SX260 HS to SX700 HS or wait for SX710 HS?

Hi,

So there's a piece of dust that managed to get inside the lens of my trusty SX260 - isn't that the most annoying thing on earth?  I had my original one from October 2012 until June 2013 when I was at a wedding and someone was taking a picture of me a the rehearsal dinner and dropped it on the stone patio...and my jaw dropped with it.  I had to run to Target that night and get an SX280, which I didn't love, especially after reading all the reviews on it.  Target said I could return it no problem, and I ordered another 260 from Amazon, which I still have just over a year-and-a-half later, and 27 months after I bought the first one.

I usually keep my cameras for a decently long time, all things considered these days, and I am a perfectionist when it comes to shots, so I can easily put 20,000 shots on one without realizing it or take 400+ shots at one wedding alone...I bought the 260 when the light sensor in my old SX110 (bought when I was a poor law student) went after almost 4 years of intense usage).

Anyway, the dust spot isn't ruining photos except for in lower-light, without flash, but it's there and I feel like it's getting worse, or maybe I'm noticing it more?  I called a few camera shops, and they told me they'd have to send it out, and it would be about $125 to fix it, yikes! For that price, I'd rather put it on eBay, where it looks like used SX260s are going for $75-$100, put the smashed one on for parts and get about $35-50, and put the money toward a new camera.

All that being said, the SX700 is $279 on Amazon, the SX710 is supposed to come out in February, supposedly for $349, right?  Do I wait for the SX710?  Do I get the SX700, and maybe the price will drop more?  I don't see the SX700 at Costco.  The extra MPs won't make much of a difference to me, the lower f-stop might be nice, but not necessary.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Ashleigh919 wrote:

Hi,

So there's a piece of dust that managed to get inside the lens of my trusty SX260 - isn't that the most annoying thing on earth? I had my original one from October 2012 until June 2013 when I was at a wedding and someone was taking a picture of me a the rehearsal dinner and dropped it on the stone patio...and my jaw dropped with it. I had to run to Target that night and get an SX280, which I didn't love, especially after reading all the reviews on it. Target said I could return it no problem, and I ordered another 260 from Amazon, which I still have just over a year-and-a-half later, and 27 months after I bought the first one.

I usually keep my cameras for a decently long time, all things considered these days, and I am a perfectionist when it comes to shots, so I can easily put 20,000 shots on one without realizing it or take 400+ shots at one wedding alone...I bought the 260 when the light sensor in my old SX110 (bought when I was a poor law student) went after almost 4 years of intense usage).

Anyway, the dust spot isn't ruining photos except for in lower-light, without flash, but it's there and I feel like it's getting worse, or maybe I'm noticing it more? I called a few camera shops, and they told me they'd have to send it out, and it would be about $125 to fix it, yikes! For that price, I'd rather put it on eBay, where it looks like used SX260s are going for $75-$100, put the smashed one on for parts and get about $35-50, and put the money toward a new camera.

All that being said, the SX700 is $279 on Amazon, the SX710 is supposed to come out in February, supposedly for $349, right? Do I wait for the SX710? Do I get the SX700, and maybe the price will drop more? I don't see the SX700 at Costco. The extra MPs won't make much of a difference to me, the lower f-stop might be nice, but not necessary.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

Have you tried removing the dust using the vacuum cleaner method, if you are going to ditch the camera then it could be worthwhile.

http://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Digital-Camera-Lens-with-a-Vacuum-Cleaner

Brian

Thanks, Brian; I'd never heard of that before, but I'm worried about completely ruining the camera!

Ashleigh919 wrote:

Thanks, Brian; I'd never heard of that before, but I'm worried about completely ruining the camera!

That is a risk, it probably depends on where the dust is situated inside the lens.  I have never used the method but I know someone who fixed his SX230 this way.

Brian

xi5 wrote:

Different sites/conflicting specs on whether SX710 HS has RAW...

Canon mentions "RAW+JPEG" can be erased, but doesn't mention RAW otherwise:

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/digital_cameras/other_powershot/powershot_sx710_hs#Specifications

This site claims it does have RAW:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/canon-sx710/canon-sx710DAT.HTM

Those sites also show that the SX710 has a 20mp CMOS sensor, whereas dpr database shows it to have a 20mp BSI-CMOS sensor.

The SX700 is shown to have a 16mp BSI-CMOS sensor, so what is real in these specs.

The SX710 jumps from 16 to 20mp with the possibility of not being back lit.

I would want to see some comparisons before paying more for the Sx710.

Brian

Thanks for the comments on the SX700.  I had an SX110 a long time ago, and I hated to raise the flash all the time.  I wonder if the SX710 will have that as well?

As for the SX280, I returned it right after I bought it, because it did have the video issue with the battery, though I think the firmware fix was out already.  I only bought it literally for a day (Target told me I could return it, and I think they felt badly for me because someone dropped my 260 at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding the night before and I was left without a camera!).

As for a more expensive camera, I definitely cannot afford that right now.  I really can't even afford this, but I can't be without a camera for numerous reasons, and I definitely am not a person who can or wants to rely on a cellphone camera.  I also do not want to switch to another brand of camera because I really don't like other brands, I have a Canon printer, and a huge part of this is that other cameras in this price range from other manufacturers are made in China, and unless there is no other viable alternative, I refuse to buy made in China.  These Canons are made in Japan.  I'm sure there are Chinese components, but if it's stamped "Made in Japan" as opposed to "China," that's the route I take.

I ended up buying an SX700 last night because all of a sudden, my SX260 started taking on a blue tinge to everything. no matter how I adjust the white balance, no matter what mode I am in, no matter how I adjust the settings on the camera, the color of whatever the picture subject is is simply just not right.  This happened so suddenly, and honestly, I'm annoyed, because this is my replacement SX260, which is only 20 months old.  Sure, I had the speck of dust on the lens, anyway, but I wouldn't expect the sensor to go bad like this.

I did get Best Buy to match the price, even though they claimed to not match the price of the other vendor (apparently BB was the only place in the area that had one physically in stock rather than purchasing online, and I needed the camera for today), so I only paid $235 + tax, which isn't too horrible.  There's also still no detail on when the 710 will be released, though I thought it would be released by today?  Either way, to save $115 off the 710 sold me!

I think you might like the SX700. I returned my first one because the picture quality was not good, but I've learned that I had a bad example. The lens was soft on the left side and didn't yield sharp pics overall. My 2nd one is much better and seems more even across the frame, or what would be normal for this type of camera/lens combination, and the lens seems to be sharper on this one as well. I think this camera is best used under ISO 800; I try to keep mine at ISO 100 and leave low light shooting for my G16 or dslr. I also use it for general shooting, mostly landscape/scenic shots with occasional wildlife shots. It's not an action camera so I don't try to use it for that purpose either. I do think that noise performance and the burst rate were better on the SX280, but the extra 250mm is good compensation. If you know the SX700's limitations and its strengths, I think you'll enjoy using it.

Andy