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More digital cam questions! New A640 vs. S3 IS

12x vs 4x optical zoom.

6MP vs 10MP resolution.

IS vs. non-IS lens.
 
I would get the S3, simply because of the 12x zoom. I may be biased, though, because I have one... 😉

6mp isn't a limitation in my camera anyway; the only problem might be camera layout - it tries hard to be a DSLR, and you want to use it as such, but it's too small to hold like a regular DLSR. Both a pro and a con, I guess.

The 640 has a bigger screen, but I'm not sure if it's movable like the S3s is.
 
I'd definitely get the S3 (in fact, I almost certainly will within the next few months)...I had the S1 for almost two years and I loved it. It's sure not a pocketable camera, but IMO 10MP on a camera with a small sensor is a gimmick anyway.

Edit: Not to mention that the S3 is actually cheaper now.
 
I guess this might be rhetorical. Which do you think would be better? I'm leaning toward the S3. I've upped my budget to 400$. I've read the S3 isn't very 'sharp'. I wonder which would be better for general photography.
 
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I'd definitely get the S3 (in fact, I almost certainly will within the next few months)...I had the S1 for almost two years and I loved it. It's sure not a pocketable camera, but IMO 10MP on a camera with a small sensor is a gimmick anyway.

Edit: Not to mention that the S3 is actually cheaper now.
Click to expand...


So you guys don't think that the 10 megapixel will be awesome?
 
Originally posted by: episodic
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I'd definitely get the S3 (in fact, I almost certainly will within the next few months)...I had the S1 for almost two years and I loved it. It's sure not a pocketable camera, but IMO 10MP on a camera with a small sensor is a gimmick anyway.

Edit: Not to mention that the S3 is actually cheaper now.
Click to expand...


So you guys don't think that the 10 megapixel will be awesome?
Click to expand...

Personally I don't. 12x optical zoom (and IS) would be (and has been) a lot more handy for my uses than 10MP would be. I actually didn't even really find myself really wanting more resolution from my S1 (two generations older than the S3), and that was only a 3.2MP camera. I did make full use of the 10x zoom many times though. Depends on what you shoot of course.
 
Originally posted by: episodic
Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
I'd definitely get the S3 (in fact, I almost certainly will within the next few months)...I had the S1 for almost two years and I loved it. It's sure not a pocketable camera, but IMO 10MP on a camera with a small sensor is a gimmick anyway.

Edit: Not to mention that the S3 is actually cheaper now.
Click to expand...


So you guys don't think that the 10 megapixel will be awesome?
Click to expand...

Nope. I personally think the sensor may be outresolving the lens in this camera, meaning the teeny tiny lens is the limiting optical factor here.

Besides, the S3 has nearly every feature advantage.

Bigger zoom. Sure the A640 has higher MP, but the S3's zoom more than makes up for this fact.

The S3's lens is actually BRIGHTER at full telephoto than the A640's...

The S3 has IS.

The S3's wide end is almost exactly the same as the A640's wide end. Usually low-zoom cameras have the benefit of being wider than super zooms, but this isn't the case for the A640.

Of course, if your primary need is to have a small pocketable camera for absolute convenience, go for the A640, or maybe the Fuji F10.
 
simply put: the S3 is for people who wants to play around with settings and take nice pictures, and the A640.... well the 10MP e-penis is FTW for some.

i'd buy an S2.
 
Originally posted by: sniperruff
simply put: the S3 is for people who wants to play around with settings and take nice pictures, and the A640.... well the 10MP e-penis is FTW for some.

i'd buy an S2.
Click to expand...

s2 does not have ISO 800
 
Originally posted by: episodic
Originally posted by: sniperruff
simply put: the S3 is for people who wants to play around with settings and take nice pictures, and the A640.... well the 10MP e-penis is FTW for some.

i'd buy an S2.
Click to expand...

s2 does not have ISO 800
Click to expand...

That's one of the main reasons I've been waiting for S3 price drops instead of picking up a cheap(er) S2. I found myself wanting (or needing) more than ISO400 several times on my S1, and that was pretty much my only problem with it (well, that and slow AF, but that too has been fixed in the S2/S3).
 
Since I admittedly only have a limited knowledge and understanding of how digital camera actually work...my thought is that unless you're going to print poster size pics, the 10 MP factor is going to be a waste, IF that's something you're going to base the choice on. IIRC, a 5-6 MP camera will take beautiful pix that will be "photo resolution" 8X10 prints...maybe 11X14.
I LIKE the 12X zoom and IS that the S3 offers. That's something my Nikon 5700 doesn't have. It DOES have an 8X zoom, which is great for most things, yet, occasionally, I find myself wishing for "just a bit more reach", and the IS factor could make the difference in a LOT of shots that get tossed because of vibration/shaking blur. IIRC, they claim that it's almost impossible for the human hands to hold a camera perfectly still past 1/60 second. The stabilization feature should make a big difference in that.
 
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