I am having second thoughts...

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

autechre78 · Nov 22, 2003

what's up man.

i think the A series is a great line. my sister just bought the A70 and she's taking some nice shots. and i've liked the A80 posts i've seen.

with that being said, i do like the fact that my G3 performs well in low-light conditions. i go to shows in los angeles alot (my band & my friends' bands)
and i hate flash shots at shows. i think they look crappy.

i took these last night at the el rey in LA. i held the camera over my head & used a 1/60 F3.5 (ish) setting @ ISO 400. the shots of the stage are from 30-40 feet from the front. the others are a little closer.

http://troybrittain6687.fotopic.net/show_collection.php?id=74502

i am really stoked on how these came out. i am not a pro photographer at all... most of the time i don't know what the hell i'm doing. but these came out just the way i wanted them.

to me, picture quality is more important than pocketability. i mean ultimately, that's what matters IMO. and i would never carry a $500 camera in my pocket, that's stupid. this thing rocks. every day i'm more stoked with my G3.

good luck dude

punkboy_jerm said:
I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

--
Canon G3 - http://troybrittain6687.fotopic.net

flylow · Nov 22, 2003

punkboy_jerm said:
I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

--

If you need/want a higher end camera and can afford it the G3 is a good choice. I understand that they are no longer being made so if it takes awhile to save the money you will be probably be lookiing at a differant model.

No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next product cycle.

• I am just a hardware junkie...

abc9 · Nov 22, 2003

flylow said:
No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except
you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next
product cycle.

I agree. And to ad, if the A80 is your first digital camera and want to learn about photography, you've made an excellent choice. You will not get the G3 and say "Wow! what was I thinking with the A80, this camera is MUCH better". Take a few thousand shots, learn and have fun and in a couple of years get yourself a 10M pixel!

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

I did not know they were not being made anymore...thats a shame(seems like a nice camera) If I wanted the G5 I would be looking at 1200$ so I think that its a little out of my price range

I am someone who likes bigger/bulky camera's which is why sometimes when I look at the A80 I get somewhat disapointed...but I know that image quality is what really counts. I wish futureshop still had a 30day money back garenty instead of 14days so I could take my time and test it out.

are there any other cameras in the same price range that are, in your opinion, better?

flylow said:
punkboy_jerm said:

I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

Click to expand...

--

If you need/want a higher end camera and can afford it the G3 is a
good choice. I understand that they are no longer being made so if
it takes awhile to save the money you will be probably be lookiing
at a differant model.

No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except
you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next
product cycle.

? I am just a hardware junkie...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

very good point...as much as I would love a dslr...this is my first ever DC

I think that once I learn the controls more than I do now ill be happier with my images.

abc9 said:
abc9 said:

No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except
you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next
product cycle.

Click to expand...

I agree. And to ad, if the A80 is your first digital camera and
want to learn about photography, you've made an excellent choice.
You will not get the G3 and say "Wow! what was I thinking with the
A80, this camera is MUCH better". Take a few thousand shots, learn
and have fun and in a couple of years get yourself a 10M pixel!

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

flylow · Nov 22, 2003

punkboy_jerm said:
I did not know they were not being made anymore...thats a
shame(seems like a nice camera) If I wanted the G5 I would be
looking at 1200$ so I think that its a little out of my price range

I am someone who likes bigger/bulky camera's which is why sometimes
when I look at the A80 I get somewhat disapointed...but I know that
image quality is what really counts. I wish futureshop still had a
30day money back garenty instead of 14days so I could take my time
and test it out.
are there any other cameras in the same price range that are, in
your opinion, better?

--

Will they allow you to return it for a cash refund?

Can you then buy a different camera (or another A80) with the money that you get from the refund and get another 14 days to play?

I hate the 10 to 14 day return policies a lot. I generally pay a little extra and buy from somewhere that has a 30 day return policy. A lot of places give extended return privleges this time of the year - for after Christmas gift exchanges.

• I am just a hardware junkie...

