Is the Casio EX S600 a decent tiny camera for $300

I am about to buy the Casio Exilim Card EX-S600 at Costco for about $330
but before I do, I would like to ask you if that's a good buy (or if
something similar is better out there) today?

All I'm looking for is a small 5 megapixel or greater camera that takes
good pictures. I know that's not much of a requirement but that's really
all I want. I'm willing to spend in the $300 range.

I fell in love with a nice silver Casio EX S600 at Costco and I am about to
buy it - but before I do, I'd like to ask you if this is a smart move or if
something is better at the same price.

I already read the entire (technical) review at
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_...-s600_pg5.html
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05...casio_s600.asp

But, these unfortunately don't tell me if there is a better camera for the
money or if there will be a successor camera out due minutes after I buy
the Casio EX S600.

It wouldn't be the first time I bought from Costco an aging product that
nobody really wanted because a successor or competitor was about to release
a better computer.

Who is the competition (size wise) for the Casio Casio Exilim Card EX-S600?

I am about to buy the Casio Exilim Card EX-S600 at Costco for about $330
but before I do, I would like to ask you if that's a good buy (or if
something similar is better out there) today?

All I'm looking for is a small 5 megapixel or greater camera that takes
good pictures. I know that's not much of a requirement but that's really
all I want. I'm willing to spend in the $300 range.

I fell in love with a nice silver Casio EX S600 at Costco and I am about
to
buy it - but before I do, I'd like to ask you if this is a smart move or
if
something is better at the same price.

I already read the entire (technical) review at
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_...-s600_pg5.html
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0510/05...casio_s600.asp

But, these unfortunately don't tell me if there is a better camera for the
money or if there will be a successor camera out due minutes after I buy
the Casio EX S600.

It wouldn't be the first time I bought from Costco an aging product that
nobody really wanted because a successor or competitor was about to
release
a better computer.

Who is the competition (size wise) for the Casio Casio Exilim Card
EX-S600?
_________________________________________________

I bought the EX S500 at Costco last fall, used it for a few months, and
returned it. It was essentially the same camera as the EX S600 with a 5MP
sensor instead of 6MP. S600 hasn't been out that long, so a replacement is
probably at least two weeks away. )

All in all, it was a pretty neat little camera, but picture quality was only
so-so. I doubt that the S-600 will do much better, so if I were inclined to
reconsider the Casio, I'd look to the S-500 which can be had online now for
less than $200 instead of the S600. That extra resolution isn't worth the
$100, in my opinion.

I'm still on the fence with regard to a replacement. I miss not having a
camera in my pocket 24/7, but don't need to commit before September. If I
had to choose today, it would probably be one of the Canon ELPH models,
probably an SD450 or an SD600. The SD450 is 5MP and the SD600 is 6MP.
You'll find the SD450 at Costco.com for about $260, or at Buy.com for $243
right now on one of there weekly specials. Read the reviews on the Canon at
dpreview.com. I think that they regard it a bit more highly than the Casio.
By the way, the Canon has an optical viewfinder in addition to the LCD.
With the Casio, you have only the LCD to compose your shots on.

The Sony in the same category is pretty slick as well, but reports of
picture quality aren't reassuring. Neat thing about the Sony is that the
lens doesn't protrude from the body of the camera while you're using it.
I'm not sure of the model.

Hope that this is helpful.

DS

It is alleged that BrendaLee claimed:

I am about to buy the Casio Exilim Card EX-S600 at Costco for about $330
but before I do, I would like to ask you if that's a good buy (or if
something similar is better out there) today?

I got an EX-Z500 from Ritz a couple weeks ago. So far, so good. I
haven't printed any pictures from it yet, but the on-screen quality is
comparable to my Sony DSC-S85.

Comparing the Z500 to the S500 on dpreview.com, it looks like the
differences between the Z and the S is that the S has fewer functions,
but the image quality should be the same.

--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
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