canon sd600 vs fuji f30

[pavsci03]

i'm in quite the pickle here. I'm ready to buy a digital camera, i've done all the research i need, and have come to two final cameras. I can't seem to find the f30 in any retail store, which bothers me greatly, because as much as i love the technical specs and the photos i see others posting with it, I would like to play around with the product a bit before actually purchasing it (on a side note, anyone seen the f30 in a store in the DC area???). Here the sd600 has an advantage. I did consider the sd630 too, but found that the plastic casing felt much cheaper than the sd600. back to the matter at hand. I like the optical viewfinder on the canon, with the battery being on the low end, i can turn of the lcd in many situations and pump as much out of it as i can. there is no question that the f30 wins in this department, even with the lcd on (as it has to be without an opt viewfinder) it gets nearly 3-4x better battery life. sd600 is cheaper, not only the camera itself, but also accessories like memory cards.
So i guess my question is, what would you all suggest?

[swgod98]

I've been considering the same two camera's for the past 2 weeks. While the F30 takes the cake in the low light department, I wonder just how often I would use that performance. When I take my S2 out (or the old S200), I never think twice about wishing I had higher ISO. I just deal. But, when I take my E550 out, I relish the fact that I can use ISO 200 and 400 without too much noise. I could only imagine what ISO 400 without ANY noise would do for me.

Aside from that fact, I really consider the SD600 a better camera. Now, don't take my word as gospel. I have no experience with either. But, I feel there's a reason the Elph's sell so well.

And it's smaller. I've always wanted my next ultra compact to be more compact than my S200. The F30 is slightly larger, while the SD600 is slightly smaller (thinner, at least).

I would strongly consider the SD700 IS if it weren't so big (in size and in price).

And so it goes...As it was when the F10 was released. I was decisionless for so long that I never bought a replacement. I fear I may do the same thing to myself...again

One of the biggest things holding me back from buying the F30 is that it isn't as small as I wanted. So, if you aren't considering that fact, buy the F30.

P.S. Online pricing shows the F30 slightly higher in price, but if you buy this week you can use the $50 rebate (making it cheaper than the SD600).

[sjseto]

Both have excellent picture quality in most situations. The Canon has the better continuous mode and little or no purple fringing problems. It has a rather short battery life and doesn't fare so well at ISO 400 and above. The Fuji excels at high ISO shooting, has manual control over aperture and shutter speed, and has excellent battery life. But it has some purple fringing problems in areas of high contrast and has limited continuous shooting capability.

I decided on the F30 because I'd already had a lot of experience with its predecessor, the F10, and I felt that its pros far outweighed its cons. You just need to decide which features will be the most important and beneficial to you.

Stephanie

[bascom]

sjseto, are you going to buy the F20 so you have a complete set?

[sjseto]

Originally Posted by bascom

sjseto, are you going to buy the F20 so you have a complete set?

Nope, I already have my hands full with the F30 as it is. If I was going to get another camera so soon, it would probably be something in a different category, like the Nikon D70s or the Panasonic TZ1, but the limited funds prevent me from expanding my digicam collection any more at this point.

Stephanie