Cameras: Help Me Choose

Blues

Blues

hovering overhead
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Hey guys, I'm thinking of retiring my old Olympus 1.3 mp camera.
(Yeah, I know...;))

Anyway, a couple of budget cameras I've been looking at are the Canon PS A590IS and the SD1100IS.

Was just hoping to hear some recommendations from those of you with experience with these models.

I'm mostly an auto setting user though I will use manual if need be from time to time.

Since I have lots of AA NiMH batteries, that's a plus but not a deal breaker.

I prefer to use the optical viewfinder over the LCD. (Call me old fashioned.)

Size (compact vs. mini) is not an issue.

I don't plan on doing much printing but I do have a Canon Pixma MP-600 printer.

Okay, fire away and thanks in advance.
 
I got a Canon SD1100IS and it's my first dig camera of my very own. It was about 200 shipped and it's easy to use and has a rechargeable battery, that lasts a long time between recharges. i have a lot of pictures up in Spyderco forums I took with it and people think I'm really great with it. But, it's the camera mainly not me. It has all sorts of adjustments and makes it easy to shoot great pictures. It's 8.3 megs. I wouldn't suggest lower.
 
Both are fine cameras and you won't go wrong with either.

A friend has the 590IS and it takes a really nice picture. I would go with this model as it is cheaper and it has a larger zoom than the SD1100IS. The ability to use AA batteries is an advantage as you should never get caught out by a flat battery. As you already have rechargeables, you can make use of these. The money you save over the SD1100 can be used for a decent size SD card (would suggest 2GB or more) and a nice case.

If size is important to you and you want something that fits in a pocket easily, then get the SD1100.
 
jill jackson said:
I got a Canon SD1100IS and it's my first dig camera of my very own. It was about 200 shipped and it's easy to use and has a rechargeable battery, that lasts a long time between recharges. i have a lot of pictures up in Spyderco forums I took with it and people think I'm really great with it.
Click to expand...

Sorry to go slightly off topic. I've seen some of your pics on the Spyderco forum, and they are fantastic. I thought you were using a digital SLR, not a point and shoot camera.

Blues - you may want to check out some of Jill's photos and see what the camera is capable of. The 590 has similar capabilities.
 
Here's one and sorry it's so big it's before I found I could adjust the size very easy on the camera itself. But, I liked this one and it's off the board now so I'll post it here.
an28f4.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Thanks for the feedback so far.

Jill, if you want to point me to a thread featuring some of your images, feel free to post a link for me.

How's the optical viewfinder on the SD1100IS? Anybody know how it compares to the 590IS?

Seems like you can't go wrong with either though I've read in a couple of reviews that the images were superior with the 1100IS (putting manual controls aside for the moment). Not having worked with either I'm in no position to say.
 
You must've posted that while I was typing, Jill. Very nice. Good to see what the camera is capable of. I'd be thrilled to take images of my knives of that quality.
 
The histogram for those models are display only??
I really use the live histogram feature a lot

Using AA batteries is awesome
The batteries for my camera are like 60+ bucks
 
I have an A590. The image stabilization is nice. The viewfinder is crappy. You could probably try the viewfinders at any store, but don't expect much. Even if they don't have the exact models out, they should have something close enough. The flash takes several seconds to recharge between shots on the A series, while the SDs are faster. Most SDs do not have aperture and shutter priority modes.
 
PerformanceFirst said:
I have an A590. The image stabilization is nice. The viewfinder is crappy. You could probably try the viewfinders at any store, but don't expect much. Even if they don't have the exact models out, they should have something close enough. The flash takes several seconds to recharge between shots on the A series, while the SDs are faster. Most SDs do not have aperture and shutter priority modes.
Click to expand...


Is there a winner in your view?
 
