Buying a Canon Powershot-need help choosing

[aristocatz]

Hi there,

I would like to buy my DF a Canon Powershot for an early Christmas present for him to take to WDW.

I am confused on which one to buy. I'm looking to spend up to $350.

I was going to buy the SD1200, but he has large fingers and I read on Eopinions.com that the buttons are small.

Any opinions on here? I would just like to buy him a solid camera that takes nice quality pictures with great color. If you have another brand in mind, feel free to let me know.

Thanks!

 

[VVFF]

Hi there,

I would like to buy my DF a Canon Powershot for an early Christmas present for him to take to WDW.

I am confused on which one to buy. I'm looking to spend up to $350.

I was going to buy the SD1200, but he has large fingers and I read on Eopinions.com that the buttons are small.

Any opinions on here? I would just like to buy him a solid camera that takes nice quality pictures with great color. If you have another brand in mind, feel free to let me know.

Thanks!

Have you considered getting him the Canon S90? You're basically in the vicinity of it with your budget and its a fantastic camera. It's not much larger than a powershot but has better capabilities with photos taken in low light situations(indoors or dusk).

 

[AbbysFamily]

I don't know where you are, but it looks like the S90 isn't in the US.

I would strongly recommend you look at the bigger Powershots.. Any of the SX series are GREAT choices. Much better picture taking power (and zoom) than the smaller powershots. No SLR, but really good overall.

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you both for your advice!

I found the S90 on Amazon.com, but it's over $100 over my budget and I can't go much higher than $350.

I did browse around the SX series though and the Canon PowerShot SX20IS caught my eye. It seems to get good reviews. Any experiences with this one?

Right now he has a refurbished Kodak Easyshare C533 that I think he bought on Ebay in 2004. The pictures are ok, but not as vibrant as he would like. The shutter has a REALLy slow delay, which I guess is typical of digital cameras, but I figure this must be improved on newer models!

 

[VVFF]

I don't know where you are, but it looks like the S90 isn't in the US.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9491917&st=S90&type=product&id=1218115079319

 

[VVFF]

Thank you both for your advice!

I found the S90 on Amazon.com, but it's over $100 over my budget and I can't go much higher than $350.

I did browse around the SX series though and the Canon PowerShot SX20IS caught my eye. It seems to get good reviews. Any experiences with this one?

Right now he has a refurbished Kodak Easyshare C533 that I think he bought on Ebay in 2004. The pictures are ok, but not as vibrant as he would like. The shutter has a REALLy slow delay, which I guess is typical of digital cameras, but I figure this must be improved on newer models!

Does he need/want a 20X zoom? What does he usually take pictures of?

OP, right now you can get the S90 from J&R for $405 or so after bing cashback. Again, if this is out of your range that's ok. However, if you don't need this immediately it may come down in price a bit...it's new.

 

[aristocatz]

Does he need/want a 20X zoom? What does he usually take pictures of?

OP, right now you can get the S90 from J&R for $405 or so after bing cashback. Again, if this is out of your range that's ok. However, if you don't need this immediately it may come down in price a bit...it's new.

What do you mean by Bing Cashback?

He usually takes pictures of nature/outdoors things during the year (autumn leaves, ponds, snow, flowers,...), but we are heading for WDW for Thanksgiving and I wanted to give him a new camera for WDW pics, such as Osbourne Family Lights, Wishes, Xmas decorations, WDW tourist pics.

I might consider $405 if it's worth it for him. He is certainly not a professional photog, but enjoys taking pictures & we like framing them sometimes. He only uses a camera once a month or so.

How does the SX series compare to the S90? What are the pros & cons?

Thanks!!

 

[VVFF]

What do you mean by Bing Cashback?

He usually takes pictures of nature/outdoors things during the year (autumn leaves, ponds, snow, flowers,...), but we are heading for WDW for Thanksgiving and I wanted to give him a new camera for WDW pics, such as Osbourne Family Lights, Wishes, Xmas decorations, WDW tourist pics.

I might consider $405 if it's worth it for him. He is certainly not a professional photog, but enjoys taking pictures & we like framing them sometimes. He only uses a camera once a month or so.

How does the SX series compare to the S90? What are the pros & cons?

Thanks!!

Bing cashback is a service through www.bing.com provided by microsoft that rewards you for making purchases by crediting you back with a certain % of your purchase in the form of cashback. You receive this cashback 60days after the purchase and can be deposited straight into your bank account.

The S90 and SX series are entirely different cameras. The SX series are relatively large. They are not pocketable by any means. The S90 is a compact portable camera.

The SX series claim to fame is primarily its zoom range. 20x zoom means you can take pictures of things that are far away that you normally couldn't get any closer to.

The S90 sports a more typical lens designed to take pictures of things relatively close. In exchange you get a "fast" lens. This lens can take in more light than the SX series and therefore takes pictures better where there is little light(indoors or at dusk) without camera shake(blur). It also has VERY good high ISO ability. This is another feature that helps a person take pictures where light is limited without camera shake.

If he uses a lot of zoom, then the SX might be best. However, if portability and the ability to shoot in a wider variety of lighting conditions is important, the S90 would be better.

 

[DisneyCaliCouple]

I have a SX10 and absolutly love it. I use it to take close family pictures and zoom in on far away shots and the pictures come out beautiful. We recently took a trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific and my boyfriend used it for close shots at the Aquarium inside as well as far away shots of the Queen Mary and scenery while outside. I also really like the fact it doesn't have a shutter delay - I push the button and it takes the picture!
Yes it is bigger than the "pocket" cameras, but I hang it around my neck when we go on trips and have taken it to Disneyland several times. It doesn't bother me at all. It goes everywhere with us. =)
It is however, depending on the model and where you buy it, about 50-100 dollars over your budget. You can get a deal on them though, if you shop around or if you order online from Costco or Best Buy. (I got a free memory card with mine, and had tried it out at a Best Buy store before I ordered it so I knew that I liked it beforehand)
Good luck.