Canon A95 and S60

[FAUguy]

Hello,

I have been reading up on the Specs and looking at the reviews & pictures of the A95 and S60
and trying to decided which is the better camera.
They are both about the same price ($380-$400) and are 5MP.
The A95 has the swivel LCD Display, a lot of shooting modes and used AA Batteries.
The S60 has a fixed LCD, a few less shooting modes, but has the 28mm wide lens and Li-Ion Battery.
However, from the reviews of the S60, the 28mm is said to have distortion around the edge of the image.

What I'd basically like to know is which camera is going to give you the better image for the money.
I am going from a Kodak 4100 APS camera that I've owned since APS first came out.
I like the fact that the A95 has a lot of shooting modes built-into it. However, I'm not afraid to
use Manual Modes if I need to. I need a camera that it going to last me 4-5 years without needing to
upgrade all the time.
At a local store, they only had the A75, and the salesman there was trying to sell me the Olympus C-50.
He said it was a 5MP and cost $320. I'm glad that I didn't buy it, because the user reviews of it are not to favorable.

Any help or suggestions between the two would be appreciated.

[Rhys]

Hello,

I have been reading up on the Specs and looking at the reviews & pictures of the A95 and S60
and trying to decided which is the better camera.
They are both about the same price ($380-$400) and are 5MP.
The A95 has the swivel LCD Display, a lot of shooting modes and used AA Batteries.
The S60 has a fixed LCD, a few less shooting modes, but has the 28mm wide lens and Li-Ion Battery.
However, from the reviews of the S60, the 28mm is said to have distortion around the edge of the image.

What I'd basically like to know is which camera is going to give you the better image for the money.
I am going from a Kodak 4100 APS camera that I've owned since APS first came out.
I like the fact that the A95 has a lot of shooting modes built-into it. However, I'm not afraid to
use Manual Modes if I need to. I need a camera that it going to last me 4-5 years without needing to
upgrade all the time.
At a local store, they only had the A75, and the salesman there was trying to sell me the Olympus C-50.
He said it was a 5MP and cost $320. I'm glad that I didn't buy it, because the user reviews of it are not to favorable.

Any help or suggestions between the two would be appreciated.

I'm not going to start by telling you which camera to buy. I'll point out some questions you should ask:
1. Is it important to have AA batteries (which are a universal standard) or a battery specific to one camera model made by one manufacturer?
The upside of a manufacturer's battery is that often one gets more photos between charges. The downside is that they're expensive to replace and might not be available when the manufacturer discontinues that model of camera (which happens every 6 - 12 months).
2. How do the photos taken on the review sites with the two cameras appear to you? Can you see distortion? Did you know that distortion can be corrected in photoshop etc?
3. Have you considered that there are two memory standards that could be considered the memory of the future? One is Compact Flash (due to its cheapness and availability in larger sizes) and the other is Secure Digital (currently not that large). Other standards do exist but these are the two with the brightest future.

[FAUguy]

1) Either way, I'd end up having to buy an extra battery.
If I get the A95, I'll have to buy rechargeable AA, or if
I get the S60, I'll have to get another Li-Ion.
I think the AA is the best bet, because even if you run out
of power, you can always stop somewhere and pick up a
package of AA.

2) I don't have a few hundred $$$ for Photoshop, so the only image
retouching that would be done would be using included S/W with the
camera and printer.
I looked and printed the pics from the A95 and S60 reviews, and they both
look good. The only negative was the blurry areas around the edges on the S60 photos.

3) Both A95 and S60 use CF memory cards. The Olympus C-50 uses XD, which
is extremely overpriced, even though it is much smaller card.

