Canon S230 or S330 or different digital camera?

[TheDebater]

I want to get a digital camera but for me to actually use it and take it with me it needs to be small enough to fit comfortable into a pocket or something. Basically the smaller the better. I've been looking at the Canon Powershots and to me those look pretty good plus it seems like most people here are pretty pleased with them. My question for you is out of the Powershots would you go for S230 or S330 assuming that price isnt too much of an issue or can you reccomend a better pick? Thanks in advance,
Tristan

 

[om3gaboost]

 

[om3gaboost]

i would get neither..save the money and get the s100..all you really need for nice pictures is 2.0 MP, which the s100 offers.
you could probably pick it up on ebay for not much..

sorry about the lost post, pressed enter on accident.

 

[Utterman]

I got the S330 for my birthday last Tuesday and I have fallen in love with it. I'm still playing around with it, but the auto mode is really easy. Here is my first picture I have taken. The S330 is a little larger than the S230, so depending on how large your pockets are, you may have a little trouble putting in your pocket. I suggest going to a camera store that knows a lot more about it. The camera store I went to was a lot more help than if I were to go to Best Buy or some other electronics store. I also suggest goto to dpreview.com to check out the reviews there. Overall they gave my camera a highly recommended rating.

 

[jv316]

I just got an s230. This cam is awesome. Great pic quality and a good amount of manual controls if thats what your into. Plus it uses the same image processor that the hugely popular Canon G series camers use. Check out review on it at dcresouce.com or stevesdigicams.com. Both are well done and can answer all your questions. Plus it's got some sample pics for you to check out. Hope that helps.

 

[pm]

Personally, I'd opt for 3MP w/ 2x zoom over 2MP w/ 3x zoom any day. Considering that the price is almost the same, I wouldn't even be considering the S330 - but that's my opinion. I love my S110.

 

[nortexoid]

higher MP means nothing if you're not printing photos larger than 8.5x11 (ok, perhaps a little smaller for a less soft print), or cropping and printing...that's why i chose a 2MP w/ better features over a 3MP w/ less features...

in fact, i love my canon powershot a40...only camera in its price that features manual controls (aperature, shutter speeds, etc.), video w/ audio, and a few other nice features...

the S series are nice because they're small but i don't like the use of proprietary batteries, poor battery life, etc....but if u want compact, then i'd save some money and get the 2mp camera unless u plan on cropping a lot or want gigantic photo prints...

 

[MasterHoss]

Both cameras are great. If you can, somehow, find the S330 for a price close to the S230, by all means, get it.

 

[Utterman]

the S series are nice because they're small but i don't like the use of proprietary batteries, poor battery life, etc....but if u want compact, then i'd save some money and get the 2mp camera unless u plan on cropping a lot or want gigantic photo prints...

Well my S330 gets about an hour and a half of battery life if I leave it all all the time. I can save more by using the viewfinder instead of the LCD, but I haven't tried that yet. It takes about 2 hours to fully recharge one of the batteries, so I suggest getting a 2nd one like I did. For the size of the camera, I wouldn't think that AA batterys wouldn't be able to keep the camera the size it is. The battery that comes with the camera is very small and can pack a lot of juice for its size.

 

[Macro2]

Hummm. I have a A40 (2 megapixel) and a friend has a S30 (3 Megapixel). His S30 beats the pants off my A40 even if the prints are less than 8x10.

My next camera will be > 3megapixels.

Mac

 

[Slogun]

Yes, you have a tough choice to make, more megapixels vs smaller camera size.

I do love the photos my 3mp S30 takes, but tiny size was not a major consideration for me.

Yes, if you can, take a look at the cameras in person. However, I am skeptical that any camera salesman will be able to add anything beyond the vast amount of info you will find about these cameras online, particularly at dpreview.com. I fear what you will hear from a salesman will have more to do with their profit margin than which camera is best for you. I speak from experience from the last time I bought an expensive 35mm camera.

 

[JoPalm]

The picture quality still improves even if your not printing bigger 5x7's or 8x10's. The quality of a 3MP 4x6 will be slightly better than a 2MP 4x6. I myself have a s110 and olympus 2100uz, both 2MP cameras and the quality of prints are good! Nortexoid comment is right that if your're not really going to print prints that size, then opt for the 2MP.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: Macro2
Hummm. I have a A40 (2 megapixel) and a friend has a S30 (3 Megapixel). His S30 beats the pants off my A40 even if the prints are less than 8x10.

