I've owned two Kodak's and used several at work and IMO the lens quality isn't nearly as good as the Canon's or Nikon's...now that may or may not be the case with this model but its proprietary battery would be a major turn off for me and I'll take a nice 3.2 MP image that has lower compression over a highly compressed 4MP image that Kodak seems to like.

[JohnRice]

This thread is giving me a headache.


So many questions are practially impossible to answer. Just to address some of the things. Don't put all that much priority on the resolution. There are 3MP cameras which will blow away virtually any 6MP camera in just overall picture quality. There is so much more to image quality than just resolution and since companies know this, it is quite attractive for them to use high res chips which produce less than stellar images. Traditionally, the logic has been that the camera is less important than the photographer, and there is always truth to that, but with digital cameras, the technology is automatically more important than it used to be with films cameras. My experience is that with the small digital cameras, the main limiting factor is often the lens. Finally, brand consistency is probably lower than it ever has been with film cameras. Just because a manufacturer makes one very good camera doesn't mean all of their models are comparably good.

[MarkHastings]

John, I am leaning more toward the quality than MP numbers. As a digital camera virgin, I too was persuaded into thinking the more pixels, the better...this thread has been helpful to change my mind. I think I am sold on the Canon S1. Just waiting for some deals before I take the plunge. Plus, I'm waiting to see how Andrew feels about his.

I'm going to keep a running thread going here with my thoughts on the S1 as I continue to use it.

[Thomas Newton]

What about an auto-everything 35mm film SLR? (Say, your basic zoom kit + a 50mm lens + a bounce/tilt TTL flash.)

Advantages:

1. Plenty of room to grow. You can start off using a SLR in full-automatic ("P") mode, and switch to progressively more-manual modes if/when desirable. You can also expand the system with lenses, filters, etc.

2. Excellent picture quality.

3. No red-eye or very little red-eye. (Bouncing flash off walls/ceilings helps enormously in this respect.)

4. Some camera makers (Canon, Nikon) make lenses that fit both film and digital bodies. This means you can start with a film system and later switch to film + digital -- maybe after consumer digital SLRs have come down a bit.


Disadvantages:

1. You can't immediately review pictures.

2. Every picture costs money for film and developing.

3. Transferring pictures to a computer is costlier: you get to pay for photo CDs, or scan pictures in yourself.

[MarkHastings]

Thomas, yes, the disadvantages you list are why I want digital. My main reason is for an immediate transfer to the internet. Film would be too costly and not time-effective.

[Ray Chuang]

Thomas,

While 35 mm SLR's can take superb pictures (especially if you can use a decent slide film), the problem is that processing does get pretty expensive, to say the least.

With today's four-megapixel and above cameras, you can get excellent quality shots that can be printed on an 8.5 x 11 inch or A4 sized paper with excellent clarity, especially with today's high-quality inkjet or color laser printers. Also, with digital still cameras, you can get flash memory cards that store around 90-100 pictures at high resolution; the flash memory card contents can be downloaded to a computer for further processing and storage on another medium like CD-R/RW discs.

[MarkHastings]

Andrew, is it true that there is no lens cap to the S1? I was looking at it at CC yesterday and was concerned about it. When I asked the clerk about it, he said "That's why you get a camera bag".

Is this true? Can you buy a cap for it?

[JohnRice]

I was about to say something about CC clerks being idiots, but with some of the weird things the camera engineers do these days, it is always possible. I seriously doubt it, though. At the very least, it has a filter thread on the front of the lens and you should be able to get a cap for it somewhere.

Though, I would expect it comes with a lens cap. It either was not put on display or if it was, it was stolen. I expect they just didn't put it on display.

"That's what a camera bag is for." I love it. He should be selling used cars.

[MarkHastings]

Quote:

He should be selling used cars.

LOL. Yeah, once he said that, I figured it probably wouldn't be a good idea to buy the camera from this guy. I want to get the right accessories with the camera and I don't think I wanted this guy telling me what to get.

He was also telling me that this camera requires the lens to be cleaned every year...then he conveniently showed me the CC protection plan which included cleanings.

Actually, after he said "That's why you get a camera bag", I wanted to reply "so I have to put the camera in the bag everytime I turn it off? That would suck if I'm at a wedding or a party." but I didn't because if he didn't understand the importance of a lens cap, then he probably wouldn't have understood my response.

Maybe I'll see what Canons site has to say.


EDIT:

Quote:

I was about to say something about CC clerks being idiots

LOL - Here's a listing of what comes with the camera (from Canon's site) notice the lens cap.
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/s1is/kit.html

[JohnRice]

Quote:

He was also telling me that this camera requires the lens to be cleaned every year...then he conveniently showed me the CC protection plan which included cleanings.

A cotton t-shirt works great for that. Seriously, there are different types of lens cleaning cloths and fluids for that. The cloths can be nice and most of the time the fluid isn't even necessary, but you seriously can just use a nice soft cotton cloth. Anything that is clean and non abrasive, which means no paper like tissue or paper towels.

Mark, I sold this stuff for longer than I care to admit, both retail and as a manufacturer's rep and shit like that is why people don't want to buy from B&M retailers. When someone tells you stuff like that, I'm inclined to suggest you tell them they just lost a sale and why.

[MarkHastings]

Well, the headaches are finally over and I'm pulling the trigger (thankfully not at my head, but at my wallet ) with the S1

Quote:

I'm inclined to suggest you tell them they just lost a sale and why.

Well, I'm sticking it to CC and buying the Canon S1 online at Wal-Mart.com. They have it for $50 cheaper than the stores. CC.com has a $50 mail in rebate, but Wal-Mart gives it to you immediately in the price without the need for mailing in recipts and then having to cash the check they send you.

After yesterday, online is my salvation...This way I don't have to deal with the stupid clerks who try to guilt you into foolish purchases.

I'll let you all know how the camera works out.