help with canon a80 or g5

[augusta jo]

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome, florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.

1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.

2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for the A80 make more sense.

3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

 

[Fin Phan]

If portability is your MAIN concern, get the A80 for sure. When I looked for my first digital, it was the G5 because it's black color and you can add external flash on hotshoe. I never did consider the A80 because it's too small for me, but I've seen great pictures produced by it too. The G5's internal flash is pretty darn good and powerful. If you'd like, check the wedding pictures I took on March 06, 2004:

http://www.handasolo.com/fincoon/photography

These were taken with the internal flash on auto white balance with no photoshop of any kind, just resized. As for battery, I believe the A80 uses AA batteries and the G5 uses the lithium-ion battery. Lithium battery does last very long on my G5. Another thing, if you add an adapter to the G5, you will need to zoom closer when using the internal flash because shadows can occur, or else get a 420EX, etc. Good luck!

--
Fin
Minolta 700si SLR --> Canon G5

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

 

[JoeSal129362]

If you are familiar with adding different glass to the G5, (wide angle, telphoto, filters, etc. Then take the G5 along with a pouch for your accessories. The minor inconvenience of carrying it around will result in years of awesome pictures. The battery life of the G series is legendary, and will make life a lot easier than looking for AA's for the A80.

I went to Rome and Florence 6 yrs ago and had a Canon Elph, last year I did a similar trip with a G3. The Elph is tiny compared to the G3 yet I really do not recall the G being a burden

http://www.handasolo.com/fincoon/photography

These were taken with the internal flash on auto white balance with
no photoshop of any kind, just resized. As for battery, I believe
the A80 uses AA batteries and the G5 uses the lithium-ion battery.
Lithium battery does last very long on my G5. Another thing, if
you add an adapter to the G5, you will need to zoom closer when
using the internal flash because shadows can occur, or else get a
420EX, etc. Good luck!

--
Fin
Minolta 700si SLR --> Canon G5

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

 

[hbh]

For what it is worth, I own a Canon 300D, aka Digital Rebel (DR), aka Kiss. it is Canon's entry level Digital Single Lens Refex camera (DSLR). I have owned it for about 6 months, along with some great lenses. It is awsome, has a 6mp sensor and costs under $1000.

My wife has been jealous and wanted my film cameras. I know better. She would never figure them out. Her birthday is tommorrow. I have given her the Canon A-80. I have had it out of the box for a couple of hours. Awesome. Sure, she will probably start fiddling with the wrong buttons and I will have to intervene until she learns how to simply stay with Program mode and use only certain basic functions at first. I got it as (hopefully) a simple Point and Shoot (P/S) digital. Hopefully it is not overkill. What I like about it is that it uses the same Compact Flash memory cards as my DR, same file format and will work with the same software that I am already using, the menus are similar and although I have only had it out of the box about 2 hours I am up and running with it. It also has plenty of other modes including manual, and of course the movie mode. It complements my DR nicely.

If you want a good point and shoot that is convenient to use and not too bulky, I think this is the ticket. Later, when you decide to upgrade to a DSLR (and the technology is advancing quickly) you will have a good grounding in howa Canon digital works.

If you have the money for it and the ambition, maybe consider the DR. It has a simple Program mode and comes with a nice zoom lens. It is upgradable as can be, but you can take it at your own pace. A lot bigger than the A-800 though.

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

 

[Pye-dog]

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

Room to grow means G5.

I don't know how useful RAW will be for travel photos - RAW files are large and will fill up your flash card quickly. If you plan to get into post processing RAW is a definite advantage. The swivel LCD is not exactly a wash - it is noticeably larger on the G5.

As far as the flash is concerned, the G5 is more powerful. If you want to get away from red-eye or throw more light around for whatever reason the G5 has an external flash shoe and the A80 does not (this was one of the biggies for me when I was choosing between the A80 and the G3).

I don't know how you would add a flash to the A80 anyway, unless you want to trigger an external flash as a slave from the internal A80 flash. This is unnecessarily complicated, and the fact that the internal flash has to fire will mean that you will never get away from red-eye problems.

The battery differences are largely a matter of choice. The Li-Ion battery for the G3 is rechargeable in the camera. A spare Li-Ion battery for the G3 will be a good idea if you are traveling. With the A80 you will have to buy NiMH batteries and charger or burn through a lot of regular AA's. Of course, the advantage for the A80 is the general availability of AA batteries almost anywhere you travel.

