Need to buy a camera under 300$. SX230 HS or SX260 HS

JJ Rodin wrote:

The sx50hs has that fabulous 50x zoom, same sensor as the 230/260/etc, so a great city or landscape cam, great for zoos.

But the Canon G1X would be great too, pic far superior to any of the above, or the Sony Rx100, little better pic but not much better, pricey.

But from what you say, one of the cams you mention should be fine for your use! If JPEG is fine for you, then buy the cheapest it will serve you well.

Enjoy London, a great city, especially if the weather is fine!! OR go to another Euro city, lots to choose from!!

Remember CHDK can be put on all the cams you mentioned, it gives you raw which will allow you to choose the JPEG output & allow for future proof for software in the future that could work wonders on that data!!

ithehappy wrote:

..

Just asking another thing additionally, if I give up on the small size, which one then would be my option? If I add, say another 100$ to by budget.

Thanks once again guys.

Thanks for your reply sir.

Actually when SX50 was first launched I almost bought it, as I just couldn't resist myself from having a 50X OZ unit, which is just awesome. But then I thought paying the amount for that will get me an entry level SLR, so I stepped back. Right now it's selling here at 25K, (just over 450$), so I think I will keep it as my last option.

neoofmatrix wrote:

ithehappy wrote:

Okay guys, thanks a lot for your replies, information and support. I've made my mind. I'm going for the 230, if I don't get it 240 then.

Just asking another thing additionally, if I give up on the small size, which one then would be my option? If I add, say another 100$ to by budget.

Thanks once again guys.

To sum up, IMHO, if size is important, 240, if IQ and versatility is important then sx40. I strongly recommend you look up for sx40 photos and make your mind.

SX40, alright, thank you, another unit which I can't see here, no review and no samples. Could you kindly redirect me to somewhere where I can find both the SX40 and SX240 samples?

Thanks in advance.

PS: The thing is, I can buy SX40, or maybe even SX50, no problem in spending the cash, BUT my brain is telling me that why would you invest behind a compact P&S, which is NOT pocket friendly and not buy a SLR, lol. My damn brain, could be right though

irportal wrote:

Hi and welcome.

Also, if you aren't overly concerned with zoom, have you looked at the canon S line, like an S95 and S100? You can get them on ebay for sub $300 and the IQ and speed are infinitely better than any camera discussed here. They are worth it.

my .0002.

Thanks mate.

Well I don't think S95/S100 has that much better IQ to give up on the 400% extra OZ of SX240 or even more of SX40, am I wrong?

ithehappy wrote:

Thanks mate.

Well I don't think S95/S100 has that much better IQ to give up on the 400% extra OZ of SX240 or even more of SX40, am I wrong?

That depends on your mileage sir. Ask yourself how often do you need 400% zoom versus a nice close up photos. The sensor is twice as big in S line, so the images will be that much better/clearer. 24mm-100mm is not bad, you will get a good room full of people and great IQ. Due to the sensor size, you will be able to crop to an equivalent of a 200mm shot and still have the same IQ as the SX240. So while you are only giving up almost half the zoom, you are gaining so much in IQ for landscape photos, for portraits, for dinner table photos, group photos, party photos. Not to mention larger sensors have much better low light performance.

I prefer to loose out on the zoom since you need excellent image stabilization and a steady hand to really use it. Some useful reading

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/35476890

irportal wrote:

ithehappy wrote:

Thanks mate.

Well I don't think S95/S100 has that much better IQ to give up on the 400% extra OZ of SX240 or even more of SX40, am I wrong?

That depends on your mileage sir. Ask yourself how often do you need 400% zoom versus a nice close up photos. The sensor is twice as big in S line, so the images will be that much better/clearer. 24mm-100mm is not bad, you will get a good room full of people and great IQ. Due to the sensor size, you will be able to crop to an equivalent of a 200mm shot and still have the same IQ as the SX240. So while you are only giving up almost half the zoom, you are gaining so much in IQ for landscape photos, for portraits, for dinner table photos, group photos, party photos. Not to mention larger sensors have much better low light performance.

I prefer to loose out on the zoom since you need excellent image stabilization and a steady hand to really use it. Some useful reading

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/35476890

Thanks for that link sir. I've read it totally and now I'm tending towards the bigger sensor I guess!  Damn, so much confusions! along with my utterly depressed mood  caused by a football game...

Let's see...

irportal wrote:

ithehappy wrote:

Thanks mate.

Well I don't think S95/S100 has that much better IQ to give up on the 400% extra OZ of SX240 or even more of SX40, am I wrong?

That depends on your mileage sir. Ask yourself how often do you need 400% zoom versus a nice close up photos. The sensor is twice as big in S line, so the images will be that much better/clearer. 24mm-100mm is not bad, you will get a good room full of people and great IQ. Due to the sensor size, you will be able to crop to an equivalent of a 200mm shot and still have the same IQ as the SX240. So while you are only giving up almost half the zoom, you are gaining so much in IQ for landscape photos, for portraits, for dinner table photos, group photos, party photos. Not to mention larger sensors have much better low light performance.

The linear dimensions of the S100 sensor is app. 22% larger than the SX40/SX240 sensor (= app. 48% larger area), which can be translated to a bit more than half a stop better high ISO performance. And no, you can't just crop the S100 image and get the same result as with the SX240 at twice the equivalent FL. If using 2x digital zoom on the S100 you'll end up with a 3mp image (upsampled in-camera to 12mp), and a 12mp SX240 image will be much better than a 3mp crop from the S100.

at 100% zoom, not 200% zoom. 6MP picture, but again, how often do you need that zoom depends on your use.

Going to a concert and sitting way back, 500mm lens will come in handy, shooting a detail up high on a cliff or a parapet, zoom will help again. Going to a party or a portrait, or anything like that, that 500mm lens wont help that much, but a larger sensor and and better performance will help more.

It all depends on your needs.

Could you kindly redirect me to a link where I can see some samples taken from both SX110 and SX240. There is none in this site for SX240, and very few of SX110.

Thanks in advance.

ithehappy wrote:

Could you kindly redirect me to a link where I can see some samples taken from both SX110 and SX240. There is none in this site for SX240, and very few of SX110.

Thanks in advance.

You probably mean S110 (SX110 is an older camera). You can just choose the SX260 in DPR's comparison tool. It's the same camera as SX240, except for the GPS.

Yeah, very silly typo. S110 it is.

PS: Why can't I edit my previous post?