SX260 HS to SX700 HS or wait for SX710 HS?

Ashleigh919 wrote:

Hi,

So there's a piece of dust that managed to get inside the lens of my trusty SX260 - isn't that the most annoying thing on earth? I had my original one from October 2012 until June 2013 when I was at a wedding and someone was taking a picture of me a the rehearsal dinner and dropped it on the stone patio...and my jaw dropped with it. I had to run to Target that night and get an SX280, which I didn't love, especially after reading all the reviews on it. Target said I could return it no problem, and I ordered another 260 from Amazon, which I still have just over a year-and-a-half later, and 27 months after I bought the first one.

I usually keep my cameras for a decently long time, all things considered these days, and I am a perfectionist when it comes to shots, so I can easily put 20,000 shots on one without realizing it or take 400+ shots at one wedding alone...I bought the 260 when the light sensor in my old SX110 (bought when I was a poor law student) went after almost 4 years of intense usage).

Anyway, the dust spot isn't ruining photos except for in lower-light, without flash, but it's there and I feel like it's getting worse, or maybe I'm noticing it more? I called a few camera shops, and they told me they'd have to send it out, and it would be about $125 to fix it, yikes! For that price, I'd rather put it on eBay, where it looks like used SX260s are going for $75-$100, put the smashed one on for parts and get about $35-50, and put the money toward a new camera.

All that being said, the SX700 is $279 on Amazon, the SX710 is supposed to come out in February, supposedly for $349, right? Do I wait for the SX710? Do I get the SX700, and maybe the price will drop more? I don't see the SX700 at Costco. The extra MPs won't make much of a difference to me, the lower f-stop might be nice, but not necessary.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Hi,

I bought the SX280 in Dec 2013 and gifted it to my son a few weeks later because I was very unhappy with the terrible battery life. Now a year later he is complaining that the battery gives him 5 shots before needing a charge. I guess I was justified, but not happy that my son inherited the problem.

I bought the SX700 in Dec 2014. The battery is a slightly different model from the SX280, and Canon has made some changes in the camera to improve battery life such as turning off the screen after a shorter time. It can be set to a longer delay, but I was so conscious of the poor SX280 battery life, I left the timeout at default. The battery life is much improved, but I have other dislikes per below.

I plan on returning the SX700 - 90 day return policy at Costco. The pictures quality were not the dramatic improvement I was expecting. Low light performance was not great, and on re-reading the specs, I see the SX280 was better at low light. I also found there were shots which would not focus properly. Mainly high zoom levels, but other shots as well. I saw this also on the SX280 and the problem remains.  One of the biggest dislikes was the pop-up flash. It is not automatic as in the SX280, instead it gives you a warning that you need to raise the flash after which you must lower the camera and search for a small recessed switch on the left side of the camera to raise the flash. its a hinged articulating arrangement that looks flimsy, although I've had no issues with it. if I were indoors taking pictures at a museum for example, I would be tempted to leave the flash extended for convenience sake, but I would be worried that it would be damaged while extended. You dont realize how many shots want the flash until you have this camera and must endure these continual nags about raising the flash.  Overall, I am just not happy with either camera (SX280 & SX700) for the reasons above. The minor changes to the SX710 wouldn't tip the scales in favour for me.

I am now researching mirror-less or DSLR - APS-C or Full Frame Cameras. More money I know, but I am at the point where I want to graduate from point and shoot. I have a Panasonic DMC-ZS7 which for which I also have an underwater housing. Its older, but it will serve as my point and shoot; the new camera yet to be purchased should hopefully provide the picture quality I crave at the moment. Consider Sony A7, Nikon AW1, Samsung NX1. Depends on your budget, and how much you value picture quality, particularly low light performance.

Just my thoughts which may or may not be useful to solving your dilemma.

David