Still debating G2 and S30: Need help

[Eaves Landry]

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215 zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there? (no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[gary ng]

good for you as the whole line of powershot has a price reduction

None of the digital camera on the market(except those 4 digit D-SLR) can help about the out of focus or indoor picture. You may be able to work around it by using a smaller aparture and flash on all the time. This is the trick film P&S used, extend the DOF to make most thing in focus. BTW, the more zoom you have, the higher the chance you get 'out of focus' pictures.

Just get a S30 and if you can have say 3000 shoots out of it, it is only about 15c per image, no more expensive than film.

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am
looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215
zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of
pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside
fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main
gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital
cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am
starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter
gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get
much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an
afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont
know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the
way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there?
(no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[Eaves Landry]

Gary how does the Sony CyberShot DSC-S75 compare to the S30?

(that door on the S30 bothers me for some reason)

None of the digital camera on the market(except those 4 digit
D-SLR) can help about the out of focus or indoor picture. You may
be able to work around it by using a smaller aparture and flash on
all the time. This is the trick film P&S used, extend the DOF to
make most thing in focus. BTW, the more zoom you have, the higher
the chance you get 'out of focus' pictures.

Just get a S30 and if you can have say 3000 shoots out of it, it is
only about 15c per image, no more expensive than film.

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am
looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215
zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of
pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside
fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main
gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital
cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am
starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter
gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get
much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an
afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont
know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the
way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there?
(no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[Chi Tran]

Hi Eaves,

I currently own a G2 for 6 months now. Love it very much. Very capable camera indeed. Took thousands of shots on my IBM Microdrive. Yes, the G2 does have some focus problems but not as bad as some thinks... I posted a thread a while back regarding this issue of how to get around this focus problem. I also just ordered a canon S30 for my sister. And had suggested two of my friends to purchase the S30 as well. They love the camera! (Mine has not arrived yet) The picture quality surprised me! Night and day shots come out superbly! If I had to do it over again, I would have purchased the S30 or S40 instead of the G2. Over years of using cameras (film) and talking to friends who own cameras... I noticed most of theirs and mine sits in the closet because it just isn't suitable to take it with you everywhere (parties, bowling games, get together lunch etc...) It was just so cumbersome.... (at least to me) For these events (happens a lot in my daily life) I would rather carry an S30 than a G2 to these events. A matter of fact, I'm even tempted to sell my G2 for an S40 or S30. Anyway, just my two cent on the priority of things. My priority is ease of use, superb pictures, and can be with you all the time. In this sense, I like the S30/S40 more. PS, I ordered the S30 at http://www.abesofmaine.com for $424.99 today. Funny, if you order on the phone, the shipping is a couple dollar cheaper. (Way below your $600 budget! )

Enjoy.

• Chi

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am
looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215
zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of
pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside
fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main
gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital
cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am
starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter
gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get
much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an
afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont
know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the
way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there?
(no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[gary ng]

I don't like the 'digital' feel of its image. In fact, the reason I go for Canon is its image some how make me feel that it is less 'digital'.

The door does look a bit delicate on the S30 but I have learnt how to handle it properly now.

(that door on the S30 bothers me for some reason)

None of the digital camera on the market(except those 4 digit
D-SLR) can help about the out of focus or indoor picture. You may
be able to work around it by using a smaller aparture and flash on
all the time. This is the trick film P&S used, extend the DOF to
make most thing in focus. BTW, the more zoom you have, the higher
the chance you get 'out of focus' pictures.

Just get a S30 and if you can have say 3000 shoots out of it, it is
only about 15c per image, no more expensive than film.

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am
looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215
zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of
pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside
fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main
gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital
cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am
starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter
gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get
much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an
afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont
know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the
way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there?
(no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[Nancy81188]

I was thrilled reading about the S75 when it first came out (followed closely by the S85). However, look closely at the shutter-lag timings in various reviews. Many of the Sony's, S75 and S85 included, have slower-than-average shutter lag times which would drive me crazy (and lead to many missed shots). In contrast, the S30 is amazingly fast at everything (for a digital camera). Also, you'd want to have done your homework on what the Sony Talk people call "BFS" (Blue Flash Syndrome). This is the opposite of the G2 which often takes yellow pictures in those same indoor lighting conditions

The G2 might make sense if you need a hotshoe, external flash, wide-angle and teleconverter lenses. However, you'd be wise to then consider the upcoming Fuji FinePix S602 with it's 6x zoom. If all you want or can afford is a camera without all the other stuff to haul around, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better compact camera than the S30.

Gary how does the Sony CyberShot DSC-S75 compare to the S30?

 

[Matt Gannon]

If you are looking at cheaper alternatives, don't consider that Sony. The only one worth consideration is the Casio QV-4000. It's a great camera, uses the same Canon Lens as the G2, and has a Sony CCD. Best of all - it's 4MP, and much cheaper than the G2.

However, it is lacking the Flash Hotshoe and the Infrared Remote Control. I have heard that WalMart have the QV-4000 on special right now - so it's probably going for around $500. You just can't beat that. It takes great pics too.

Matt.

(that door on the S30 bothers me for some reason)

None of the digital camera on the market(except those 4 digit
D-SLR) can help about the out of focus or indoor picture. You may
be able to work around it by using a smaller aparture and flash on
all the time. This is the trick film P&S used, extend the DOF to
make most thing in focus. BTW, the more zoom you have, the higher
the chance you get 'out of focus' pictures.

Just get a S30 and if you can have say 3000 shoots out of it, it is
only about 15c per image, no more expensive than film.

Ok the G2 might be too much camera for my needs. this is what I am
looking to do.

I am in no way a professional photographer. I had a Kodak DC215
zoom and have taken about 3000 pictures with it. I take alot of
pictures of my 2 year old daughter, outside and inside and inside
fuctions such as family weddings, birthday partys etc. My main
gripe has been the out of focus or general problems with digital
cameras and indoor pictures. Also 2X zoom sucks LOL. Now I am
starting to print my pictures up to about 8x10. And as my daughter
gets older and my wife and I start going more places I want to get
much better picture quality from my next purchase. The max I an
afford is $600. I know i can do the amex thing with the G2 but dont
know if I really need that hassle. What should I do? Is the S30 the
way or the G2? Also are their any good non-Canon cameras out there?
(no offense intended I know this is a Canon forum). thx guys

 

[WilliamO]

you'd be hard-pressed to find a better compact
camera than the S30.

Apart from the S40 ...--Regards - WilliamO D I G I T O G R A P H Y http://www.wom.btinternet.co.uk/

 

[Matt Gannon]

Personally, I liked my old S20 much better than the my S30. That's why I sent it back and got a G2. It's all down to personal taste at the end of the day.

you'd be hard-pressed to find a better compact
camera than the S30.

Apart from the S40 ...
--
Regards -

WilliamO


D I G I T O G R A P H Y
http://www.wom.btinternet.co.uk/