[Canon] A710 IS vs SD900 vs SD1000

[Kdar]

I have been looking at those three cameras.... And cannot decide which one to buy.

SD900 don't have stabilization. Maybe it not such big deal.

I also don't know much about SD1000.... Is it update to SD900... or some older camera?

What would be your choice?

I will take both indoors and outdoors photos.

[griptape]

The entire numbering system with the new Elphs are a nightmare for the consumer. It's all very haphazard. The 800 (or 850 depending on your zoom preference/megapixel needs) is actually the top of the line, while the 1000 is practically a re-make of the SD550, named 1000 probably for marketing purposes, and it's a fine camera, but it's basically bottom of the pile as far as features go.

Canon knows a lot of people buy based on megapixels, because they know most of them don't understand you can stuff as many megapixels as you want on to any sensor. That simply means you're not gaining picture quality, you're only gaining an arbitrary number.

The 8 megapixel with IS (SD850) will be much more useful than the 10 megapixel (SD900) without.

Oh, and the A710 isn't an ultra compact, and it's the Digic II processor instead of Digic III, and a megapixel less. But you do get the nice zoom. So it comes down to what's important to you on that one.

[Kdar]

Hmm..

So the SD800(850) is the top of the line now (for Canon cameras... except G7 probably)?
In terms of image quality. Which is what I care more for (especially when making photos inside.. with people and such). Zoom is not big thing for me....

[griptape]

^Not in image quality, just in the ultra compact range. It might help to understand what actually makes up image quality...

The digic III processor will process all of the information it recieves from the sensor the same way. So difference 1 is the sensor. The bigger it is, the more detail it will capture. Think of it in film terms. If you had an 8" x 10" negative, when you project from it, it will obviously be far crisper with less grainyness than, for instance, 110 film (a very, very small negative). So the larger the sensor, the crisper the image will be.

Difference two is the glass. Canon is very capable when it comes to lenses. So quality difference isn't a huge deal, or something you'll likely notice between the SD series and the A series.

Difference 3 is how much control you're given, and how much you're inclined to mess with the settings. You won't have aperture priority or shutter speed priority with the SD series, and certainly not full manual, but if you don't care to take the time to learn how to properly expose things, or spend a lot of time learning how to use a camera, and will leave it on Auto anyway... However if you do care to take the time to learn, and don't mind the trade off in size, you might be more happy with the A series. I personally feel that the SD series are the better no brainer point and shoots though.

Difference 4 is megapixel, which again, you can put as many pixels as you want into a sensor, but it won't NECCESARILY lead to better looking pictures.

It really comes down to what you're doing with the camera, how much knowledge you have/care to learn about manual controls, and whether or not size is an issue.

Having said all of that, if you're mostly taking indoor pictures of people and such, you might seriously consider Fuji. They're hands down, undisputedly the king of low noise in low light.

[Kdar]

Hmm.. Thanks for mentioning Fuji.

I just looked at review of FinePix F30
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fu...ew/index.shtml
and Noise level is surely low...... I actually impressed

Didn't saw something like this on SD800, DMC-TZ3, or DMC-XL2..

Night shoots from FinePix F30 also looked pretty good.

Do you know if "FinePix F40fd"
http://www.fujifilm.com/products/dig...0fd/index.html

is an upgraded version of F30?

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Also.. This Fuji camera.. seem to not have stabilization.. Do you think it big problem.. or its ok?

[e_dawg]

Fuji F40 is a step down from the F30/31 models. It is fully automatic, and doesn't have as much in the way of manual control that you have with the F30/31.

Ideally, you would have a digicam that has both low noise at high ISO's (Fuji) and optical image stabilization (Canon and Panasonic). But no such compact P&S digicam exists. If you want both, you have to get a dSLR.

Between low noise at high ISO's and OIS, it's a toss-up. Low noise at high ISO's does allow you to use a faster shutter speed, which allows you to capture subjects that are moving. OIS doesn't have that ability, but it does give you 1-2 more stops compared to a low noise sensor if you're willing to use noise reduction software.