canon digital cameras

[jcrow]

so i already have a Canon PowerShot S110 Digital Elph 2.1 Megapixel camera. i thought it was just fine and dandy UNTIL i saw mara''s new SD550 and those amazing J shots! i realized mine isn''t up to par, and maybe it''s time to upgrade. i mean, we have a fabulous honeymoon coming up that we need fantastic pictures of, ya know??

we''ve been doing some research and so far we are down to two models. the canon SD630 & canon SD550. i would get the SD630 handsdown BUT it''s only 6.0 megapixels where as the SD550 is 7.1. i just don''t get why the newer model has less megapixels.

anyone have any feedback? thoughts? opinions?

 

[Sundial]

I don''t know anything about the latest Canon, but I LOVE my SD550!!!

 

[jcrow]

i don''t know anyone who has the 630 either. i know several people on PS have the 550. i assume the 630, since it''s a newer model, would be a step up. but i hate to assume that without any feedback ya know?

 

[Sundial]

Have you tried searching the web for reviews of the new model? I am confused myself as to why it would have fewer megapixels.

 

[Mara]

jcrow i looked at the newer models too but they all had less MP for more $$! so i was like well that''s lame, no way.

i looked at a few camera review sites and they pointed out the differences between the different models which was pretty helpful since Canon has so many cameras out and it''s impossible almost to know what is what.

i chose the SD550 primarily because of affordability combined with high MP as well as the larger screen and some other positive reviews i''d read. The SD500 is basically the same camer as the 550 but with 2-3 tiny adjustments for 550 that don''t necessarily make it better or worse.

the one thing i read that was a negative for the canon is that it supposedly is not tolerant of hand shake...aka if you are not steady while taking the picture then the pictures don''t come out so great. i have not really taken very many ''people pictures'' with it but can''t say i am displeased or super happy with it. i read that one way to get around that is to put it on ''kids and pets'' mode while taking pictures of people because that way the shutter speed is very fast and allows for not as much error for shake.

that''s the only thing that i read that was kind of negative re: 550 and i''m not sure it''s a 550 thing but it sounded a little like it might just be a ''canon thing''. however, for diamond shots, its FAB. we haven''t printed up any people pictures from it yet so i can''t really say how it is.

i''ve been really happy with it thus far though!!

 

[AndyRosse]

I have the Canon 630 and absolutely LOVE it! The only downside is the fact that there is no viewfinder; however I never use the viewfinder anyway. Plus the battery life is great and even in direct sunlight, you can still clearly see the display screen

Not sure what else to say, so feel free to ask me any questions

I can also post some pics if you like.

 

[jcrow]

mara- i never had any complaints about my canon, not even the hand shake thing. i think they have come out with a anti-shake technology, though i don''t remember which models have it or don''t have it. i also think the SD630 has a 3" screen and the SD550 has a 2.5" it''s a huge jump regardless from where i was before.

Rascal49-ooohh so glad to know you have it!! i don''t mind not having the viewfinder. actually i am kinda glad. when i take pics with the canon camera i have now it''s not accurately cropped if i take it while looking through the viewfinder. i am very interested in knowing if the SD630 takes diamond close ups as good as the SD550 does. thoughts on macro shots?

 

[AndyRosse]

I think the 630 takes great macro shots. Can you get down to a Best Buy/Circuit City, etc. to play around with each camera? I actually took pics of my rings in the store to see how well the macro setting worked

I don''t have time to find any macro shots of my rings right now, but here is a macro shot of a flower in St. Thomas:

 

[jcrow]

so funny! we actually did go to c. city and checked out the macro modes. the bad thing is that they don''t have memory cards in or whatever so once you take the pic, it dissapears so you can''t compare.

 

[sunshine14]

My friend has the 630 and it is amazing!!! And it takes really great macro shots.

oh and that screen....droolworthy!

 

[jcrow]

i hate that there''s a restocking fee if you return it. 15%! if it weren''t for that i''d probably buy both and fully compare them at home, then return the runner up.