For me, the advantages of the G3 as a camera outweighed the A80 so the batteries were not much of a factor. The G5 is very similar to the G3, so I know that it will be easy enough for a novice to use. I suggest that you get hold of it as soon as possible so you can get used to the controls and get away from shooting everything in auto. Have fun, take lots of pix.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

Roger

 

[Forbes]

anything, you need to decide how important it is to have a small camera you can take anywhere vs a heavier one you might choose to leave behind if you really want to travel light. Undoubtedly G5 would be able to produce greater pictures, once you get to know how to use it; A80 also is an amazing camera but there would be a distinct difference in the shots each would get, in the hands of an experienced user. My A80 does ok at night.

http://www.handasolo.com/fincoon/photography

These were taken with the internal flash on auto white balance with
no photoshop of any kind, just resized. As for battery, I believe
the A80 uses AA batteries and the G5 uses the lithium-ion battery.
Lithium battery does last very long on my G5. Another thing, if
you add an adapter to the G5, you will need to zoom closer when
using the internal flash because shadows can occur, or else get a
420EX, etc. Good luck!

--
Fin
Minolta 700si SLR --> Canon G5

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

--
http://www.DForbesRowanPhotos.OrangeCountyandSurrounding.PhotoShare.co.nz
A80: It's a neat camera, even if it's not black.
D. F. R.

 

[mamiller]

You should note that the A80, with four AA batteries, will outperform almost every camera on the market in terms of the number of shots you will get before they need replacing. Phenomenal battery life.

Mike

I went to Rome and Florence 6 yrs ago and had a Canon Elph, last
year I did a similar trip with a G3. The Elph is tiny compared to
the G3 yet I really do not recall the G being a burden

http://www.handasolo.com/fincoon/photography

These were taken with the internal flash on auto white balance with
no photoshop of any kind, just resized. As for battery, I believe
the A80 uses AA batteries and the G5 uses the lithium-ion battery.
Lithium battery does last very long on my G5. Another thing, if
you add an adapter to the G5, you will need to zoom closer when
using the internal flash because shadows can occur, or else get a
420EX, etc. Good luck!

--
Fin
Minolta 700si SLR --> Canon G5

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.

 

[ErnieWes]

I bought an A80 a few weeks ago, and the only disappointment I have is that the LCD is virtually useless outdoors. Whether overcast or sunny, the picture is washed out. You can barely make out the settings when the shutter is half-pressed. I've just returned from an outside walk, and I could barely make out a black puppy against a snow background.

My advice is to take the cameras outside and see if you're happy with the LCD performance before you buy.

 

[inkyape]

I bought an A80 a few weeks ago, and the only disappointment I have
is that the LCD is virtually useless outdoors. Whether overcast or
sunny, the picture is washed out. You can barely make out the
settings when the shutter is half-pressed. I've just returned from
an outside walk, and I could barely make out a black puppy against
a snow background.

My advice is to take the cameras outside and see if you're happy
with the LCD performance before you buy.

hmm... I have no problem with LCD visibility outdoors.
I can recommend the A80. The g5 is great too.

--
> Canon Powershot A80
http://members.chello.se/uz/canon.htm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Attu]

Ive got both the A80 and the G5, both are very good cameras and its hard to recommend one over the other.

If your really serious about your photography then the G5 is probably a better bet, if you were taking a photo with both cameras I think you would be hard pushed to tell the images apart but where the G5 scores is the extra functions and the external flash capability.

Some one earlier mentioned the weight of the two cameras, Ive just put both cameras in my wifes hands and asked here which felt the heavier ? she said the A80, I then weighed them (sad I know ) and the G5 was the heavier but only by 3oz.

The G5 is a larger camera though and you would be hard pushed to put it in your pocket .

As I said before It all depends on how serious you are and what you intend to do with the camera, If its take it on holiday and then throw it in a draw until next year then go for the A80, if you will use it when you get back and want to take more challenging photos then get the G5 and add a 420ex flash at a later stage.

If I was to choose one Id get the G5 ...I love it ...well not love but you know what I mean

Andy

 

[Robert Magio]

If you are going to be traveling, my suggestion would be save your money and buy either a Canon A60 or A70. Take time to learn the camera and enjoy it. I own a G3 with a 420EX flash, .45 wide angle lens and 2X telephoto lens. I purchased two A60’s in December for each of my son’s and they are great little cameras. The quality of the photos are outstanding, they have just about all the same functions as the G3 and G5 just less mega pixels. If I were going on vacation, just for the convenience, I would rather have the smaller camera, a lot less hassle. I’m actually purchasing a A60 or A70 in the next week or so to carry with me everyday. If you’re really set on an A80 or G5, go with the G5, the hot shoe for the flash is a great asset, you will find you can not live without it. If you can find a G3, which I think http://www.normancamera.com still have some available, I would go with that, but I’m partial because I own one.

Good Luck,
Robert
G3 – 420EX

I need help much like before i am no closer to making a decision on
a camera. it is between the A80 and G5 and now i need to know what
camera will serve a novice user going to europe, ( spain, rome,
florence,milan,paris,ireland) the best.
1) i want room to grow artisticaly, in that case is the RAW format
that important. Both have the swivel lcd so that is a non issue.
2) I have herd concerns for the flash on the A80 with night/dusk
pictures. Is the G5 flash that much better or would an adapter for
the A80 make more sense.
3) when all said and done what will the cost/benifit from each
camera bring me i.e. battery, add on lenes, flashes, etc.