Canon PowerShot S1 IS vs. PowerShot S60

Opinions? I've been casually shopping for a digital camera that has
potential for a little creativity for several weeks and I'm still about as
undecided as when I began. I'd like to keep the costs for everything needed
to around $500 max. I appreciate the advice in the other thread. It coaxed
me into considering cameras less than the current 7+ megapixels that are
out.



I don't know the first thing about cameras really. I've been looking at
Steve's Digicams.com and his test shots with the different cameras and I
honestly really love the detail in the high megapixel cameras. That may
possibly be because I'm looking at these photos (landscapes) on a fairly
high resolution screen - 1680x1050. I suppose the notion is that when
printed out to a 5x7 the detail will be lost in a well composed shot that
doesn't need much cropping (hopefully that makes sense) and the lower
megapixel cameras are sufficient? Printing out my photos isn't going to be
a high priority though. They are likely to remain on my computer.



So, I'm about as undecided as when I began. Considering my budget
constraints I'm not entirely sure how my money would best be spent for a
camera with a little creative potential. I like the way the S1 IS feels in
my hands. It does have impressive movie capabilities which are a bonus. I
honestly can't see just what difference the bigger lens is making in the
test photos with it (compared to the 5+ megapixel contenders) and although
the 10x zoom is nice I'm not sure that it outweighs the added detail of the
higher resolution cameras with smaller lenses and less zoom. It may come
in handy however. I've never owned a camera with such a large zoom.



I'm leaning toward the S1 IS though. I know it's been out for over a year
now. I hate the thought of buying one only to see the 5+ megapixel version
come out in a few weeks. Is there any word on a new version of this? I've
also considered the A95. I suppose my list is coming to a decision between
the A95, S60 - S70 (a bit pricey), and the S1 IS. The S1 IS in the lead -
most recently anyway - and I'm about ready to buy. Any further
opinions/suggestions?




--
A sickened mind and spirit
The mirror tells me lies
Could I mistake myself for someone
Who lives behind my eyes
Will he escape my soul
Or will he live in me
Is he tryin' to get out or tryin' to enter me



THX 1138

"Fastfwd" wrote in message
...
Opinions?
snip



I'm sure you're considering the obvious differences between the S1, S60, and
A95 . . . things like

Battery type, spare battery expense, number of images on a single charge
Compact vs. Mid-size
Swivel vs. no-swivel LCD
AF-assist lamp vs. no lamp
Optical vs. Electronic viewfinder
Auto-bracketing vs. none
Wide-angle vs. telephoto
Auto-exposure and Auto-focus locking vs. none
Movie length and quality

It's all such a personal decision. But if you need help with the pros and
cons of these things, you can probably get some opinions if you ask.

Personally, for point-and-shoot use and out of these considerations, I
wouldn't give up my auto-bracketing, ultra-zoom, and AAs. I've found that
when I'm out with a group of people, they don't like waiting on me while I
fuss with adjusting or locking the exposure, changing the light metering,
using histograms, etc. So I just set the shot for auto-exposure bracketing
and almost always get one right. It's a different story when I'm alone and
can take my time. The more I practice with it the faster I'll get. I'm glad
I have the capability grow into using these things more.

I enjoy doing things with my S1 like going from
here http://photofan.multiply.com/photos/photo/5/1.JPG to
there http://photofan.multiply.com/photos/photo/5/3.JPG
for an otherwise inaccessible shot.
(See http://photofan.multiply.com/photos/album/5 for album description if
you'd like.)

I'm sure you can do that by using a higher resolution camera, cropping the
image, and enlarging it. You'd have to ask someone else how the level of
detail would compare to just starting off with the lower MP ultra-zoom.

Renee