just about to buy a camera - before I order, any thoughts?

[Pappa Lurve]

I am about to order a powershot s5 is. Seen it for £210. I used to be kind of semi pro and I have access to a whole slew of EOS kit, including the 1D (cant recall which variant, its about a year old) which i never use! I want something small and light but with a good zoom, preferably CF cards and decent exposure control. Mainly for car stuff. I will also pick up a small compact as some stage but seems to me that the S5 is a pretty good unit for what I want. The G9 looks great as well but I prefer the extra zoom on the S5 over the higher MP.

So, before I buy, any bad news with that camera or anything that is a lot better worth looking at?

Been using mainly canon stuff since I got my first SLR in the early 90's but my compact is a now very aged fuji f601z which realy is a bit long in the tooth!

[SlidingSideways]

Refurbished versions are available on Canons eBay store for about £155.
Not used one before, but a £50 saving might take the sting out a bit if it does turn out to be rubbish.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_Canon-Digita...

[snotrag]

I bought this

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/s6500/

Just before Christmas - a halfway house between an SLR and a a compact. Absolutely loving it so far, glowing reviews, lightweight, not too big, good manual control. Particularly love the manual zoom and focus - which helps towards the excellent battery life. Very impressed on that front.

It seems perfect for an 'improving amateur' like me...?

[JustinP1]

snotrag said:

I bought this

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/s6500/

Just before Christmas - a halfway house between an SLR and a a compact. Absolutely loving it so far, glowing reviews, lightweight, not too big, good manual control. Particularly love the manual zoom and focus - which helps towards the excellent battery life. Very impressed on that front.

It seems perfect for an 'improving amateur' like me...?

I have the Fuji S8000, another thumbs up from me. I think the difference is the 8000 is 8MP instead of 6 and the zoom is 18X in stead of 10X.

For the money at £200 I am astonished. That is about £100 less than the compact I got about 3 years ago with 5MP and a 3X zoom!

I have got some really nice shots with it. It has two different types of stability management which really do help for the zoom shots, and a few quick setups for different types of photos which make it pretty easy.

I am thinking of going up to a big SLR I have had so much fun with it. Its six weeks old, like new and £150 to anyone who is interested!

[Pappa Lurve]

Mate, I can get that Fuji for £175 new! prices are dropping the whole time on these things.

I like the extra zoom but the canon has optical image stabilisation which i am led to understand gives a cleaner image. Is that actually true?

I like the Canon refurb shop - looks good! Spoke to the place I want to buy it for and they have offered me a 2 year warranty which they do as standard but also to throw in a 2MB card and a set of batts for it, which is nice!

an 18 times zoom though.... mmm, I feel another trip to the shops to check that one out may be in order. No point in even looking at it as an option if it does not feel good. Also, I want passive not active AF so I need to check if the Fuji has that as well as that's really key to me. Canon passive AF has always seems to me to be the best of the bunch.

thanks for the advice so far.

[Mrs NucSquash]

Hey. I would get it. I bought it just before christmas in store so alittle more expensive tho I did get rechargeable batteries and a 1gb memory card thrown in for free.

Check out my new post "If only..." - I have taken those pics with the canon IS S5 and they have come out really well. I have heard the camera is noisey on high ISO settings 800+ which it does but then it is only a bridge camera. I have come down from a Canon 400D and trust me, in most situation you cant tell the difference between the shots.

If you want a 12x zoon with manual settings which is better then your average compact then get the canon.

Nik

Edited by Mrs NucSquash on Wednesday 30th January 17:02

[Shropshiremike]

Pappa Lurve said:

I am about to order a powershot s5 is. Seen it for £210. So, before I buy, any bad news with that camera or anything that is a lot better worth looking at?

