canon sd700 for $335, good deal?

[D22]

I could get one for this price shipped. I want a point and shoot so I can carry it everywhere. I am a little leery spending this much money though. So I guess my question is: Is there anything else comparable for over $100 cheaper? I say over $100, because it would take that much for it to be really relevant. When it comes to memories, if I am only saving like $50, I rather just have the better camera with the higher chance of quality pics...

 

[shadykidd]

My whole family uses the Canon SDlxxx line, and we all love it. We own a sd400, sd500, and sd550. If I am not mistaken, the sd700 is identical to these, except it is 7MP.

With that being said, I love these cameras. They are easy to use, small, durable, and produce excellent quality pictures. It is very easy to transfer pictures to a PC, and the standard battery life is quite good. It also takes movies with sound, which is a nice touch. I am always getting compliments on my camera.

The only thing I do not like about them is the zoom. The digital zoom is useless since it pixelates the image, so you only get a real zoom of about 3xs. On several occasions I wish I had a powerful zoom, but for normal use this camera is great.

So back to your question. Do you need a 7MP camera? If you are making standard 4x6 prints, a 7MP will show no difference compared to a 5MP. Even 5x7 will look nearly identical. Unless you plan on making lots of 8x10s or larger, a 7MP is kind of an over kill. So, if you are on a budget, pickup an SD550 for around $200-$250, and you should be very happy.

If you want to see the difference between 5MP and 7MP, most Circuit City or Best Buy stores have prints on display. I'll bet you can't tell the difference.

 

[Bobthelost]

If you're after quality then remember that more megapixels != better photos. I've got a 5mp Casio Exlim (great out on the piss camera) and a 6mp D50 (digital SLR). The difference is in the amount of noise, capture speed, and each pixel being captured more faithfully (if that makes sense).

The best point and shoot i ever owned was a cannon Ixus V3.

 

[SuperNaruto]

SD700 is only 6MP.. not 7MP.

I used canon since the orignal S100.. i also went through at lot of canons.. currently stopped at sd550 & sd450 (wife). I upgraded to a nikon d70s. P&S camera are great at events you do not want to bring a huge dslr with you.

I often laugh at the guy that brings a huge slr to the beach and worry about water hahah

 

[MrX8503]

I'm a long time canon camera lover, but Fuji's new F30 compact camera will blow away any current compact camera that you can get for $330.

of course this is not to say the canon sd line arent great cameras.

 

[Nocturnal]

The SD700 also has IS = image stabilization.

 

[corkyg]

Canon has always been my choice, but competition is great Take a look at this one - can be had for a bit less, and was recently selected by a friend of mine over the SD700.

Z612

It is very small - and the 12X optical German lens is awesome. My friend is a backpack camper, and he chose this little guy mainly for its size and 12X zoom lens. It is only a little bigger than a set of car keys.

 

[MrX8503]

IS=image stabilization is cool and all, but in my opinion its a marketing gimmick for P&S cameras more than anything else.

Think about it, how effective is IS going to be if your camera can only zoom 4x? lol. Now if the lens had a greater optical zoom, i can see IS being put to a bigger use, otherwise I dont think its that big of a deal.

 

[D22]

I just know my sony s40 has got to go. Any hand shake whatsoever produces a blurry image. I guess now I have to research that Fuji camera too though...already a little biased against it cuz of the XD card BS, but I will give it a look. Read a little bit about it on some forums and it was said that it was a better low light camera, but in daylight the sd700 looked much better

 

[MrX8503]

yeah the XD cards are a bunch of bs. I wish fuji and olympus would ditch them already. I hate them almost as much as i hate Sony's memory stick.

$335 for a sd700 IS is a good deal, i could only find it for 370+, which would be more than the Fuji even if their XD cards are expensive.

 

[uclaChris]

Its a great deal for a great camera, but Id keep in mind that canon is set to unveil an entirely new line of elphs within the next week or so. Not sure if it matters to you but I always like to see whats on the new models since digicams seem to evolve fairly rapidly.

 

[D22]

uclaChris: Can you give me any details? Yes, I did do a few google searches in a vain attempt to find information. But yes, that could easily make me wait, because that either means price drops on current lineup or an entirely new camera that I have to have.