Canon: T3 or SX260?

[DisneyGirlie]

Obviously one is a DSLR and one is a point and shoot, but I can't decide between the two. They both have really good reviews, but I need help deciding which one to get. I'm going to Disneyland at the end of the month (for the first time!) so I want some amazing photos. I want to make sure it performs well in pretty much any situation. Low-light, fireworks, etc.

Size/weight of the camera doesn't really bother me. So it's not like I would mind carrying the T3. What is really impacting my decision is the placement of the flash on the SX260. People have said that it's located where their finger would naturally be and cannot pop up when it needs to because of that. I'm worried if I ask someone to take a picture of me that needs a flash, it wouldn't happen because the stranger would have their finger over it.

Thoughts?

Thank you

 

[havoc315]

Two very different cameras that will give you different advantages, far beyond the flash.

The Sx260 would give you much more zoom, especially compared to a kit lens.

The T3 will give you:
- better image quality
- better low light ( MUCH better if you upgrade lenses)
- better at defocused backgrounds which you often see in portraits. (Sharp subject, blurred background)
-potential to use different types of lenses
-faster more accurate focus

 

[havoc315]

Two very different cameras that will give you different advantages, far beyond the flash.

The Sx260 would give you much more zoom, especially compared to a kit lens.

The T3 will give you:
- better image quality
- better low light ( MUCH better if you upgrade lenses)
- better at defocused backgrounds which you often see in portraits. (Sharp subject, blurred background)
-potential to use different types of lenses
-faster more accurate focus

 

[hakepb]

Photographically, the T3 is much more capable. But you will probably need a faster lens to get anything decent in dark rides (and learn how to use a non-auto mode so you don't annoy everyone around you with inappropriate DSLr flashes)

The SX260 would take better videos than the T3.

I worry about the lack of time getting used to either camera, as cameras don't take amazing photos. Photographers take amazing photos.

 

[photo_chick]

Photographically, the T3 is much more capable. But you will probably need a faster lens to get anything decent in dark rides (and learn how to use a non-auto mode so you don't annoy everyone around you with inappropriate DSLr flashes)

The SX260 would take better videos than the T3.

I worry about the lack of time getting used to either camera, as cameras don't take amazing photos. Photographers take amazing photos.

This cannot be stressed enough.

Low light is tough to shoot in. It not only takes the right tools but also a little bit of knowledge. Many of the great low light shots you see posted on this site came after a lot of learning, missing the shot, then learning some more.

Also fireworks generally need a tripod, so add that to your list.

 

[DisneyGirlie]

Well, I know that you have to have skill behind the camera. That's a given.

Also, I'm sure I would learn very quickly how to control the flash. I don't plan on taking pictures on indoor rides really anyway, but if I did, you can bet my flash would be off. As a Disney World veteran, nothing annoys me more than flashes on POTC and Haunted Mansion.

My current point and shoot is about 8 years old. Nothing in particular is wrong with it, but I just feel like an upgrade is in order. This is an investment, so I want to feel like whatever camera I choose will last and help me produce nice pictures.

 

[wiigirl]

My vote would be for the T3.

 

[havoc315]

Well, I know that you have to have skill behind the camera. That's a given.

Also, I'm sure I would learn very quickly how to control the flash. I don't plan on taking pictures on indoor rides really anyway, but if I did, you can bet my flash would be off. As a Disney World veteran, nothing annoys me more than flashes on POTC and Haunted Mansion.

My current point and shoot is about 8 years old. Nothing in particular is wrong with it, but I just feel like an upgrade is in order. This is an investment, so I want to feel like whatever camera I choose will last and help me produce nice pictures.

The SX260 is a very nice compact superzoom. In good light, it can take perfectly adequate pictures. It's fairly easy to use. (Though as said, with any camera, extra knowledge goes a long way to improving your pictures).

In regards to your flash issue --- It's a non-issue. If you're worried about handing it to someone, just hand it to them with the flash already raised. Though personally, I hate pictures taken with built-in flashes anyway.

The T3 would be more of an -investment-. And a first step investment, at that. If you want an all-in-one final product, the SX260 may be a better choice. If this is the first step of a continuing investment, the T3 is the better choice. As your needs change, as your experience grows, you supplement the basic T3 starter kit with things like extra lenses (A telephoto lens, to get more zoom, a prime lens to get low light photograph, maybe an Ultra wide angle some day, maybe a macro lens, maybe a faster zoom lens).

The SX260 -- right out of the box, will have a zoom equivalent of 500mm. You would likely never get a 500mm Canon lens.... and just getting a lens with a 250-300mm equivalent, would be an extra investment.
Though telephoto zoom is over-rated by many camera purchasers, it is a factor.

So with the T3, you'd find yourself adding lenses. You may find yourself adding a tripod. (Though even with the SX260, you may want a tripod, especially for fireworks).

With the T3, you may find yourself adding an external flash, to take more natural appearing flash pictures than you can achieve with the built-in.

While you may invest in photo editing software with any camera... With the T3, you'd be more likely to consider shooting in RAW format some day, making it even more likely you'd invest in photo editing software.

So if you're looking to just replace your old P&S, the SX260 may be the right choice for you. It's a pretty good little camera.

If you want the best possible image quality, and especially if you want this camera to grow as an investment, the T3 is a better choice.