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

ya its a full cash return...I can then buy anything I want(or another A80)

flylow said:
punkboy_jerm said:

I did not know they were not being made anymore...thats a
shame(seems like a nice camera) If I wanted the G5 I would be
looking at 1200$ so I think that its a little out of my price range

I am someone who likes bigger/bulky camera's which is why sometimes
when I look at the A80 I get somewhat disapointed...but I know that
image quality is what really counts. I wish futureshop still had a
30day money back garenty instead of 14days so I could take my time
and test it out.
are there any other cameras in the same price range that are, in
your opinion, better?

Click to expand...

--

Will they allow you to return it for a cash refund?

Can you then buy a different camera (or another A80) with the money
that you get from the refund and get another 14 days to play?

I hate the 10 to 14 day return policies a lot. I generally pay a
little extra and buy from somewhere that has a 30 day return
policy. A lot of places give extended return privleges this time
of the year - for after Christmas gift exchanges.

? I am just a hardware junkie...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

abc9 · Nov 22, 2003

flylow said:
I hate the 10 to 14 day return policies a lot. I generally pay a
little extra and buy from somewhere that has a 30 day return
policy. A lot of places give extended return privleges this time
of the year - for after Christmas gift exchanges.

When i realized that the A80 was the same price everywhere I checked, I went for the store with the best service (so FutureShop was out!). I was presently surprised with Blacks. The had a 60 day price guarantee! If the camera has any problems I return to them they take care of the shipping. I also got a free Digital Photography for Dummies book (including CD). My first 20 prints for free and a few other things ($60 value). I don't remember what the return policy was.

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

my parents have a futureshop card so no money needed to be put down for three months. If it weren't for that reason I would not have gone with FS!

abc9 said:
abc9 said:

I hate the 10 to 14 day return policies a lot. I generally pay a
little extra and buy from somewhere that has a 30 day return
policy. A lot of places give extended return privleges this time
of the year - for after Christmas gift exchanges.

Click to expand...

When i realized that the A80 was the same price everywhere I
checked, I went for the store with the best service (so FutureShop
was out!). I was presently surprised with Blacks. The had a 60 day
price guarantee! If the camera has any problems I return to them
they take care of the shipping. I also got a free Digital
Photography for Dummies book (including CD). My first 20 prints for
free and a few other things ($60 value). I don't remember what the
return policy was.

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

VegasSil · Nov 22, 2003

You can still purchase the G3.. here is the link to pricegrabber.com which lists several websites from which you can still purchase the G3.

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=635074/ut=44e04b2d1a5e400f

punkboy_jerm said:
flylow said:

punkboy_jerm said:

I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

Click to expand...

--

If you need/want a higher end camera and can afford it the G3 is a
good choice. I understand that they are no longer being made so if
it takes awhile to save the money you will be probably be lookiing
at a differant model.

No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except
you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next
product cycle.

? I am just a hardware junkie...

Click to expand...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

--
Canon A70

flylow · Nov 22, 2003

punkboy_jerm said:
ya its a full cash return...I can then buy anything I want(or
another A80)

--

Call your local futureshop and double check the holiday return policy.

You may have more time than you think to decide.

From: http://www.futureshop.ca/informationcentre/en/onlinepolicies.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=14&WLBS=fsweb5#03

Returning Products Purchased Online

Holiday returns: Gift exchanges will be accepted until Jan 5th on purchases made between November 7th and December 21st.

Our Lowest Price Guarantee

Our Lowest Price Guarantee makes sure you buy your products at Future Shop and FUTURESHOP.ca at the best price.

We will beat lower prices advertised by authorized dealers located in Canada, including prices advertised on the Internet. If, within 30 days of purchasing an item from Future Shop or FUTURESHOP.ca, you find the same product advertised at a lower price, we will gladly refund you 110% of the difference. If our own price is reduced within 30 days of your purchase, we would be pleased to refund you the difference as well. Computers and notebooks are eligible for price protection under our guarantee within 15 days of the date of purchase.

Simply present us with your original Future Shop or FUTURESHOP.ca sales receipt, along with proof that the item you bought is being advertised at a lower price. Once our staff verifies that the item is in stock and available for immediate sale and delivery at the advertised price, you will receive your refund. If you purchased the item from FUTURESHOP.ca and there is no Future Shop store in your area, you can contact us at 1-800-663-2275 or by email at [email protected].

