feedback on Canon A710-IS compared to Sony DSC-N2

Help, I lost a prosumer(kodak) camera to the surf this summer. And I think
my wife has replaced it this Christmas with a Sony DSC-N2. It's a shiney
new compact with some neat features but only 3x optical zoom and it doesn't
have IS. For the same money I could have the A710-IS. Which has 10x zoom
but less pixels @ 7.1 as opposed to 10.1. The N2 uses Sony's memory sticks
which I have none of yet I have a full gig sd and a few assorted other sd's.

I am buy no means a camera professional, it's not even a full time hobby. I
just like to be able to take good pictures when the time arises.

I've read the A710 also has a slow recovery on flash, but don't know that
this would bother me.

I hate to hurt her feelings but I think I'd be much happier with the A710 in
the long run. Any feedback would be appreciated. Mainly pros and cons of
the two cameras. (not stuff about me and my wife, please :-)

Thanks
Bill

Bill Reece wrote:

I hate to hurt her feelings but I think I'd be much happier with the A710 in
the long run. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Mmm... I never trust women to buy/choose electronics. That's the lesson.

"Bill Reece" wrote in message
m...
Help, I lost a prosumer(kodak) camera to the surf this summer. And I
think my wife has replaced it this Christmas with a Sony DSC-N2. It's a
shiney new compact with some neat features but only 3x optical zoom and it
doesn't have IS. For the same money I could have the A710-IS. Which has
10x zoom but less pixels @ 7.1 as opposed to 10.1. The N2 uses Sony's
memory sticks which I have none of yet I have a full gig sd and a few
assorted other sd's.

I am buy no means a camera professional, it's not even a full time hobby.
I just like to be able to take good pictures when the time arises.

I've read the A710 also has a slow recovery on flash, but don't know that
this would bother me.

I hate to hurt her feelings but I think I'd be much happier with the A710
in the long run. Any feedback would be appreciated. Mainly pros and cons
of the two cameras. (not stuff about me and my wife, please :-)

Thanks
Bill


Keep track of the receipt and try not to open the box unless she insists.
Sorry, but it's difficult NOT to mention your wife.

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:52:49 -0500, "Bill Reece"
wrote:

Help, I lost a prosumer(kodak) camera to the surf this summer. And I think
my wife has replaced it this Christmas with a Sony DSC-N2. It's a shiney
new compact with some neat features but only 3x optical zoom and it doesn't
have IS. For the same money I could have the A710-IS. Which has 10x zoom
but less pixels @ 7.1 as opposed to 10.1. The N2 uses Sony's memory sticks
which I have none of yet I have a full gig sd and a few assorted other sd's.

I am buy no means a camera professional, it's not even a full time hobby. I
just like to be able to take good pictures when the time arises.

I've read the A710 also has a slow recovery on flash, but don't know that
this would bother me.

I hate to hurt her feelings but I think I'd be much happier with the A710 in
the long run. Any feedback would be appreciated. Mainly pros and cons of
the two cameras. (not stuff about me and my wife, please :-)

Thanks
Bill


Bill,

Check out the A710 review at dpreview.com. Primarily pay attention to
the build and samples. look at the pros and cons list for features
you do or don't want, and look at the side by side camera comparison
at:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...dscn2&show=all

I've seen too many faulty and/or inferior products from Sony lately
and I personally would think twice about purchasing their products
until they show signs of improvement.

"Bill Reece" wrote in message
m...
For the same money I could have the A710-IS. Which has 10x zoom but less
pixels @ 7.1 as opposed to 10.1.

FYI, the A710 IS has an optical zoom of 6x not 10x.

I own one and am very delighted with it. I just took it on a 2 week
vacation and took over 700 shots with it.

Bruce.

For me, it was always the other way round.

--
Joan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joan-in-manly

"minnesøtti" wrote in message
ups.com...
:
: Mmm... I never trust women to buy/choose electronics. That's the
lesson.
:

I've read the A710 also has a slow recovery on flash, but don't know that
this would bother me.

Flash recovery is pretty slow, but not more than any other camera using
AA batteries (that's a perk of proprietary batteries versus AAs, aside
from the physical size of the camera). It takes about 5-10 seconds to
reload the flash.

I had the Canon A520 before and loved it, got my A710 about 2 months
ago and love it even more. It's nice for both wanting to just snap
pictures with a pre-set mode as well as when you want to get a bit more
technical. I don't use my flash too much because I like natural
lighting best and the IS has definitely helped.

"Joan" wrote in message
...
For me, it was always the other way round.

--
euwwwwwwww

On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:52:49 -0500, Bill Reece wrote:

Help, I lost a prosumer(kodak) camera to the surf this summer. And I think
my wife has replaced it this Christmas with a Sony DSC-N2. It's a shiney
new compact with some neat features but only 3x optical zoom and it doesn't
have IS. For the same money I could have the A710-IS. Which has 10x zoom
but less pixels @ 7.1 as opposed to 10.1. The N2 uses Sony's memory sticks
which I have none of yet I have a full gig sd and a few assorted other sd's.

I am buy no means a camera professional, it's not even a full time hobby. I
just like to be able to take good pictures when the time arises.

I've read the A710 also has a slow recovery on flash, but don't know that
this would bother me.

I hate to hurt her feelings but I think I'd be much happier with the A710 in
the long run. Any feedback would be appreciated. Mainly pros and cons of
the two cameras. (not stuff about me and my wife, please :-)

Thanks
Bill

FWIW - I'd suggest you look at the Kodak P series. One redeeming value
they have is a decent electronic viewfinder - about twice the pixel count
of the other EVF cameras. I find all the others way 'too blocky' to be
able to tell what I'm shooting. P series has about 237k pixels - most
others run about 110k. Recently I purchased a refurb P850, and I'm quite
happy. Image stabilization, 12x, etc. From the Kodak online store it was
$250 and the (totally optional) printer dock was another $50.

"SykoSam" wrote in message
oups.com...
Flash recovery is pretty slow, but not more than any other camera using
AA batteries (that's a perk of proprietary batteries versus AAs, aside
from the physical size of the camera). It takes about 5-10 seconds to
reload the flash.

I have the A710 too and love it.

The flash does require a few seconds to cycle but it's not objectionably
long to me. What I wish is that they didn't blank the back display while
the flash is recharging. Because of that I can't start composing the next
shot while I'm waiting for the flash.

However, since it only uses 2 AA batteries, I would guess they blank the
display to limit the peak load on the battery while the flash is recharging,
helping to speed up the recharging. It's a trade off.

Other than that nit, I've been delighted with the A710.

Bruce.