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Apfhex · Jan 2, 2004, 04:32 AM

I know there are a 1,000 other digital camera threads, but I've been looking at some specific models and am very torn between them. I'm looking at 4MP cameras at or under $400.

I had been primarily considering the Olympus Stylus 400, but after reading some reviews I decided that the Canon PowerShot S400 might be better. I've also been strongly recommended to check out the Nikon Coolpix line.

(my opinions below are based on reviews on Amazon and dcresource.com, plus personal experience)

The Olympus is primarily appealing because of its weatherproofing, but the Canon seems to take slightly better looking photos, especially inside (I've read complaints about the quality of pictures the Olympus takes inside). The Canon also has an Auto Focus Illuminator, which sounds like a very good thing to have (never used a camera with that feature though). Plus it can record sound in its video mode, which isn't that important but a nice extra.

I haven't investigated the Nikon models much. I'd like to hear what models people think are good that would be similar to the Canon or Olympus models.

I've had hands-on experience with the Olympus Stylus 400 (my parents own one), and will try to see how good it takes photos inside (mostly, I've only seen outside, landscape pictures from it). A friend has a Canon PowerShot S200 which I was not satisfied with the picture quality of (didn't seem too great for outside stuff, pictures very often turned out blurry), but I think the S400 could be good with the proper settings.

So here's what I'm interested in:
I want the camera to be able to withstand a little light rain. Would the Canon be up to this? Is there a cover I could buy to make it able to take the rain? Weatherproofing is important to me.

I'd be taking pictures inside as much as outside, also at night. Which camera would be better at night? Also, what about the self portrait modes? I'd probably use that a bit.

AF Illumination would be preferable to have. Manual Control of things is good, but not extremely important to me (YET) since I'm fairly new to photography.

BOTTOM LINE: I think I want the Canon but have had not-so-great experience with the PowerShot line. The only feature that makes the Olympus appealing over it is the weatherproofing. On Amazon the Olympus is a little cheaper (plus $40 rebate).

Graymalkin · Jan 2, 2004, 05:44 AM

I'm really happy with the Canon SD100 I recently bought. The pictures are beautiful and I am really pleased with the level of control the camera has. It is a very high quality P&S camera.

The SD100 is the 3.2MP little brother of the S400. It's got most of the same features but uses SD/MMC memory instead of CF. It's also only got a 2x optical zoom where the S400 has a 3x optical zoom. Regardless this camera is a really awesome buy.

The picture quality is excellent and I really like the control over each exposure. I've got a 35mm Rebel 2000 and a lot of the exposure control I have on that is mirrored in the SD100. I'm not sure about the Olympus or Nikon models but the control on the SD100 is pretty impressive. It's got enough shutter control to handle pretty active scenes well and is sensitive enough for fairly dark scenes.

Here's a couple pictures I took with it today:

Horses (868KB)

Sunset (520KB)

Both of these pictures were taken in automatic exposure mode at full resolution, 2048x1535, and using the Fine level of compression. I was really happy with how the sunset picture came out, California sunsets are one of my favorite scenes to photograph. Having a P&S that will do them justice is a huge bonus for me.

I think most of the features I like in the SD100 will carry over to the S400 as they are extremely similar cameras. I probably would have went for the S400 had I the extra money. As it was I already had a 128MB SD so the S400 would have cost me quite a bit more than what I paid for the SD100.

Zoom · Jan 2, 2004, 09:35 AM

I can vouch for the S400. Just bought it two months ago and have no regrets.

Go take a look at the dpreview site. There's a ton of great info there.

However, weatherproofing is not a commonly reviewed quality. I'm not sure how easy it will be to find information on that across multiple brands. However, I would think that any decent camera could handle a little light rain. If you really want to take pictures in the rain, many manufacturers sell waterproof enclosured for their cameras, but they're expensive. This would allow you to take pictures literally under water.

One last thing, and you'll probably hate me for telling you this. According to this article, Canon plans to introduce about 20 new digital cameras this year. February has been a common month for releases, I think due to a photography conference or electronics show. That could mean new, cooler choices and cheaper prices on existing models.... but as with computers, if you wait for things like that, you can get paranoid and never buy anything.

Let us know what you get and how you like it!

WizOSX · Jan 2, 2004, 04:37 PM

We have 3 Canon digital cameras in our family now and they are outstanding. My son was the first to buy one (an S230) and then I bought an S50. Both produce outstanding pictures. Here are some of Hawaii from June taken with my S50:

http://tjos.instantlogic.com/Home.ilx

So I just gave my daughters (18 and 20) an A300 for Christmas and am absolutely amazed at the quality for the price. Consider it if you don't need optical zoom. Of the ones you've listed, I would go with the S400 for sure. Friends of mine have it and love it and it seems that virtually everyone who gets one loves it!

bmhome1 · Jan 2, 2004, 05:43 PM

Any of the camera brands mentioned produce fine photographs. The REAL differences are how they feel, look and handle. THAT is strictly an individual's choice, only possible by actually handling each and finding out what works best for YOU. At least go to a store offering any model you're considering and go do that experience.

rjc3 · Jan 2, 2004, 06:59 PM

my $0.02 on the matter:
I just picked up a sd100 (very similar to s400) over the holidays and couldn't be happer. It is small, quick, durable and takes great pics. AFAIK, the only dif between the SD100 and s400 is that sd100 is only 3.2 megapixels (vs. 4 in s400), uses SD memory (S400 uses compactflash), is slightly smaller (as in millimeters), has only 2x zoom ( i think s400 has 3 zoom), and has better movie capabilities (sd100 can record long clips at 320x400, whereas s400 is limited to 30 second clips at any resolution).
One of my concerns was waterproofing as I take lots of photos from my sea kayak in teh summer. Experience has taught me that salt-water can work past most built-in waterproofing, so I tend to look for external waterproofing options (also, a waterproof camera will sink like a stone if you drop it in teh water, whereas one in a waterproof housing will float).
The canon sd100 has a waterproof housing available for about $170. It allows full-operation of camera and all its settings. Find it here: http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/...accessory.html
I don't have any experience with other cameras you are considering, and really am very much an amateur in teh subject of digital photography, so take my advice with normal disclaimers.
I am very happy with canon.