You really can't go wrong with either. Here is a nice review of the SD1100 if you care to read it:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd1100is/

I really bought the A590 in a bit of an emergency- I needed to take pictures of storm damage following Hurricane Ike. I do like the manual controls however, and it has 4x zoom vs 3x for the SD1100. Having skimmed that review, I don't think I'd buy the SD because it only has a battery life of 240 shots (per standardized testing with flash used 1/2 the time and LCD on). With rechargeable AAs, the A590 will give you more like 400 shots. It gives me about 200 with regular alkalines. I think you will find the LCDs on these cameras much better than an old 1.3 MP cam, and they are much more responsive as well.
 
Here's one of my side yard, after I figured out I could size them with the camera. If i can use this with my lack of experience and take decent shots anybody can. I'm the sort of person that buys something new and winds up buying better, after I get into using it. So I was fairly cautious about this purchase, as I wind up spending way more money doing that, than I would if I just bought the upper end to start. Amazingly enough that hasn't happened yet with this camera. I'm still happy with it! (but I can see it happening someday, just not as fast as other hobbies)
vn0y95.jpg
 
Thanks to all for the info.

Anyone else have anything they can share on the matter?
 
Well, I just got a Nikon Coolpix S52 with 9.0 megapixels. It is small and light, but has a lot of great features. I got it on sale for $149.
 
Blues said:
a couple of budget cameras I've been looking at are the Canon PS A590IS and the SD1100IS.
Click to expand...

The main difference between the two other than size and the obvious style/cosmetics - is that the A590is has Manual modes - especially Shutter Priority (Tv) and Aperture Priority (Av) and true full Manual (the SD1100is "manual" and not true full manual - but merely allows one to set ISO etc - as opposed to Full Auto where nothing can be set)

However if these don't mean much -
then choose whichever you prefer.

The SD1100is has the advantage of being really small and neat which encourages carrying everywhere - a really good thing. Its wide end is at 38mm equiv which is not really wide enough - the A590is is a bit better at 35mm - might only be 3mm - but it is noticable.

--
Vincent
http://picasaweb.com/UnknownVincent
http://UnknownVincent.Shutterfly.com
http://UnknownVT.Shutterfly.com
http://groups.msn.com/UnknownVincent/shoebox.msnw
 
How soon are you looking to get the camera? If you're willing to apply for a Discover credit card and wait a few weeks there's an offer floating around out there for a free A590 after your first purchase. Searching the forums on any of the deal sites out there like fatwallet.com or slickdeals.net should lead you in the right direction. I just got one in the mail a week ago to replace a friend's lost camera. It took about a month and a half.
 
UnknownVT said:
The main difference between the two other than size and the obvious style/cosmetics - is that the A590is has Manual modes - especially Shutter Priority (Tv) and Aperture Priority (Av) and true full Manual (the SD1100is "manual" and not true full manual - but merely allows one to set ISO etc - as opposed to Full Auto where nothing can be set)

However if these don't mean much -
then choose whichever you prefer.

The SD1100is has the advantage of being really small and neat which encourages carrying everywhere - a really good thing. Its wide end is at 38mm equiv which is not really wide enough - the A590is is a bit better at 35mm - might only be 3mm - but it is noticable.

--
Vincent
Click to expand...

Thanks, Vincent. I appreciate the perspective.
 
Mayor McCheese said:
How soon are you looking to get the camera? If you're willing to apply for a Discover credit card and wait a few weeks there's an offer floating around out there for a free A590 after your first purchase. Searching the forums on any of the deal sites out there like fatwallet.com or slickdeals.net should lead you in the right direction. I just got one in the mail a week ago to replace a friend's lost camera. It took about a month and a half.
Click to expand...


Thanks, I don't think so...but it's an option. Thanks for the info.
 
Last edited:
Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who posted in this thread for sharing their perspectives and points of view.

In the end, though I didn't expect to, I took Mayor McCheese's advice (since time was not of the essence) and am getting a free A590IS via the credit card offer.

I actually used the new credit card to purchase a higher capacity SD card (which both activates the card and fulfills the requirement for the free camera) so it was a "win-win" for less than $10 outlay. I've already received an email confirmation that the camera order is being processed via amazon.com (though it takes up to several weeks).

So, thanks again all. Mayor McCheese, I owe you a beer, or at the very least some Gouda. ;) :cool:
 
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