From: "Redvers Davies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Do any of you have any reccomendations for digital cameras?
I got myself a Canon Powershot S10 last December, and have been very pleased
with it, although I've just had to send it off under warranty (just) to
Canon with an E18 fault - and sadly they have a three week turnaround time
just now :-(
Selling points for me were:
1) 2.1 million pixels - (1600x1200), good enough for photorealistic prints
upto 10' x 8' or so;
2) Compact Flash 2 slot - so able to take most excellent IBM Microdrive
(340MB (about �230 inc. now) and 1GB (about �400) of storage, which makes
extensive use away from a p.c. possible - e.g. the 340MB Microdrive will
take 589 photos in fine mode or 233 in super-fine mode (fine mode is good
for most things anyway);
3) USB & serial transfer (serial is way, way slow compared to USB);
4) Small size (though not as small as the newer Digital Ixus, but that only
has a CF1 slot);
Limitations:
1) only has 2x optical zoom (equiv. to 35-70mm lens on a 35mm camera), but,
that said, Canon do make good lenses). I don't use the the 2x & 4x digital
zoom function.
It cost me �510 (after getting �90 off in Dixons in Oxford Street - I still
don't know how I managed to get that much of a discount out of Dixons :-)
although my mother recently got one for herself in Costco (a warehouse club)
for �328 - which is excellent value given that the spec. is still pretty
reasonable - the main thing that has changed in the last year is that 2.1m
pixels has gone from being the ultimate available to being mid-range (with
3.3 million being the thing now). On that note, watch out for Fujifilm
cameras advertised as 4.7m pixel *output* - they're actually half that, with
the 'output' being made up using interpolation.
The best site I found for camera reviews was the most excellent
http://www.dpreview.com/ - which has sample images and extensive reviews and
forums. Knowing what I know now I'd still get the same camera today - it may
not be the highest spec. these days, but its more than good enough for most
purposes and is now excellent value (although I expect Canon will
discontinue it in favour of the Powershot S20 - which is identical except
for being 3.3m pixels and �500).
Hope these thoughts help,
Andrew.
