Canon S-30 vs. Sony DSC-P7

Lisa-99 said:

I'm having a terrible time deciding on which camera to buy for the
family. I'm a novice at digital photography and would appreciate
any help. I'm concerned about Canon's movie mode vs. Sony's; it
appears to me that Canon cannot playback in movie mode (isn't this
a problem?? how can you tell if you want to keep it if you can't
review it, isn't that what digital photography is all about, or am
I just reading the specifications incorrectly??). I like the fact
that Canon uses CF cards rather than Sony's Memory Stick (the CF
cards are cheaper and more widely available. Sony boasts about its
14 bit DXP (I can't find a comparison spec. for Canon). I hear
Sony's movie mode is only limited by the capacity of the memory
stick, is that true for Canon as well??...As you can see I'm torn
(and confused) and any help would be appreciated.

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RSpent said:

When the Sony is in standard movie mode, it is limited only by the
memory on the memory stick. However I don't think it includes
sound. The Canons in 320 x 240 mode are limited to 30 seconds with
sound. I was comparing the 4MP version of these cameras (S40 and
P9). At first, I thought the unlimited movie option would be nice,
but these are still very small frame movies of limited quality, not
comparable to a camcorder. I'm not sure I would want to see much
more than 30 seconds of it. The Canon offers playback of movies in
the camera. You can connect it to your TV if you wish. Although
it blows it up and image quality suffers. I chose the Canon based
on image quality and the availability of manual picture controls.
Plus it was the highest rated compact camera on here at one time.
(Now that honor goes to the S45)

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Teppo Hytönen said:

I certainly would get a P-series camera. I've handled a few and did
NOT like the feel. Of course your mileage may vary. But the S30
was/is nice. And it has RAW, too.

--
Teppo @ Finland

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Lisa-99 said:

Lisa-99 wrote:

It's not that the movie mode is the most important thing on a still camera, it's just that I want the most "bang" for my buck! So other than the movie mode which take the better picture? Which has the most ease of use? I can get both for exactly the same price so I'd like know which is the best value. I'll be using it for family stuff: vacations, the boys sporting events (that's where the movie mode comes in (home runs, goals scored, etc). Again, thanks for all your help

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