Tough Choice:Canon A95 Vs. Sony Cybershot DSC W1???

[msp]

Hi All,

I am very new to the digital camera world and would appreciate all your advise:

I am confused between Canon A95 Vs. Sony Cybershot DSC W1??? Any advise as to which is better is greatly appreciated.

Also I have read a lot about Canon E18 error, do I heed to that warning or ignore it and buy a canon??

If you have any other camera in mind which are better suited given my needs please feel free to suggest:

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Here is what my digi cam choices are, as requested by a Senior member:
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Budget
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* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

300 $ (assuming I end up paying 100$ more for cards, extra battery etc.)

Size
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* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

compact - point and shoot types

Features
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How many megapixels will suffice for you? 4-5 megapixels

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x)

3x-4x

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

9-10! But want the camera to be last long too:-)

Do you care for manual controls?

No

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

friends and family, outdoors, home-indoors.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

Mostly no, maybe some 8*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 a lot

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

No, I dont care, but I would prefer going with a well known brand

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

A95 and Sony DSC W1 (please suggest some other camera if you feel it shall better serve my purpose)

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
None

Thanks a lot in advance,

-Msp

[jbcm]

As far as the E-18 error I think it has been blown out of proportion. Yes there is no doubt that there is a problem on some of the cameras but how many? There is always a chance of a problem when buying a electronic device. That is why I would strongly recommend an extended warranty. Best Buy seems to be one of the better places to purchase the warranty along with the camera. Most are a 4yr and are very good. As far as which camera Both are a very good camera. My personal opinion is that the Sony's pictures are a little to soft for me. The Canon A 95 is a very good choice and would not be concerned over the E-18 error.

[speaklightly]

I surely agree with jbcm, the dreaded E-18 error has affected only a very, very few Canon cameras. The number is miniscule.

Dolar for dollar you are going to get the biggest bang for your buck with the Canon A-95. In short, it is a great digital camera, and it is very fairly priced as well.

By buying the Canon A-95, you will have extra mon ey to purchase your needed accessories.

Sarah Joyce

[AmandaLussier]

I have gotten that camera error before and the camera was about 2 years old. It came up and the entire camera died on me and there was nothing I could do about it. I liked it before that but I'm weary about buying another Canon b/c I have heard that it's happened to others too.

[speaklightly]

Well, Amanda-

Then perhaps you should consider something like the pentax S5i, which has proved to be a very reliable 5mp, 3X optical zoom digital camera with a great feature set.

Sarah Joyce