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General discussion

Please help me choose an ultracompact

Dec 4, 2004 7:13AM PST

I think I've narrowed it down to the following choices:

Canon SD300
Dimage X50
Exilim EX-Z55

I just finished walking around a bunch of different stores in my neighborhood. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that had all three, so I couldn't do a side-by-side comparison.) My general feeling is that these are all good cameras, and I would probably be happy with any of them. Nevertheless, I must make a decision.

On form alone, the Exilim seems to be a clear winner. I really liked the size, LCD screen and wow factor. By contrast, the Dimage was a little disappointing. Not terrible, just didn't blow me away. I've heard that it has the best picture quality, although given that I rarely even make prints, that's not a huge concern. I do like the fact that it has a quick startup time and low shutter lag. The Canon seems to be somewhere in the middle across the board. Another key factor for me is battery life. I've heard the Exilim is best in that area, but I can't find any quantitative proof of that.

Right now, I'm leaning toward the Exilim, since it's worst attribute, picture quality, is not all that important to me. Are there any other factors I should be considering? Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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I did notice one thing. The Canon has a 3X optical zoom
Dec 4, 2004 8:13AM PST

where the Exilim was said to have a 'fixed' focus. You should probably look at its optical zoom before plunking down your cash. Forget digital zoom. It adds nothing to the camera.

The fixed focus probably also means it won't take great macro shots, but you said you don't care about picture quality.

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Re: I did notice one thing. The Canon has a 3X optical zoom
Dec 4, 2004 12:07PM PST

According to the CNET specs, Casio also has 3x optical.

By macro, do you mean wide-angle?

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Re: Please help me choose an ultracompact
Dec 4, 2004 11:06AM PST

Since you are leaning toward the Casio Z55 I checked a few places and noticed that some of the first units sold seemed to be having quality control problems. So be sure you buy from a place that will give you a replacement if the one you buy is faulty.

I did notice that a Casio forum has lots of posts on the Z55. You should be able to get first hand information by checking the threads on that forum:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1015&page=1

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