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General discussion

Which Canon???????

May 12, 2005 9:56AM PDT

I'm looking at the Canon SD300, SD400, or S410.

Which would you say is a better choice? At this point I think I'm lost.

I travel alot and take tons of pics - leading me to buy 5 kodak disposables which I'm usually happy with in terms of quality. I'm leaving to go away for 7 weeks and am looking to upgrade from a disposable. I'm willing to spend tops $400 including all the essentials for a digital. In the end, I would like a camera to grow with a learn more about photography.

Thanks

Discussion is locked

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Which Canon
May 12, 2005 12:47PM PDT

Of the ones you listed - I would pick the SD400.

But....

Then you added:

"In the end, I would like a camera to grow with as I learn more about photography."

That leads me to the Canon S60.

...........................

The SD400 has an excellent lens.
The S60 has an even better lens.

The SD400 has is a point-and-shoot camera with few manual controls.
The S60 has some important manual controls:
Aperture priority
Shutter priority
Program Mode
Manual Mode.

As you learn more about photography, you will find more and more times that you wished you had better control over the camera.

From the start you can leave the S60 in auto mode.
That gives you time to learn more about manual controls and what they can do for you.

...
..
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Insight
May 12, 2005 2:10PM PDT

Thanks for the insight on the Canons. I will definintely look into the S60.

Other than the Canons I mentioned - would you have any recommendations Canon or otherwise??? I was just going by the ratings and looking for something compact.

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One More
May 13, 2005 12:23AM PDT

There is one more that will just fit into your $400 budget.

It will fit, only because there is a $100 rebate available from the manufacturer. Until the end of May.

A 7 megapixel with 5X zoom.

The Olympus C7000.
It is just about the same physical size as the Canon S60.

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Thanks
May 18, 2005 3:45AM PDT

Thanks for the feedback.
I just received my SD400 last night from beachcamera.com - I am looking forward to using it on my trip. I couldn't find the S60 in stock anywhere local to get a real hands on approach but I'm happy with my purchase.

Do you have any recommendations regarding software or accessories? As you see, I am new to this digital world. I am looking at buying the pack which includes the extra battery, carrying case and I think a 512 card. I was told two 512 are better than one gig just in case the card becomes corrupted. Anything else I should consider. Oh, and I was going to but recovery software as well.

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SD400
May 18, 2005 5:43AM PDT

Extra battery sounds like a good idea.

.................

Regarding memory cards:

Always....Always....when installing a new memory card:
Format the new card with the camera.

Failure to do this can result in the camera being unable to read the card at some point. It does not happen right away, usually a few weeks later.
Format those new cards with the camera.

...........

Large cards:
Your thinking makes sense.
The only time I would want a 1 gig card is if I have a high megapixel (8 meg and +) camera that has RAW mode. This would produce very large files.