• I am just a hardware junkie...

punkboy_jerm · Nov 22, 2003

thanks flylow...ill give them a call first thing tomorrow morning

flylow said:
punkboy_jerm said:

ya its a full cash return...I can then buy anything I want(or
another A80)

Click to expand...

--

Call your local futureshop and double check the holiday return policy.

You may have more time than you think to decide.

From:

http://www.futureshop.ca/informationcentre/en/onlinepolicies.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=14&WLBS=fsweb5#03

Returning Products Purchased Online

Holiday returns: Gift exchanges will be accepted until Jan 5th on
purchases made between November 7th and December 21st.

Our Lowest Price Guarantee

Our Lowest Price Guarantee makes sure you buy your products at
Future Shop and FUTURESHOP.ca at the best price.

We will beat lower prices advertised by authorized dealers located
in Canada, including prices advertised on the Internet. If, within
30 days of purchasing an item from Future Shop or FUTURESHOP.ca,
you find the same product advertised at a lower price, we will
gladly refund you 110% of the difference. If our own price is
reduced within 30 days of your purchase, we would be pleased to
refund you the difference as well. Computers and notebooks are
eligible for price protection under our guarantee within 15 days of
the date of purchase.

Simply present us with your original Future Shop or FUTURESHOP.ca
sales receipt, along with proof that the item you bought is being
advertised at a lower price. Once our staff verifies that the item
is in stock and available for immediate sale and delivery at the
advertised price, you will receive your refund. If you purchased
the item from FUTURESHOP.ca and there is no Future Shop store in
your area, you can contact us at 1-800-663-2275 or by email at
[email protected].

? I am just a hardware junkie...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

PSA80 · Nov 22, 2003

I don't think that you can get the G3 anywhere in Canada anymore, so make sure about the warrranty and service if you buy from the U.S.

Another great choice in my opinion would be (as much as I hate to admit it) the Sony V1. Phil even gave it a "highly recommended". You can get that for $900 Cdn.

P.S. Thanks for the nice comment on my shot earlier today.

Louis
http://pages.infinit.net/a80/index.html
Web page recently re-designed. Have a look and tell me if you like it.

VegasSil said:
http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=635074/ut=44e04b2d1a5e400f

punkboy_jerm said:

flylow said:

punkboy_jerm said:

I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

Click to expand...

--

If you need/want a higher end camera and can afford it the G3 is a
good choice. I understand that they are no longer being made so if
it takes awhile to save the money you will be probably be lookiing
at a differant model.

No one can decide if you should keep or return the camera except
you. There will always be better cameras coming in the next
product cycle.

? I am just a hardware junkie...

Click to expand...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

Click to expand...

--
Canon A70

Steve Tompsett · Nov 22, 2003

Hi Jeremy

I've recently had a play with an A80 that a friend has brought [mine is a G5]. While the A80 is a superb camera and the autofocus system leaves the G5 wanting, the image quality when wanting to crop in on the pc is no where as good, this is the differance not only from the 4 versus 5 meg/pixel ccd but also the size of the image captured, the G5 ans G3 series let you decide on not only the resolution of the captuerd image but also the size eg set the camera to superfine large or superfine small. this has a direct impact on the amount of croping you can do [ and i asure you you will crop] some of the best results i have produed are from croping in on a image to remove the unecessary aspects from the original shot.

jsut as a test i set the A80 to the best image setting also the G5, on the 32meg card that canon surply 27 images were avalible on the A80 verus 11 with the G5, I know this uses more card space but flash cards are cheap so get a 256 meg as well, When all said and done its the captured image that is important and I feel the G5/3 range produce better results so if you can go that extra cash miles do so.
Steve

punkboy_jerm said:
I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

flylow · Nov 22, 2003

PSA80 said:
I don't think that you can get the G3 anywhere in Canada anymore,
so make sure about the warrranty and service if you buy from the
U.S.

