Help!! Which Camera Canon A95, Canon IXUS500 (S500), Sony DSC-W1 or W5???

sunil31 · #1 03-08-2005, 10:29 PM

I have been trying to decide for last 15 days which camera to buy. I've read through the forum and numerous reviews on many cameras. Now i am totally confused. But I have narrowed down my searching. Please help me to find out a decent camera.

How many megapixels will suffice for you? * only 5 mp

What optical zoom will you need? 3x to 4x is fine

How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10): Very important 9 or 10

Do you care for manual controls? I'm new to digital, but want to learn

What will you generally use the camera for? Family photos
baby photos

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? most of the time no, but occasionally an 8 x 10

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Yes

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not now, but I will love to do it

Are there particular brands you like or hate? I like Sony, Canon and Nikon

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Yes

Canon PowerShot A95
Canon IXUS 500 (may be Canon S 500. Is both are same??)
Sony Cybershot DSC-W1
Sony Cybershot DSC-W5

Any other camera in those model can be considered, if it is good.

Thank you,

Sunil

ProblemSolver · #2 03-08-2005, 10:56 PM

The Ixus 500 and S500 are exactly the same, except for what it's called. The W5 is not that good compared to the W1 because of the lower resolution screen and useless 32 MB builtin memory.

The W1 has a large 2.5" LCD while the A95 has a smaller 1.8" LCD, but has a flipout feature - Great for low/high shots. Both have heaps of manual controls and lens thread.

The camera that I would suggest is the new Ixus 50 (SD400). It has 5 MP, a moderate 2.0" LCD and is super fast (Has a better processor than the A95 and S500). It's also the world's third camera that can take movies at a whooping 60 FPS! (After it's predessessors, the Ixus 30 and Ixus 40)

If you're thinking about recording movies for more than 10 minutes, choose the Ixus 50. It has more flexibility when it comes to movies than the W5 and W1. And since it can record movies up to the capacity of the card, it is way better than the A95 and S500 which can do only up to 3 minutes per movie.

sunil31 · #3 03-09-2005, 04:08 AM

Hi Problemsolver,

Thanks for the quick reply and valuable suggestions. Actually I am from India and SD400 has not been launched yet here. I have not found any review on any of the good digital cameras sites. Its new camera and it will take time to launch in India and reviewed by experts. I am beginner in the digital world.

I don't want movie feature in digital camera. Because I have Sony DCR-HC40E handycam. I am fully satisfied with that handycam. So it doesn't matter to me if movie recording is exist in the camera or not. If its there, its good.

I have read your comments and press release of SD400 and found its a good camera. Is it available in Duabi or Singapore? If yes, I can tell to my friends to buy from there. He is coming on 12th of this month.

So any other suggestion on this camera or other camera?

Thanks

Sunil

Digideb · #4 03-09-2005, 09:53 AM

Sunil, Another thing that may help you decide is reading the "User Comments" on the cameras you're considering.
I almost chose the Sony W-1, but complaints of "fuzzy pix" changed my mind, so you might want to read some of the comments on this forum about that.
My choice was an Olympus C-60 Zoom, but my camera needs are a bit different than yours. I shoot mostly outdoors, using macro for sm. flowers, etc. & also landscapes & other scenery.
Good luck in your search!

sunil31 · #5 03-10-2005, 05:41 AM

Digideb, I have read that picture is not so good of W1. Thanks for your suggestion Olympus digicam but I want to stick with Sony or Canon only. there is one more reason that in India, there is not a good service support of other cameras except Sony, Canon and Panasonic.

One of my friend is coming from Dubai within 2-3 days. he asked me that he will bring the digicam for me but he needs the model no. of camera. He told me that in Dubai rates are less than other countries even India. So I am planning to buy the digicam from dubai. But I am not able to choose a good camera.

Please help me, if possible.

Thanks

Sunil

skorpian_guy · #6 03-13-2005, 08:25 PM

Hi Sunil,

I am looking for a camera exactly for the same needs as you explained. Could you please tell me if you decided on any particular camera? I almost decided on Sony DSC-W5 but hold on to it at the last minute.

I appreciate your response.

Thanks,
Santhosh

sunil31 · #7 03-14-2005, 05:43 AM

Hi Santhosh,

I have chosen Canon IXUS 50 which ProblemSolver suggested me. I have told to my friend to bring this camera. It uses DIGIC II processor to make it faster. It has 2.0" screen. If it is not available in Dubai then he will bring the Canon Powershot A95.

Canon Powershot A95 is a excellent camera but few drawbacks like USB 1.1 (now 2.0 is available but u can purchase card reader), date can print only on 1640 x ..... (I have forgotten the exact resolution) and with this camera I suppose canon is not providing the battery charger. I have read the photo quality is excellent of this camera. So I have given it a second choice.

I have read in reviews that photo quality is not so good of DSC-W5, so I am not going to purchase this camera.

So best of luck for searching the good camera (as I know sometimes it is very difficult to select the right one). Let me know which camera u buy, if possible. I will also post the same.

Sunil

skorpian_guy · #8 03-14-2005, 07:01 PM

Hi Sunil,

Thank you for your reply. Now, I am considering Nikon Coolpix 4800 as it is in the top 5 list of PC World and I am really impressed with the testing procedures they follow. I will definitely update this thread once I decide on one camera.

I am sure you might have gone through this, but just in case..

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,119582,00.asp

Thanks,
Santhosh

sunil31 · #9 03-15-2005, 09:41 AM

Hi Santosh,

Today I have bought Canon Powershot A95 and I found its picture quality is excellent. But Its little bit big and heavy. I was thinking that it should be similar as Nikon 5100 (as I have not seen canon in the store earlier).

I have read Nikon 4800 review (as i did not read its review earlier because I wanted only 5.0 MP camera) and its great. And I am really impressed with its optical zoom which is 8.3X. In its class even higher MP camera is not providing this much of zoom. If I get this before I would have bought this camera. But now nothing can be done.

My little suggestion is just go through the 4800 reviews from other sites and users then take any decision. Before buying it, just go to store and feel the camera.

Anyway I am overall satisfy with A95's image quality without changing any setting. I will upload its images and let u know.

Please let me know about your decision.

Thanks

Sunil