SX260 or S100?

I have a 60D, wife has an ELPH 100HS. I want another canon compact to carry around when I'm just out hiking or walking around. I used to have an LX5, but it was too thick for my pockets and I hated the color output compared to my Canons. I loved the low ISO sharpness and wide angle, though.


Main points of interest are versatility, good image quality, camcorder stand in, and pocket friendly.




I was thinking S100, but then the zoom range is very similar to our ELPH 100HS and while the aperture is f1.8, it drops rapidly. The larger sensor would be helpful in some situations, but I don't anticipate using RAW very often (never did on the LX5).

Looking at the sx260, it has that amazing zoom range. The aperture is slower at 25mm, but it's still f4 at 120, where the S100 has dropped to f5.9. The SX260 doesn't hit f5.9 until past 400mm. So the average aperture across the shared zoom range is pretty similar. I would have a bit smaller sensor, though.




So what do you think? For a grab and go walk around camera that fits in the pocket?

I suspect you know the answer, zoom or slightly smaller/better low light. Your decision.

CHDK gives you script options (intervalometer, movement triggered shots, etc) for either, and raw to the sx260.

PS: I tried the sx260, it is fine for pants pocket, a bit heavy for t-shirt or shirt pocket, I like it, and could video @ 20x with not too much jiggle, shots easy.

The new elph 330 hs is a slight step up from your wife's, has a 10x, same sensor as sx260, lens comparable, I think slightly smaller/lighter-true shirt pocket.




Good Luck!

Considering what you have already the SX 260 is the perfect walk around camera.

You won't notice much differences until ISO 800 but the zoomrange will always be a big point.

I recommend to carry it in a hardshell box anyway because otherwise you will face unintended starts with lens errors which can easily damage the front lens element.

So it won't probably fit into a jeans pocket or shirt pocket anymore.

Cheers,

Tom

I have the SX 260 and love it. I considered the S100/S110 and just couldn't justify the expense. We have some upcoming trips this summer and I plan on bringing my 260 and my NEX 6. I can fit it into my back jeans pocket though it's a bit snug. Better off in a jacket.

For what it's worth, the SX260 has been discounted for a while now which may indicate a forthcoming upgrade.

kruezr said:

kruezr wrote:

I have the SX 260 and love it. I considered the S100/S110 and just couldn't justify the expense. We have some upcoming trips this summer and I plan on bringing my 260 and my NEX 6. I can fit it into my back jeans pocket though it's a bit snug. Better off in a jacket.

For what it's worth, the SX260 has been discounted for a while now which may indicate a forthcoming upgrade.

Click to expand...

I am exited how Canon will try to manage making the near perfect travellzoom SX 260 even more attractive. Enabelling RAW would be a nice idea and the only thing I was really missing.

Right now the 260 and S100 are $20 apart, hence the dilemma. Glad to hear you are happy with the Sx260.

kruezr said:

kruezr wrote:

I have the SX 260 and love it. I considered the S100/S110 and just couldn't justify the expense.

Click to expand...

JJ Rodin said:

JJ Rodin wrote:

I suspect you know the answer, zoom or slightly smaller/better low light. Your decision.

Click to expand...

You are right, I didn know that. I just want someone to make the decision for me or tell me the S100 isn't really that much better image quality so I can go for the zoom.

The only issue I see with the SX260 is the pictures seem to have plenty of detail but have a bit of a "haze" compared to the S100 shots.

tkbslc said:

tkbslc wrote:
Right now the 260 and S100 are $20 apart, hence the dilemma. Glad to hear you are happy with the Sx260.

Click to expand...

If you don't need the long zoom of the SX260, the S100 is better camera. It has a bigger sensor and a faster lens which will help keep the ISO down for cleaner pictures. The S100 also supports RAW.

I got my girlfriend an SX260 for Christmas. I have an S100.

I like them both, but there have been times I wish I had the extra zoom that the SX260 offers.

We also did very informal comparisons of photographing the same subjects with both cameras at the same time. I am very impressed how well the pics taken with the SX260 compares to the same shot taken with the S100.

Considering you have a camera for high quality work, I would pic the SX260.

One thing that surprises me about the SX260 and other recent Canon Powershots is that there are no sports, action or kids and pets mode. Auto mode does just fine usually, and you do have manual control, but I find this omission interesting. For people that don't like to go manual, they have no logical choice. Why did Canon omit this yet include numerous other seldom-used modes?

Take a look in the manual - there is a sports option.

This camera can shoot 10pics per second in full resolution and you won't probably miss anything moving fast as long as there is no focusing required ant the same time.

For kids and peds it may be better to turn on the video and pic a single frame if you wish to have a print.