Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Olympus SP-500 vs. Canon S2 IS....and Sony DSC-H1

by paqrmatt Dec 22, 2005 11:56PM PST

Looked at both last night (Olympus and Canon). Both seem to be great cameras. High optical zoom on both. But the Canon seems to have the slight edge with the image stabilization feature (nice when using high zoom) and slightly better movie specs. But the Canon also comes with a much higher price tag...about $450 compared to $380 for the SP-500. Is the Canon worth the extra $$? Is the image stabilization really worth it? And how does the Sony DSC-H1 stack up?

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Olympus SP-500, Canon S2 IS, Sony H1
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Dec 23, 2005 12:10AM PST

The Olympus SP-500 appears to be an update to their popular C-770 and C-765 cameras. I have not seen any reviews of the SP-500 yet.

Image stabilization adds about $75 to $100 to the cost of a camera.

People who have image stabilization seem to be pleased with it. It does help prevent blurred photos when shooting above 3X zoom. Can you live without image stabilzation? ... yes.

The Sony H1 is in the same class as the Canon S2.
Some of the reviewers say that the image stabilizations of the Sony is not as good as the Canon.

...
..
.

- Collapse -
picture quality?
by paqrmatt Dec 23, 2005 1:09AM PST

Thanks for your reply! Do you know if there is a material difference in picture quality between the Canon and the Sony?

- Collapse -
Picture Quality
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Dec 23, 2005 5:40AM PST
- Collapse -
What about file type --- RAW
by mclarke May 14, 2006 2:33PM PDT

I understand the Olympus can do RAW but the CAnnon and Sony cannot. Isn't this important?

- Collapse -
RAW is important to me
by mrshacksaw May 15, 2006 9:42PM PDT

I just purchased the Olympus SP500 uz, and love it so far. RAW is great, since nothing has been done to it yet. Even tho it doesn't have stabilization, I haven't had much of a problem with it, unless zooming 7X and up, in which case, the tripod is recommended. My daughter has even used it and had good results.

Back to Cameras forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info