NYCFarmboy · Jan 2, 2004, 07:57 PM

Canon S230 4 megapixal.

Great pics, especially low light.

and.. MORE IMPORTANTLY:

phenomenal compatibility with iMovie to make BROADCAST QUALITY home movies using the MOVIE AVI files made by the Canon S230.

Specifically the camera will create an up to 30 second long digital AVI movie file at 640x480 size (full frame television size) at 15 frames per second.

These files will import right into iMovie and REALLY are spectacular.

For somereason the newer generation Canon cameras movie mode is degraded to only 320x240 size so they appear grainy/out of focus/blurry when you use them in iMovie.

Get the S230 while you can though..it is being discontinued, and is hard to find, but I cannot more highly recommend it..it is totally incredible.

s4iscool · Jan 2, 2004, 10:19 PM

s230 is a 3mp camera
I have one...4 in my family of 4 people hehe

Its my point and shoot alongside my 10d and 300d

Olympus allweather has horrible quality reviews.

Nkon has poor interfaces, but decent pic quality. Still go for canon iMO

Seqiro · Jan 3, 2004, 01:23 AM

My father-in-law picked up a Canon PowerShot A70 for his birthday and I bought my parents a Canon PowerShot A80 for Christmas. Both cameras are terrific 3MP and 4MP models respectively.

I myself use a Canon EOS-10D. As you can see, I'm a fan of the brand.

Check out http://www.dpreview.com for great camera reviews with tests and screenshots. That's where I did a lot of my research.

Apfhex · Jan 3, 2004, 03:36 AM

Well, OK, I think I may want to buy the Canon. I hope I won't miss the weatherproofing of the Olympus, but I think I'd prefer the extra features and supposedly better quality of the Canon.

I'll also buy an extra battery, and a 128MB memory card. What brand of compact flash card is best? I'm looking on Amazon and the Viking looks good. Of all the CF cards out there, which brand is the best? And what brand is the 32MB card that comes with the camera?

Apfhex · Jan 3, 2004, 04:20 AM

And by the way, is there anywhere online to get the Canon PSC-100 Soft Compact Case? Amazon lists it but there are none available (1 Used & New listed but only an imitation). I love the look of it and it would be absolutely perfect for me. I'll check local stores but doubt finding it.

WizOSX · Jan 3, 2004, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by NYCFarmboy
For somereason the newer generation Canon cameras movie mode is degraded to only 320x240 size so they appear grainy/out of focus/blurry when you use them in iMovie.

Actually its just that some lines have been upgraded to the 640x480 and others have not yet. The newer A series models (A70 and A80) have 640x480 as does the new A300. However the S series just doesn't have it yet. Canon is slowly moving all of their lines to having 640x480 as an option.

webcookie · Jan 3, 2004, 12:41 PM

We bought my mother a Canon S400 digital elph for Christmas and she loves it. I have the S230 digital elph as well.

Cadaver · Jan 3, 2004, 08:14 PM

I bought a Nikon D100 about 2 months ago. Amazing camera!

davidflas · Jan 3, 2004, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by Cadaver:
I bought a Nikon D100 about 2 months ago. Amazing camera!

I'm looking at one of those too, but its a little bit more expensive than $400.. Wouldn't you agree?

Cadaver · Jan 4, 2004, 10:15 PM

Originally posted by davidflas:
I'm looking at one of those too, but its a little bit more expensive than $400.. Wouldn't you agree?

Yah, agreed. Just commenting on someone's Canon EOS-10D comment, however.

Apfhex · Jan 5, 2004, 09:55 PM

I went ahead and bought the Canon PowerShot S400, along with a Lexar 128MB 16x CF card, an extra Canon battery and a small case (I might buy a larger one in the future, possibly one that could hold the smaller case with the camera in it, along with the battery charger and cables).

I almost decided to get the Canon A80, because it has all the same features plus more manual controls, a flip-out LCD, as well as longer battery life IF you buy good rechargeable AA's, all for a slightly cheaper price. The downside is that it's bigger/heavier and is reported to have slightly worse picture quality (I don't know if I would have noticed the difference or not). Either way, the S400 was just a little more appealing to me, as I didn't want anything TOO complicated.

jaxxe · Jan 6, 2004, 10:00 AM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Seqiro:
[B]My father-in-law picked up a Canon PowerShot A70 for his birthday and I bought my parents a Canon PowerShot A80 for Christmas. Both cameras are terrific 3MP and 4MP models respectively.

Nice! I picked up the A80 here in Japan just before the winter break and brought it home to Seattle to visit family. My father liked it so much he went out and got my stepmother the A60, which isn't a bad camera itself. I love my A80!