PSA80 said:
VegasSil said:

You can still purchase the G3.. here is the link to
pricegrabber.com which lists several websites from which you can
still purchase the G3.

Click to expand...

--

If you reread the original post you will notice that he needs to "save up".

PSA80 said:
punkboy_jerm wrote:
I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but

"save up" is what prompted my original comment:

"I understand that they are no longer being made so if it takes awhile to save the money you will be probably be lookiing at a different model."

• I am just a

hardware junkie...

PSA80 · Nov 22, 2003

Are you sure that you had the highest setting on the A80 ? On my A80 I can only squeeze 14 or 15 shots on the Canon 32mb CF card at the 2272 X 1704 superfine resolution.

Steve Tompsett said:
jsut as a test i set the A80 to the best image setting also the G5,
on the 32meg card that canon surply 27 images were avalible on the
A80 verus 11 with the G5

Louis
http://pages.infinit.net/a80/index.html
Web page recently re-designed. Have a look and tell me if you like it.

Steve Tompsett · Nov 22, 2003

Hi
What size in meg's are your images at this setting ?
If I'am wrong in my findings on the A80 apologies all round,

I must admit i did't go into the save as setting other than the fuction button and then the image setting where ther seemed to me to be only one option for image size
steve

PSA80 said:
Steve Tompsett said:

jsut as a test i set the A80 to the best image setting also the G5,
on the 32meg card that canon surply 27 images were avalible on the
A80 verus 11 with the G5

Click to expand...

Louis
http://pages.infinit.net/a80/index.html
Web page recently re-designed. Have a look and tell me if you like it.

Man-Fai Wong · Nov 22, 2003

Would help to know this before making a "rash" decision.

For myself, I knew I wanted the option for an external flash and generally better low light capability when I looked into the G3 a few months ago. Yeah, the A80 (and the 300D) was not yet announced at the time, but given my needs, the A80 would not be the right choice.

If you need to save up some more, then the G3 might be gone by then. Still, the G5 could be a good choice in that case since it's come down so much in price.

RE: your learning more comment in another post, well, I suspect the more you learn the more you'll want a better camera. Personally, I want something better than my G3.

But I don't feel compelled to sell it to move to a 300D at all since the "upgrade" isn't w/out some compromises beyond the extra $$$. I will probably wait a year or two to see if a 10D level DSLR won't drop into the $500-600 range before my next upgrade. And even then, I suspect I'll want to keep the G3 around since there are somethings that a DSLR just cannot do that a G3 might do quite nicely.

Man

punkboy_jerm said:
I am loving my powershot A80 but with two days left untill I can
return the camera and 650$(of my money)gone I am having second
thoughts.

I keep thinking that I should save up and get the G3 but I don't
know if I want more money going to a camera.

anyone have any input? anyone experience the same problem? what are
the differences good or bad between the two camera's?

Thanks...

--
Jeremy C
http://www.suburbanexploration.tk
http://www.urban-photography.tk
http://sue.minimanga.com

--
Baseball as a metaphor for life?
Well, 'luck is a residue of design.' --Bill Dickey--
email: [email protected]
gallery: http://www.pbase.com/mandnwong

DaShiv · Nov 23, 2003

On the A80, if you hit the SET button while you have the image size/quality selected in the FUNC menu, it toggles between selecting image size and image quality. Image sizes range from 22722x1704 to 640x480, while quality goes from Superfine to Normal.

It sounds like you missed one of the two settings on that menu. The best setting should leave S within the triangle and L outside of it.

Considering how popular the A80 is judging from the click-through graph on the front page, it's a shame that Phil doesn't have an in-depth review for it up yet so that we can compare resolution shots and so on.

DaShiv

Steve Tompsett said:
PSA80 said:

Steve Tompsett said:

jsut as a test i set the A80 to the best image setting also the G5,
on the 32meg card that canon surply 27 images were avalible on the
A80 verus 11 with the G5

Click to expand...

Louis
http://pages.infinit.net/a80/index.html
Web page recently re-designed. Have a look and tell me if you like it.

Click to expand...

I am having second thoughts...

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