In praise of the 330 HS

I know, I know, it's 2018 and the 330 is ancient.  But it seems to have been the pinnacle of Canon's small point and shoot technology.  From the quality of its sensor to the sharpness of its 10x lens, it has it all.  And now I have two.  I went on to ebay yesterday just to see and the first 330 I saw was exactly what I wanted:  original owner, original box, heck, Buy It Now is what I said.  I don't NEED two but from the look of my username that won't stop me from acquiring one more, right?

I shoot full frame and that always involves hours at my desk working on my raws.  There's something liberating about just carrying my 330 and taking snapshots.   And, bonus, I don't have to work on the images.   SOOC is just fine.  To wit:

A wet May day...really wet

Notice the hawk in yonder tree

I've seen this guy here a lot, I think it's a Coopers Hawk.  I went around to the left to get closer to him and his mate flew up to the same perch

Zoomed in, I could see him eyeballing me (as he always does).  I knew he was getting ready to take off.  With my DSLRs I know I could get the moment of takeoff but with the 330, even if I'm focusing right in on him, once he starts his takeoff and I push the shutter, the inevitable delay means he'll be out of the frame when the shutter fires.  Yes, the downside of trying to capture something like this with a point and shoot but I'm not complaining, it is what it is

And, yes, he did take off after I took this shot but all I got was the last of his tail feathers

Yes, still a fine little camera. I found mine as a Canon refurb for $89 or so and it's smaller than my cell phone and a far better camera.  My "go-everywhere" camera.

I have owned three of those.  Not only is it a great little camera; but the sample to sample variation is just about zero.  Not many cameras I can say that about.

It was one of those rare happy accidents.  Serendipity!  From what I surmise, I think the sensor and processor are pretty much the same as the SX50HS and the SX260HS from the previous year.  At "only" 12 MP, marketing wanted to follow the numbers game with the next ELPH, so the 330HS got leftovers, and turned out to be a winner.  As the European version, the IXUS 255, it won camera of the year in Europe.

My only problem with the 330 is the slow lens at only 250 mm.  The larger SX260HS is equally slow at full zoom; but is still only f/5 at 300 mm, and the image quality is as good or a bit better.  But now, I'd like to have another one.

Add the ELPH 330HS to my list of cameras I owned and still miss.  The SD950IS is another one.

I did go back and purchase several cameras I thought I wanted back; but my fond memories didn't measure up to reality and I sold them all after trying them out.  The S90 is one of the older cameras I kept, along with an A710IS and an A720IS.

The A710IS is my wife's and was bought new.  She wanted an eye level finder.  Also it has a good sized grip; but most important is that it uses AA cells, so she doesn't have to worry about managing rechargeables.  A pair of Energiver lithiums last 550-600 shots, and a second pair is carried in the bag.  She doesn't take many pictures, and with the lithiums not self discharging, it's always ready to go.

The A720IS is nearly identical and it lives 24/7 in my car; and because of the lithium cells, it's always ready to go.

Great little cameras.