Canon Powershot A100/200 or Canon A40? (don't respond anymore)

[gwlam12]

How important is optical zoom? I don't have much money, and want to spend as little as possible. A100 and A200 don't have optical zoom. A40 does but costs about $100 more. So which, which , which???

<edit> I was having problems deciding cuz I was under the impression that A100/200 had movie mode with sound.</edit>

 

[microAmp]

I have the A40, love it, only digital camera that I ever had, but my brother has some other one that I don't much care for but then again, it's a very low end digital camera. I got a 256 MB Compact Flash card for $83 at NewEgg. I take take a ton of pictures or AVI files too but limited in 15 seconds or 30 seconds, depending on resolution.

Optical zoom will give better quality over a digital zoom.

 

[ISAslot]

My first digital camera was a HP photosmart C200 1MP with no optical zoom. It was a great camera, but when you take a picture of a subject it will show up as being farther away from the camera than it really was. This makes some shots difficult because to get up close pictures you really need to be UP CLOSE. This always irritated me.

Just recently I purchased a Canon Powershot S330 with 3X optical.

The added flexabilty that the zoom gives is awesome. If you can get the optical zoom then definately do.

Also digital zoom is near useless IMO.

 

[StattlichPassat]

I've got an A40 and I love it- every aspect of it is worth every cent you pay. Highly recommended. I got mine from here for $276-ish!

 

[RossMAN]

It's all about size, if you need ultra super compact then get the S100/S200 otherwise the A40 is the clear winner.

If you're lucky you can get it for around $249 with some finaggling.