jim4850
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Regular Member
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Posts: 309
2 years and still a champion.
1
On day one I took photos from my SZ-16ihs and they just hit my tired old eyes sweet spot, there's something special about this camera.
I bought it for a major trip and it was a fantastic choice, when travelling size and convenience matter, if it doesn't fit in a pocket it becomes a burden and dare I say it even on a holiday far away from home if it's too big for the pocket then it'll spend a bit of time locked away. Also important is being able to charge the battery simply, and it can be done easily by plugging the cable into any USB port, I know carrying a charger and spare battery isn't hard but it's way more convenient to charge in camera and just unplug and stick it in your pocket whenever you wander outside.
Mine has been through the wars a bit, I've had to clear dust from the sensor, but that's not uncommon for any camera and does actually make a good case for removable lenses. It also copped a drop onto concrete that broke the rear screen, but a replacement was sourced cheaply and wasn't a difficult job. A real issue that I haven't solved yet is I've been having a low battery life for a while, maybe the batteries are tired or I suspect the wall charger isn't putting enough effort in, but while I was mulling over the issue I grabbed a well priced Fuji F1000EXR but sadly never bonded and didn't like that it doesn't charge in camera. I do like the whole idea of EXR which is about the only sensor that gives an excuse to lower the resolution of shots, but my eyes couldn't find enough advantage from it, and doing testing today its results are not as good as the SZ-16ihs.
Then I bought a Samsung WB350F which was at a fantastic price and it's pretty good too, but put to today's test it's just edged in quality by the SZ-16ihs, so even though it's a slightly easier fit in the pocket and has a great USB charging/file transfer system, my wife will likely take it over and I'll return to using old faithful the SZ-16ihs which is a very nice fit in my hand.
The SZ-16ihs seemingly shares sensor and lens with some good company (SZ30,31,SH1,50) though lacks some extra features, it's video is OK but really if you do video it's more upmarket siblings would be a better choice, but if getting good shots from a travel zoom on a tight budget counts then this one is a winner.