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 7/7/2006 11:19:19 PM
Author: jcrow
so funny! we actually did go to c. city and checked out the macro modes. the bad thing is that they don''t have memory cards in or whatever so once you take the pic, it dissapears so you can''t compare.

Ask a ccity worker to put a memory card in each. Honestly, I went to EVERY store comparing the 630 and the 600 I think and each and every one of them would put a memory card in if you asked.

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 7/8/2006 7:37:44 AM
Author: jcrow
i hate that there''s a restocking fee if you return it. 15%! if it weren''t for that i''d probably buy both and fully compare them at home, then return the runner up.

Oh and as for the restocking fee....like I said in the above post, I was having a hard time deciding between two Canons. When I finally bought the 630, I brought it home and opened the box up. Honestly, you could take the camera and battery out of the plastic, play around with it, and then put them back in without leaving one trace of evidence that you opened it up. I was surprised since Best Buy makes such a big deal about a restocking fee. Now if they had put a sticker that wouldn''t let you open the box, that would do the trick, but my Best Buy did not do that

 

[Mara]

one thing i do love about this camera is that it not only can capture my diamond in an amazingly great light but even the surrounding items, aka the petals of this flower have a buttery looking texture as well. so the diamond is crisp and the petals are buttery. yum.

if i honestly had to buy a camera right now, i would get either mine OR sunkist's camera which i think is some sort of nikon. the pictures she was taking with that thing were really amazing!!!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 7/9/2006 11:28:24 AM
Author: Rascal49

Date: 7/7/2006 11:19:19 PM
Author: jcrow
so funny! we actually did go to c. city and checked out the macro modes. the bad thing is that they don''t have memory cards in or whatever so once you take the pic, it dissapears so you can''t compare.

Ask a ccity worker to put a memory card in each. Honestly, I went to EVERY store comparing the 630 and the 600 I think and each and every one of them would put a memory card in if you asked.

too funny you did this! i was actually talking to FI about bringing a card to compare pics. didn''t even think i could ask for them to! yea! i can''t wait to go play!!

 

[jcrow]

i looked at nixons too. but from all that i''ve read and what i''ve heard others say i think i am going with canon. aparently they''re the best- at least for the type of camera i am looking for. i love the canon i have now so i think i''ll stick to that brand.

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 7/9/2006 7:58:48 PM
Author: jcrow

Date: 7/9/2006 11:28:24 AM
Author: Rascal49

Date: 7/7/2006 11:19:19 PM
Author: jcrow
so funny! we actually did go to c. city and checked out the macro modes. the bad thing is that they don''t have memory cards in or whatever so once you take the pic, it dissapears so you can''t compare.

Ask a ccity worker to put a memory card in each. Honestly, I went to EVERY store comparing the 630 and the 600 I think and each and every one of them would put a memory card in if you asked.

too funny you did this! i was actually talking to FI about bringing a card to compare pics. didn''t even think i could ask for them to! yea! i can''t wait to go play!!

Bringing a card is a good idea too! Never thought of that!

 

[aljdewey]

Date: 7/9/2006 11:28:24 AM
Author: Rascal49

Date: 7/7/2006 11:19:19 PM
Author: jcrow
so funny! we actually did go to c. city and checked out the macro modes. the bad thing is that they don''t have memory cards in or whatever so once you take the pic, it dissapears so you can''t compare.

Ask a ccity worker to put a memory card in each. Honestly, I went to EVERY store comparing the 630 and the 600 I think and each and every one of them would put a memory card in if you asked.

The Canons do have a bit of memory in them....usually 8-10 pics worth. What happens, though, is that folks prior to you take pics and don''t erase them because they don''t know how. You can, though, delete them. Just go to the menu and erase them. I did this in Circuit City just last night while ''test driving'' a Canon SD700.

Another option: If you''re going to buy a digital camera anyway, most of them take SD cards, so just buy one of your own. Take it with you when you go to the store, and put it in the camera to take test shots. This way, you can take the shots HOME and compare on the home computer monitor.