But to put it in perspective... With a dSLR, the camera body sometimes ends up being the cheapest part of your investment. It's not uncommon to own a $400-$1,000 camera body, and $1,000-$5,000 in additional dSLR equipment.
I personally spent $400 on my current dSLR body, but I have over $1000 in lenses, tripods, flashes, etc.

 

[photo_chick]

Well, I know that you have to have skill behind the camera. That's a given.

Also, I'm sure I would learn very quickly how to control the flash. I don't plan on taking pictures on indoor rides really anyway, but if I did, you can bet my flash would be off. As a Disney World veteran, nothing annoys me more than flashes on POTC and Haunted Mansion.

My current point and shoot is about 8 years old. Nothing in particular is wrong with it, but I just feel like an upgrade is in order. This is an investment, so I want to feel like whatever camera I choose will last and help me produce nice pictures.

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. When most people talk about low light on this board they do mean on rides and many don't realize how much goes into low light work. There is an assumption a lot of people make that it's all in the camera. Shooting dark rides at WDW is some of the toughest shooting there is.

8 years is a long time to go with a digital camera of anytime. You'll see a huge improvement in ISO performance no matter what you choose.

I think DSLR's tend to have a longer life span than point and shoots simply because you can buy new lenses to expand their capabilities. With a point and shoot you're stuck with what you have. Of course it also means that there's a cost associated with a DSLR beyond the initial purchase for many of us. And like already mentioned, that can get expensive.

 

[DisneyGirlie]

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. When most people talk about low light on this board they do mean on rides and many don't realize how much goes into low light work. There is an assumption a lot of people make that it's all in the camera. Shooting dark rides at WDW is some of the toughest shooting there is.

8 years is a long time to go with a digital camera of anytime. You'll see a huge improvement in ISO performance no matter what you choose.

I think DSLR's tend to have a longer life span than point and shoots simply because you can buy new lenses to expand their capabilities. With a point and shoot you're stuck with what you have. Of course it also means that there's a cost associated with a DSLR beyond the initial purchase for many of us. And like already mentioned, that can get expensive.

Thank you. Looks like I have a lot to consider. I hate big purchases because reviews are often conflicting and it is hard for me to decide what is best. When you spend a lot of money on an item, you want to be sure you're getting exactly what you want. Personally, I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place because the SX260 according to a lot of websites is the #1 PNS on the market right now, but that inconveniently places pop-up flash makes me doubt everything.

The particular T3 package I'm considering comes with an 18-55mm IS II lens, which I've found is a basic one since the kit is geared towards people making the move to an SLR.

If anyone has any other PNS recommendations as well, I'd be open to hear them.

 

[havoc315]

The Sx260 is one of the top budget super zooms.
It is not among the top p&s cameras, many of which cost more.
Many consider the Sony rx100 to be the top compact. The Canon s100/110 is high rated for a bit less. There are a few other upper tier models.

 

[Frantasmic]

The real question is what do you want to do with your camera AFTER your vacation?

Will it sit in your closet until the next vacation, maybe making an appearance or two at a birthday or some other special event? If so, it is probably better to go with the PnS.

If you carry your camera with you and do a lot of photography-just because you enjoy it-then go the the T3.

The T3 has better ISO capability. The other problem I see with the 260 is that at full zoom, your aperture is f6.8. That means at full zoom, you are going to have to have a sunny day to get some good shots or use higher iso in general. Your zoom capability indoors at this aperture would definitely mean higher iso and probably result in more blurry pictures, which may not matter at 4x6 photos, but above that, you may notice the fuzziness due to noise.

For fireworks shots, you will need a tripod for either one to get the best shots. Fireworks mode won't cut it.

 

[rossb]

I'm a Nikon full frame SLR user, but I do carry a P&S fairly often when I don't want to bring my big gear. I tried the SX260 and I did not like it. The flash position bothered me, it was soft in the corners, outdoor images had too much CA in high contrast areas, and it tended to overexpose outdoors.

I returned and it and got an Elph 330HS and I'm much happier with it. It is noticeably sharper corner to corner, it has much less CA, exposure is more accurate, it seems to be faster, the lens is optically faster on the wide end (but slower on the tele end), the flash is in a better position, the lens goes wider, it is much smaller, and it has Wifi (which works great). The disadvantages include a zoom that 'only' goes to a 240mm equivalent, no full manual control, and no GPS. To be honest, 240mm is probably enough for a pocket P&S camera and you can GPS tag the photos with Canon's CameraWindow Smartphone app via peer to peer Wifi. Lowepro's D-Wrap and Rezo 15 are both a perfect fit for the 330.

 

[DisneyGirlie]

After a full week of research and reading reviews, as well as input from this thread, I made a decision. I just ordered the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX200v. It had outstanding reviews, a nice pricepoint, and every feature I wanted.

Thanks to all the DIS photographers for your input.

 

[iheartjuppy]

For those with, or who recommended, the SX260, can you please recommend a great choice for the memory card? I'm a little overwhelmed with the options (ordering on Amazon). I don't plan on bringing a laptop on our trip, so it needs to hold a full week's worth of photo and video (not many videos) and I want it to be as fast as possible. Our last Canon (Powershot S100 I think?) had a Sandisk Extreme III 8GB card which, at the time, was highly recommended (2009) but times have changed and I'm stumped. Any help is appreciated!