Is it worth looking at the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 - has done quite well in tests. I was looking at similar to you but no-one locally had the Canon in stock for me to have a "feel of it". Doesn't take CF cards though but has done quite well in reviews

[Pappa Lurve]

Interestingly, I called the shop I used to work at as a kid and asked what they thought. They wont sell the canon right now as they are getting a very bad deal from canon but offered to get me one for trade, £55 more than online! They also said that out of the Panasonic, Fuji And Canon they like the canon. However, it really comes down to which one feels best in your hands, how important the mem cards it uses are, the advantage of a big lens over a optical stabiliser etc. I phoned 3 other shops and once they stopped pushing which was the most expensive the two compact that they all seemed to rate are the G9 and the S5 although certainly, the fuji and panasonic are also great cameras but for my needs, which is smallish, maximum control, optical stabilization and ideally SD card, it seems to be the way to go. Will have to find a shop that has them all though and have a final play.

Online place then said they will take any camera back after 7 days if I dont like it as long as it is mint, whcih seems fair!

[JustinP1]

Pappa Lurve said:

Mate, I can get that Fuji for £175 new! prices are dropping the whole time on these things.

I like the extra zoom but the canon has optical image stabilisation which i am led to understand gives a cleaner image. Is that actually true?

I like the Canon refurb shop - looks good! Spoke to the place I want to buy it for and they have offered me a 2 year warranty which they do as standard but also to throw in a 2MB card and a set of batts for it, which is nice!

an 18 times zoom though.... mmm, I feel another trip to the shops to check that one out may be in order. No point in even looking at it as an option if it does not feel good. Also, I want passive not active AF so I need to check if the Fuji has that as well as that's really key to me. Canon passive AF has always seems to me to be the best of the bunch.

thanks for the advice so far.

Just had a look for you:

http://www.offeroftheday.co.uk/search.asp?order=pr...

£161 delivered for my Fuji! Dont buy mine get that!

It has mechanical stabilisation *and* separate software based stabilisation too. You can also use both together.

I would say though that pushing it to the max, I have found a tripod is really needed. That said, I am pleased with the range at both ends of the scale. I have taken snaps of birds a field away and then right after took an 'arty' photo of the sun shining through a leaf with the leaf no more than two inches away. Both in perfect focus.

If the prices have dropped that much, even if I get something 'bigger' I am going to keep it and use it anyway, it really is good.

[boxster9]

I have been following this thread with interest. Was initially thinking of getting a compact (sony T200 or Ixus 950) to replace mt sony T7, however this thread has got me thinking about the fuJi 600 and 800. Just a few questions to all the owners out there... is there a significant difference in picture quality when compared to the sony or canon Ixus. Secondly would you go for the 600 or 800 model, which seems a bargain at £161?

I mean S6500 and S8000

Edited by boxster9 on Thursday 31st January 16:29

[JustinP1]

boxster9 said:

I have been following this thread with interest. Was initially thinking of getting a compact (sony T200 or Ixus 950) to replace mt sony T7, however this thread has got me thinking about the fuJi 600 and 800. Just a few questions to all the owners out there... is there a significant difference in picture quality when compared to the sony or canon Ixus. Secondly would you go for the 600 or 800 model, which seems a bargain at £161?

I mean S6500 and S8000

Edited by boxster9 on Thursday 31st January 16:29

Well the 6000 is 6MP and 10X zoom and the 8000 is 8MP and 18X zoom.

Apart from that, as far as I can see they are pretty much the same cameras. I have a three year old Ixus, so technology may have moved on since then, but the photos are easily better quality. I have to say that the 'quick setups' on the Fuji make it easy to get a decent photo without too much setting it up.

I specifically got the 8000 just because it had the 18X zoom, if you need it there really arnt that many other cameras in that price range to get more then 10X or 12X zoom.

[snotrag]

JustinP1 said:

Apart from that, as far as I can see they are pretty much the same cameras.

Not really. I chose the 6500 OVER the 8000 - because it has manual zoom, manual focus, and I felt it was nicer to handle.

To some it may not be important - but a manual zoom lens is far, far and away better to use than pressing a pokey, jumpy button. Also aids battery life.

The 6500 is a joy to use.

[JustinP1]

snotrag said:

JustinP1 said:

Apart from that, as far as I can see they are pretty much the same cameras.

Not really. I chose the 6500 OVER the 8000 - because it has manual zoom, manual focus, and I felt it was nicer to handle.

