sony t33, canon sd400 or sd 500?

[theDane]

Hi!

Considering the above stated cameras, but I am not quite sure about which one to choose.

Will the SD500 be woth the extra money? Is it possible that the 7MP will be a disadvantage when making regular size images and because I will use a higher compression with this camera? (like what is the best image: one 5MP on 1.5 Mb or one 7MP on 1.5Mb?)


Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.
-The SD500 is the abolute max price.

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?
-MUST fit nicely into a pocket.

Features

*How many megapixels will suffice for you?*
- not quite sure. Don't know if I will benefit from the 7MP.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
- Guess I have to stick with 3x zoom in this size camera.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
- Really important (9). Most important after the above stated price and size.


*Do you care for manual controls?*
Only if they can improve the image quality. otherwise the automatic is fine.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
- holiday photos

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
A few (say 5 in the lifetime of the camera) if I make a really nice shot.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
- 30% will be indoor.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
- not a lot. not important

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
-No

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
- yep, t33, sd 400 and sd 500 - but shoul I consider others?

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

Don't think so. stabilizer could be nice though.

Hope for a fast reply since I have to decide by monday.

best regards. :D

Martin

[JTL]

There is no comparison at any print size between the SD500 and the other two cameras you mntioned. It simply produces better images...

[kimnicho]

Basically, if you can afford the SD500, it is by far, the best of the bunch. Unlike the SD400 which is basically the same as the SD300 (but with MORE Noise), the SD500 has a much bigger flash range which is great for indoor shots as well as other improvements....Also, check out Panasonic Z7 ultracompact - besides less than stellar battery life, it has image stabilization and supposed to produce excellent Indoor pictures.

[raven15]

I just tried out the the SD500 and SD400 and a few Sony's in a store a few hours ago, and the SD500 seemed by far the best of that camera size. It is also much easier to hold than the SD400 because of it's slightly different shape and size. Unfortunately, it is too much $$$ for me.

[theDane]

Thank you for the answers (more are welcome :) )
You mention the panasonic z7. Can't find that, but I find a fx7 - is that it?

How would the general image quality of the fx7 be compared the sd500? It is quite cheaper :D

[Duwenbasden]

FX7 - Optical IS.
SD500 - better resolution, still quality, and better movie mode.

[kimnicho]

YES-it's the FX7 - sorry....here is a link to pbase.com - you can search Random Posted Pics by Camera which I found useful-----I believe the quality should be very similar although the FX7 is 5 mpg - I have a 7 mpg but I find it too large most times and set it to 5 MP anyway :rolleyes:

http://www.pbase.com/cameras