Need a digital camera owner's opinion.

[clicknext]

1. How good is the Canon Powershot S200's picture quality? Don't take anything else into account like the size or price, just looking at picture quality, how is it?
2. How easy is it to use? Does it turn on very quickly and take pictures without any hassle, or is there more to it?
3. For anyone with the Nikon CoolPix 2500, how is that camera? How is the picture quality?
4. For anyone who's tried both, which one is better and in what way?

 

[dpm]

I'm pretty sure that the powershot s200 was sold as the Ixus V2 in Europe, in which case its the same camera that I've got.

Firstly, the proviso - I'm no camera expert, and i've only ever tried a few digital cameras.

Anyway, 1) the image quality seems superb. Pictures look great, and the colour is good. Especially once I junked the 8mb card that came with it and got a 256mb, so I could stop worrying about compression. Although to be perfectly honest with you, I'm not sure I can really tell too much of a difference anyway.

2) Easy to use? I can't fault it. Its very user friendly, the buttons seem to have a good layout, and I felt like a master with it after about 30 seconds. It takes 1.5 seconds to turn on (As the lens extends from the case). It seems to take about a second to take a photo (not like my old mash the button down and snap 35mm) and the first photo you take after it turns on seems to take longer than the others.
The optical zoom is great, but the digital zoom brings in fuzziness.

Frankly its simple enough to use that my mother can use it, although I have to be careful not to say things like "press the button on the left" as she gets her left and her "other left" mixed up sometimes...

as for 3) and 4) Ive not tried it, so I can't tell you.

Basically though, it was a superb buy - worth every penny and more. It feels even smaller in the flesh than it does in photos, and the lcd screen is great. Its super light, you don't really notice you are carrying it (luckily it seems to take knocks well, as there are a couple of times when i really *should* have remembered I was carrying it). It takes some damn nice photos, and its functions are great. Can you tell I like it?

The only things I would change on it ,would be to give it a bigger optical zoom, and a snapshot mode, where it doesnt bother to focus, just takes a photo instantly. However, these are things i can live without. It'll be quite a while before i replace this camera!

 

[may]

Originally posted by: clicknext
1. How good is the Canon Powershot S200's picture quality? Don't take anything else into account like the size or price, just looking at picture quality, how is it? 2. How easy is it to use? Does it turn on very quickly and take pictures without any hassle, or is there more to it? 3. For anyone with the Nikon CoolPix 2500, how is that camera? How is the picture quality? 4. For anyone who's tried both, which one is better and in what way?

I don't have a S200, but I used a S100 and Nikon 2500 both for a long time, and I would assume that S200 is a minor upgrade of S100. Both cameras produce excellent picture and are very easy to use.

S100 is more rugged and the stainless body is very compact and attractive. 2500 does not have the direct viewfinder, so you have to rely on LCD all the time. But the twist len design sometime is very useful and fun to use. 2500 also has less controls, so may be easier to use for Mom and Dad...I won't regret with either of them..


BTW, try your local Target and 2500 is being on clearance for $139 for a while.

 

[Erasmus-X]

Well basically you have to ask yourself what kind of shooting you'll be doing. The S200 is a 2.0 megapixel camera, which is considered entry-level right now. With that resolution you can produce about a 5X7 print from a photo printer that is relatively indistinguishable from that of a film camera. If you need to do bigger prints than that, I'd look into getting a camera with at least 3 megapixels.

Between the two cameras mentioned, I would have to recommend the Canon model. I'm not very fond of the Nikon's design (I find the swivel-out lens to be rather awkward) and there's really no reason why they couldn't include an optical viewfinder.

 

[clicknext]

2 megapixel is fine by me, because I won't be printing many of my pictures out. I'll usually only be viewing them on my computer.

The things that are pushing me towards the nikon are longer battery life and from what I've seen, better macro. With the S200 I'll probably have to buy a spare battery since it only lasts about an hour. Nikon's lasts more than 2 hours apparently. And the macro, I'm not sure about, which is why I need someone to take a macro shot for me. =)