My next camera will be > 3megapixels.

Mac

Wouldn't you want one that skips a few MP? Like perhaps a 4 or 5. Depending on how much value you wanna get? The jump from 2 to 3 is worth especially with companies prolly working to get great uality on the 4 for a cheaper price?

 

[Macro2]

RE:"Wouldn't you want one that skips a few MP? Like perhaps a 4 or 5. Depending on how much value you wanna get? The jump from 2 to 3 is worth especially with companies prolly working to get great uality on the 4 for a cheaper price?"

Sure I would. > is the "greater than" sign. 4, 5, 6...what ever I can afford.

But...Seems that when these cameras jump from 2 to 3+ MP and beyond they get a better quality pickup chip in addition to more MPs. at least Canons.

Mac

 

[TheDebater]

Thanks for the input everyone. Right now i guess im leaning towards the higher resolution S230. I my laptop runs at 1200x1600 and that extra MP would be nice.... but so would the zoom and the little bit cheaper S330.... tough decisions. Thanks

 

[smp]

I don't know if you're in the market for it, but Canon is not the only company out there making good cameras.
I know you want a small camera .. my toss up right now is either saving some money and going with a Canon (powershot A40 probably) or opting for a 3mp 6x optical zoom and all the manual control goodies (which I love) .. with the fuji finepix 3800 .. it's big though.
When I shop I like to look at expensive stuff first, then figure out what the cheaper stuff lacks and see if it's worth it or not.

 

[azkiwi]

...Seems that when these cameras jump from 2 to 3+ MP and beyond they get a better quality pickup chip in addition to more MPs. at least Canons.

I don't see why a 3MP camera would take better low res images than a 2Mp one - all other things equal.

Look closely at the lens of whatever camera you consider - there are far fewer lens makers than camera makers! The reviews usually have something to say in that regard though you may have to read a lot of reviews to catch the differences. That said, in my experience 2X optical zoom is nowhere near enough. A good zoom lets you frame your shot and take much more candid photos.

 

[IgoByte]

My father has an S110 and it's great. A friend of mine has an S330 and that one too is just great. I'd buy the S230 in a heartbeat and probably will too around christmas to have something to easily carry around - my G2 is too bulky.

 

[sinunbeso]

I got the s230 yesterday. I had a s200 before which looked identical to s230. The battery on s200 was very good, if not exceptional. Charging time is about 2 hours. I expect the same from s230. S330 is noticeably larger than s200 and s230. Yes it does feature a better zooming capability but for the things I shoot with a compact camera, I don't really need that much zoom.

I'd always go with Canon when it comes to digital cameras. I am competely satisfied with every Canon I've bought so far. Their design and quality is top notch and duribitiy is outstanding.

 

[Fant]

I just ordered an S230 for $360 shipped next day from dell.com. Keep in mind the S230 has the new digex processing technology that S45 and G3 have. However the S330 doesnt. So if you compare images you will see that the color rendition is better on the S230 pics not only resolution. True you get less zoom, but you could just take the higher rest 3mp image and crop out a 1600x1200 portion of it to get the equiv of a 2mp 3x zoom no?

 

[Wuzup101]

I'm fairly certain the S230 (which I'm also looking at getting very soon) has a better autofocus system then the previous cannon elph series cameras. Uses more comp points to focus... Anyway I have a Fugi 4900 that takes nice pictures w/ 6x optical zoom and all the manual controls when I need to take some good pictures.

Truth is I don't carry it with me because it's big...and I miss good pic opps because of this. That's why I'm getting an S230 for a secondary camera to carry everywhere (I like taking pics). With 3.2mp your going to have at noticable increase in quality over 2.1mp...especially at 8x10 sizes. Remember that's 50% more pixels. I should also point out that unless you are in a very bright environment when taking pictures (lots of ambient light)... your not going to have awesome pictures with either camera from a distance... the flash on both of them isn't made to take pictures from far away... they are those cameras you bring with you when you go out and want to take some pictures to remember the evening. You don't take them to a basketball/hockey/football game to take pics of your fav players on the field 100 yards away. I would say the upgraded technology and 50% more pixels on the S230 is well worth the zoom loss... that you probably won't use anyway. Remember the zoom on these cameras isn't awesome either... the pics will look better if you keep it as wide as possible.