FYI, for those asking why later models have less megapixels......there is more to camera than megapixels. For instance, I had my paws on the Canon SD700 IS last night.....IS stands for "image stability". In other words, anti-shake. It was on sale for $469. It''s a 6-meg camera.....but it offers other features the 550 doesn''t, for example. It has 4x optical zoom (instead of 3x). It has the IS technology the 550 doesn''t have. It gives a higher ISO sensitivity (which matters more in low-light or fast-action situations). Lastly, it also has widescreen capability not available on the 550.

The key is to see what features the camera has and choose the one that most closely offers only what *you* need. Example: I use my camera for mainly two things. Macro photography of my jewelry, and regular get-together/vacation events. So I want a camera with really good macro capabilities, one that does well with people shots (red-eye-reduction, etc., fast shooting speed to freeze action), and one that takes decent landscape photos. I don''t use it to shoot videos.....so if Camera A is more expensive because it shoots videos better than Camera B, I don''t want to pay more for that feature. I''ll go with Camera B.

 

[butterfly 17]

I have the Canon SD550 and I think it is amazing! I do notice that sometimes I get really blurry pictures in manual mode with macro on, something my old Canon G3 never did, but I noticed it stopped once I started putting my camera in the digital macro mode.

I love Canons so much, I bought a second Canon for myself, the Canon SD30. Not a really high tech camera, but I wasn''t really looking for one. I just wanted a camera that I could use to take family pictures, work pictures, etc. when my husband was using the sd550.
Plus, my new camera came in purple with a purple case(my fav color) and is just smaller and just as user friendly as the SD550.
I have to say, the pictures that I take with the SD30 are just as nice as the ones on my SD550.

 

[dani13]

JCrow-

Did you end up getting the Canon? I am in the market for a new digital camera too, and wanted to see what you ended up doing..
I think Amazon is having a sale right now on the Canon SD550 and accessories, plus free shipping, so you can't beat that!!! Let me know!

 

[jcrow]

i think we are going to get the 630. i want to get it NOW, but FI wants to wait a bit to see if prices go down or if they come out with something new. as said fine, as long as we get it before the honeymoon!! maybe i'll get him to change his mind!

which one are you looking at?

 

[ecf8503]

We recently upgaded our camera from a 3MP Sony from 3 years ago to the 7MP Canon A620. It has 7MP, 4x optical zoom, takes nice videos, very easy to use (as most Canon''s are) - you can put it in dummy "auto" mode, or you can customize settings to the Nth degree! Also the lens is removeable so you can actually put on fancier lenses if you want to. It has rceived rave reviews and and the price is very nice now! Tons of features, takes great pics - I''m very happy with what we got for the money!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Michelle, that is a really beautiful picture! (and if you see this, please accept my sincere apology for any misunderstanding related to the sales tax thread. I did not mean to sound personally critical of you in any way whatsoever!)

Okay, I am camera shopping, too! Apparently a new camera is just a requirement for new diamond purchases! Lol! Lots of good input of this thread! Thanks so much!

 

[dani13]

Date: 7/15/2006 9:19:28 AM
Author: jcrow
i think we are going to get the 630. i want to get it NOW, but FI wants to wait a bit to see if prices go down or if they come out with something new. as said fine, as long as we get it before the honeymoon!! maybe i''ll get him to change his mind!

which one are you looking at?

JCrow-

I was looking at the SD550...but what is the major difference between the 550 and the 630? I am really a techie-moron, so help me out here!!!!

 

[IrishRose]

Hi, I just posted E-ring for My Birthday. The pictures were taken with a Cannon SD 400 which is a later model 5 Mega Pixels. I think for a digital you can''t go wrong with a Cannon. I use a Nikon for my SLR stuff. Hope this helps!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Date: 7/15/2006 8:35:17 PM
Author: Dani

Date: 7/15/2006 9:19:28 AM
Author: jcrow
i think we are going to get the 630. i want to get it NOW, but FI wants to wait a bit to see if prices go down or if they come out with something new. as said fine, as long as we get it before the honeymoon!! maybe i'll get him to change his mind!

which one are you looking at?

