteries, case, bigger memory card...
Well, I'm pretty sure those are all my questions/concerns. Any help is greatly appreciated.