simple question?

[jan61587]

I am looking to buy a new compact and i had set my mind on the s95 reading the reviews. Now I come across the sx230hs as an interesting option.

I like to take pictures in restaurants, in churches and cathedrals ,just holiday snapshots
-and -of course -

pictures of my grandchildren. Could you tell me if both cameras would perform well especially in other than bright daylight ? I know of the difference in zoom and price. I would appreciate reactions from more experienced people .
Thanks in advance. peterfoto

 

[uber_racer]

Well this is no simple question, only you know what you will prefer. The S95 has the advantage for low light, at 28mm it has an F2.0 lens which lets in twice as much light as F2.8 and the sensor is slightly better. The brightness of the lens quickly falls off though, i find that when I am zooming that its usually outside in good light so it isn't a big deal.

If you are going to be photographing kids playing sports that is a tough chore for either camera but not impossible. For that I would prefer the long zoom. I own an S90 and think its a great camera but may end up buying a camera like the SX230 for a trip to Australia because I want to photograph wildlife without getting close enough to get attacked

In the end both are great cameras. If you can take an SD card to the store and see if they will let you play with both and take some pictures inside. If its a best buy they are fairly dark inside.

 

[KeFun]

Could you tell me if both cameras would perform well especially in other than bright daylight ?

I own the SX230 HS but have not used the S95 hands on, so my experience in comparing the two is limited to what I've read online.

I can attest that the SX230 HS performs well in low light with manageable noise right up to ISO 1600. From what I've seen it's very close to matching the S95 in terms of sensitivity and noise. Colors on the SX230's new back lit CMOS sensor appear duller and less contrasty than CCDs, even when compared to the five year old camera that I recently replaced. Example photos from the S95 seem to confirm this with slightly better color rendition and contrast. Even though the difference is minor and nothing that can't be adjusted in software, it is something to consider. If you're not going to be adjusting your photos on the computer then you might be happier with the output of the S95.

Given your criteria (indoor scenes, holidays, family) you may want to give some weight to the fact that the S95 lacks versatility. Both do well in low light, but only with the SX230 do you get full 1080p video, GPS tagging, and the massive 14x zoom. That's ultimately why I chose the SX230 HS over the S95, because even if I couldn't come up with an immediate reason why I would want these specific features it was primarily going to be a family/vacation/whatever camera and so versatility was my #1 criteria. That zoom is very handy by the way.

 

[ennemkay]

my vote is for the s95. should better for everything except focal length range.

I am looking to buy a new compact and i had set my mind on the s95 reading the reviews. Now I come across the sx230hs as an interesting option.

I like to take pictures in restaurants, in churches and cathedrals ,just holiday snapshots
-and -of course -

pictures of my grandchildren. Could you tell me if both cameras would perform well especially in other than bright daylight ? I know of the difference in zoom and price. I would appreciate reactions from more experienced people .
Thanks in advance. peterfoto