JCrow-

I was looking at the SD550...but what is the major difference between the 550 and the 630? I am really a techie-moron, so help me out here!!!!

I compared the Canons on cnet.com. The SD600 is another option with 6 megapixels. It is lighter and thinner than the 550, and unless you plan to blow up your pictures to poster size, I just don't think there's a huge necessity to have 7 mp. The 600 is about $50 less than the 630. Both the 600 and 630 got higher ratings than the 550. I am thinking about going with the 600 because I really don't want to spend over $300. I think the 600 is like $282 at buydig.con and $298. at Amazon. The 600, 630, and 700 are all newer than the 550. I think IrishRose's pictures are proof that even 5 mp is great! And as a matter of fact, the pictures I took of my new diamond including the one in my avatar were taken with a 3.2 mp Canon!

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 7/16/2006 9:57:44 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006

Date: 7/15/2006 8:35:17 PM
Author: Dani

Date: 7/15/2006 9:19:28 AM
Author: jcrow
i think we are going to get the 630. i want to get it NOW, but FI wants to wait a bit to see if prices go down or if they come out with something new. as said fine, as long as we get it before the honeymoon!! maybe i''ll get him to change his mind!

which one are you looking at?

JCrow-

I was looking at the SD550...but what is the major difference between the 550 and the 630? I am really a techie-moron, so help me out here!!!!

I compared the Canons on cnet.com. The SD600 is another option with 6 megapixels. It is lighter and thinner than the 550, and unless you plan to blow up your pictures to poster size, I just don''t think there''s a huge necessity to have 7 mp. The 600 is about $50 less than the 630. Both the 600 and 630 got higher ratings than the 550. I am thinking about going with the 600 because I really don''t want to spend over $300. I think the 600 is like $282 at buydig.con and $298. at Amazon. The 600, 630, and 700 are all newer than the 550. I think IrishRose''s pictures are proof that even 5 mp is great! And as a matter of fact, the pictures I took of my new diamond including the one in my avatar were taken with a 3.2 mp Canon!

Adding to DiamondSeeker, the only difference between the 600 and the 630 is the size of the LCD (2.5" vs. 3.0" I believe). Plus the 600 has a traditional viewfinder while the 630 does not

 

[AndyRosse]

Date: 7/15/2006 11:10:56 AM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Michelle, that is a really beautiful picture! (and if you see this, please accept my sincere apology for any misunderstanding related to the sales tax thread. I did not mean to sound personally critical of you in any way whatsoever!)

Okay, I am camera shopping, too! Apparently a new camera is just a requirement for new diamond purchases! Lol! Lots of good input of this thread! Thanks so much!

No prob Diamondseeker

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Thanks, Michelle! And thanks also for clarifying about the other differences in the cameras! My eyes would do better with the 3" screen, but I probably should save my extra pennies for the ring setting now!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 7/15/2006 8:35:17 PM
Author: Dani

Date: 7/15/2006 9:19:28 AM
Author: jcrow
i think we are going to get the 630. i want to get it NOW, but FI wants to wait a bit to see if prices go down or if they come out with something new. as said fine, as long as we get it before the honeymoon!! maybe i''ll get him to change his mind!
which one are you looking at?

JCrow-
I was looking at the SD550...but what is the major difference between the 550 and the 630? I am really a techie-moron, so help me out here!!!!

i couldn''t tell you exactly cause i don''t remember. but, i would suggesting doing a google search. i think i typed in canon sd550 vs canon sd630 and read some of the threads that popped up.

i looked at them in the store, and i prefered the size of the 630. plus i liked the larger screen of the 630. and i could be wrong, but i think between the two only the 630 has the stability conttol. i also like the way the buttons funtioned on the 630.