Canon SD400 vs. Sony DSC-P200

[Lenny_ks]

I have had a small not so good digital camera until now but I'm going to buy a new one in about a month and I can't still decide which one. I have narrowed it down to 2 cameras:
Canon Powershot SD400, and
Sony DSC-P200

I'm looking for a small powerfull light camera that fits in my pocket and I can take it anywhere I want. I want a very good movie mode too.
These two cameras have 2 great movie modes even though the canon makes .avi which I think is better compared to Sony's quicktime movie (one of my concerns). To have great movies I need at least a 2 GB card (for about 17 minutes with the canon and 24 with sony in the higest movie mode). So buying each one of these with a 2 gb card (SD for canon and memory stick pro for the sony) is about $540 for each - the same for both (360+180 for the canon and 340+200 for the sony)
The P200 has 7 megapixel compared to 5 of the SD400 but this is not such a big deal because I wont be printing such huge photos.
The SD400 is you know CANON and has great color bu in the other hand the sony (based on the many reviews including the review of dcresource.com) has no redeye.
What do you guys think? Please help me
Sincerely
Lenny



p.s. I thought about SD500 too but it's a little heavier than what I want plus it's about $100 more! And if I wouldn't care about the size I would most definitly wait and buy the Canon S2 IS and not care about the price at all ... that is some great camera. There's no other non-professional better camera than the Canon S2 in the market right now, right?

[JTL]

Originally Posted by Lenny_ks

p.s. I thought about SD500 too but it's a little heavier than what I want plus it's about $100 more!

The weight difference is negligible to say the least. And, true, it is $100. more...but, in my opinion, totally worth every penny...you get what you pay for. Compare images and judge for yourself...

[Rex914]

Originally Posted by Lenny_ks

I have had a small not so good digital camera until now but I'm going to buy a new one in about a month and I can't still decide which one. I have narrowed it down to 2 cameras:
Canon Powershot SD400, and
Sony DSC-P200

I'm looking for a small powerfull light camera that fits in my pocket and I can take it anywhere I want. I want a very good movie mode too.
These two cameras have 2 great movie modes even though the canon makes .avi which I think is better compared to Sony's quicktime movie (one of my concerns). To have great movies I need at least a 2 GB card (for about 17 minutes with the canon and 24 with sony in the higest movie mode). So buying each one of these with a 2 gb card (SD for canon and memory stick pro for the sony) is about $540 for each - the same for both (360+180 for the canon and 340+200 for the sony)
The P200 has 7 megapixel compared to 5 of the SD400 but this is not such a big deal because I wont be printing such huge photos.
The SD400 is you know CANON and has great color bu in the other hand the sony (based on the many reviews including the review of dcresource.com) has no redeye.
What do you guys think? Please help me
Sincerely
Lenny



p.s. I thought about SD500 too but it's a little heavier than what I want plus it's about $100 more! And if I wouldn't care about the size I would most definitly wait and buy the Canon S2 IS and not care about the price at all ... that is some great camera. There's no other non-professional better camera than the Canon S2 in the market right now, right?

If you want ultrazoom and great movie mode, the S2 is the way to go. It's a scary thought that a third of the total cost is going into the memory card. If size is really an issue, then you can't do anything about it but... that's just food for thought there.

[Lenny_ks]

well I want the S2 sooo much but it's big and I need a camera that I can take everywhere with me. While the SD500 is not that better then SD400 and plus still has redeye compared to P200, right? .... I even liked the photos more from the SD400 then SD500!!
I hope some more people reply
Lenny


p.s. I guess I put the thread in the wrong place instead of putting it in the WHAT CAMERA SHOULT I BUY .... the moderators could move it I guess

[SamuraiJack]

Originally Posted by Lenny_ks

I even liked the photos more from the SD400 then SD500!!
)

There you go then, you just answered your question. Buy the SD400.

-Wes

[Lenny_ks]

Originally Posted by SamuraiJack

There you go then, you just answered your question. Buy the SD400.

-Wes

yea my question is resolved when it comes to between sd400 and 500 but then p200 is very tempting

is someone else going to post here and help me decide?!!!!

[emalvick]

Originally Posted by Lenny_ks

...And if I wouldn't care about the size I would most definitly wait and buy the Canon S2 IS and not care about the price at all ... that is some great camera. There's no other non-professional better camera than the Canon S2 in the market right now, right?

For completeness, I'd say the Panasonic FZ series is better than the Cannon S2 IS. Canon has just made an attempt to catch the Panasonic FZ20, which will probably step up to a new model this summer or early fall. It is as close to professional as you can get without being professional.

Erik

[ReF]

another 2 things to consider: buying the sony means investing all that $$$ into 2gigs of memory that can only be used with sony products. i think that will be a bit limiting in the future when you decide to buy another camera. SD cards are used in almost everything now, even certain entry level d-slrs

on the other hand, the manual controls(though limited) on the sony should come in pretty handy.

[Rex914]

Originally Posted by emalvick

For completeness, I'd say the Panasonic FZ series is better than the Cannon S2 IS. Canon has just made an attempt to catch the Panasonic FZ20, which will probably step up to a new model this summer or early fall. It is as close to professional as you can get without being professional.

Erik

I wouldnt make any judgements about a model that hasn't even hit the market yet. I'd actually be inclined to think that a bump up to 8 Megapixels would be worse for Panasonic. None of the 8 MP cameras so far have been spectacular in the image quality department and that's not changing any time soon since they all work off the same common component. However, if Panasonic goes to 7 MP, that's fine. What else could they improve at this point besides the sensor and maybe the LCD and EVF? It pretty much has everything else you could want. I don't see the lens getting an upgrade any time soon, but I'd like to be proven wrong. Maybe we'll see a 15x lens.

[Lenny_ks]

Originally Posted by ReF

another 2 things to consider: buying the sony means investing all that $$$ into 2gigs of memory that can only be used with sony products. i think that will be a bit limiting in the future when you decide to buy another camera. SD cards are used in almost everything now, even certain entry level d-slrs

on the other hand, the manual controls(though limited) on the sony should come in pretty handy.

you're right that's one of my concerns too
but the sony has stronger flash for indoor pic. (which I will do a lot) and no redeye (which I know is not such a big problem, with picasa2 ) and 7 MP and also it has 24 minutes of video not 17 like canon in 2 gigs. In the other hand I have seen so many pictures from many many Canon's and I am sure that canon has the best colors indeed.

and about the Panasonic FZ series ... none of them has a good video mode .. only 320x240 ... I don't want that .. if a camera doesn't have a 640x480 30fps video I don't even consider it .... I hope we will have camera with 800x600 30fps in the near future ... and also with 15-20x opt. zoom