What I'm pretty much looking for is a 4-5MP camera around the $400 price mark.
Camera should have a decent amount of Auto Pre-Set modes, but still will allow you
to use Manual Control if you need it. Most photos will be printed on 4x6 or 5x7 photo paper,
with the occasional print at 8.5x11 or Panorama.
I would like the printed photos to match the closest to the original image in color, saturation, contrast, etc.
Printer being used is an Epson R200 6-Color Photo Printer. It's the same printer as the R300/R300M/R320, except it
does not have the memory card reader built-in. I've had the printer for a week now, and have been using it to
print the sample images. I may consider buying the next version of the R800, since it might have a lower price tag.

[Ausin]

Hi,
I was in the same boat a couple of months ago, S60 is quite an attractive option. When I was buying it was between A80 and S60. I chose A80. It is a bit bigger and heavier but its handling and picture quality and low price (and that fab swivel LCD) the A80 beats S60 (trying lifting them both in the shop and take a photo with one hand !?). I still think for your money it also beats A95 (forget 5mp, same CCD), so don't write it off. But at the end of the day not much between these so make up your mind and buy one and start enjoying them asap...

If you want a smaller and lighter camera in the same league also look at Sony W1, don't want to confuse you more but it is very capable, also pick that up in the shop and try !!!???

A.

[Rhys]

2) I don't have a few hundred $$$ for Photoshop, so the only image
retouching that would be done would be using included S/W with the
camera and printer.
I looked and printed the pics from the A95 and S60 reviews, and they both
look good. The only negative was the blurry areas around the edges on the S60 photos.

Actually Photoshop Elements came bundled with my Nikon 3100. It's quite common to get it on cover disks too.

[BrianC]

The upside of a manufacturer's battery is that often one gets more photos between charges. The downside is that they're expensive to replace and might not be available when the manufacturer discontinues that model of camera (which happens every 6 - 12 months).

Canon has historically been very good about reusing their proprietary batteries. The S30-S70 series all continue to share the same battery (the recent change being a boost in power with no change to form factor), and their DSLRs all use the same batteries that most of their digital camcorders use.

Brian

[FAUguy]

Hi,
the A80 beats S60 (trying lifting them both in the shop and take a photo with one hand !?). I still think for your money it also beats A95 (forget 5mp, same CCD), so don't write it off. If you want a smaller and lighter camera in the same league also look at Sony W1, don't want to confuse you more but it is very capable, also pick that up in the shop and try !!!???

I have heard people in here saying that they like the A80
more than the A85. Why do you like the A80 more than
the A95? In other words...what's so good about the A80
to keep me from buying the newer A95?

As far as the Sony W1 (never tried it)...I have lost faith in the company.
I purchased a Sony HDTV, DVD Player, and several other
electronics from them about 3 years ago and was very
unhappy with them. Returned them all and got
Panasonic/Pioneere Elite/Mits instead.

[im_dragon]

There is nothing about the A80 that's better than the A95 except for the price. I was going to paid $241 (delivered) for the A80 two months ago, when I learned about the A95. I ended up paying $322 (delivered) for the A95 to get the 5 Megapixel.

I disagree with Ausin that the A80 and A95 use the same CCD. As far as I know, the A95 max resolution is 2592x1944. That's 5.04 Megapixels. The A80 max resolution is 2272x1704. That's 3.87 Megapixels. People may think 5.04 is the same as 3.87. I respectfully disagree.

[FAUguy]

There is nothing about the A80 that's better than the A95 except for the price. I was going to paid $241 (delivered) for the A80 two months ago, when I learned about the A95. I ended up paying $322 (delivered) for the A95 to get the 5 Megapixel.

Where did you get the A95 at such a low price?
Pregrabber shows $359 for the lowest they can find, and
$289 for the A80.
I'm glad to see the A95 review will be up here on Sept 6.

[Ausin]

Hi,

The CCD size for both A95 and A80 _IS_ the same 1/1.8" (7.18 x 5.32 mm), this is confirmed on all websites. The lens I think is also the same. More pixels are produced from the same size CCD (unless previously they didn't use all the photodiodes on the CCD !?), for more info see:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=Pixel_Quality

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=Pixels

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=Sensor_Sizes

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glos..._Pixels_01.htm


A.