To some it may not be important - but a manual zoom lens is far, far and away better to use than pressing a pokey, jumpy button. Also aids battery life.

The 6500 is a joy to use.

Ahh, I was looking at the differences between the 6000 and the 8000.

I do see that later on the OP refined that to the 6500.

Well, at the end of the day, whichever one it is mine has some extra stuff. Just think of the '1500' you are missing out on with the 6500!?

[snotrag]

S6000 and S6500 are the same camera - different name for different market...

[boxster9]

The 18x zoom is certainly attractive. DO these cameras come close to DSLR in terms of picture quality. If theydo then I may be tempted to go for one, although it may be cumbersome to carry around compared with something like the sony T200.

[Pappa Lurve]

boxster9 said:

The 18x zoom is certainly attractive. DO these cameras come close to DSLR in terms of picture quality. If they do then I may be tempted to go for one, although it may be cumbersome to carry around compared with something like the sony T200.

From what I am told and from sample shots the highest quality in most conditions seems to be the canon. However, the Canon G9 is a step above but frankly, nothing shy of a DSLR really comes that close to a DSLR! Having said that, depends what you want. I cannot see me needing it for many pictures that wont be displayed on screens or digital pic frames although I would like to print some out, I would be amazed if I will ever blow up above A3, and even that will be very rare indeed. That being the case, one of these kinds of cameras is far, far more useful to me than the EOS 1D(the model that has just been superseded) that I can use when ever I want but never do as I can't be bothered to carry it about with me!

Of course, I am only just getting into these kind of cameras and I am no expert, so I am fully prepared to b flamed but those who know more.

[JustinP1]

boxster9 said:

The 18x zoom is certainly attractive. DO these cameras come close to DSLR in terms of picture quality. If theydo then I may be tempted to go for one, although it may be cumbersome to carry around compared with something like the sony T200.

From what I have seen, and my specific benchmark, which is wildlife photography I have seen similar shots on my Fuji FD8000 to those a good amateur has taken with a Canon 400D DSLR and a good lens.

His photos compared to mine are so sharp they are almost 3D - although until I saw them I thought mine were pretty good...

However, it must be remembered we are comparing a £180 all in one bit of kit to something which is £350 for the camera and £700 for the lens - five times as much.

In that sense it is about as useful as comparing a decent car in the Volvo range to a Bentley Continental GT!

The Volvo will still get you from A to B, but if you will notice the difference the Bentley can offer, and you think the benefits are worth it, then go for it!

I must say though that I really like my Fuji, and it is so much more useful than my standard Canon 'point and shoot' camera. Thats not to say that the Fuji cannot 'point and shoot', it does that very well due to the extra control over the internal settings the 'auto' feature has and of course the huge range in zoom. I have found it a useful step up to learning about photography and only a few weeks later looking into the possibility of a DSLR to learn more.

[boxster9]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Iam in a bit of a dilemma now , had a look at both the canon S5 and the Fuji 8000 and I am swating towards the canon, due mainly to the better picture quality . I 've done a bit of research on the various camera sites and the fuji 8000 hasn't had the best of reviews.

...Iam still confused

[Pappa Lurve]

Just won an auction on the canon website. Will sort out payment tomorrow and hopefully will have my nice, shiny powershot s5 before the weekend. Not a bad bit of kit for under £165 including delivery. I have played with the camera a couple of times in shops so i am firly confortable it should be a good bit of kit and the reviews all seem to rate it priced at around £270, so I am guessing I have got a decnet bit of kit at not too much cash, which is a combination I am rather partial to! Anyway, I'll report back when it arrives...

[Pappa Lurve]

Won the auction on Tuesday night, paid for the camera at 11;30 yesterday morning over the phone and got a call an hour later to confirm it and advise that delivery would be earlu next week. Just turned up ten mins ago!

Box is a bit shabby but the camera is perfect, all manauels, discs, leads etc are new and TBH, I can't see any difference between my recon one at £160 and a shop bouight one at £120 more.

Off for a play now but so far, I am officially very chuffed!