Keldyn buys a Digital Camera

By Keldyn
in Hardware Hangout

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Grand Master

Quboid

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The fro says yes! :fro: (sorry, had to say that)

Glad to hear that as my previous camera drove me up the wall (or at least to Ebay.co.uk where I just sold it). Now I just need to find a good deal on one - ?349 from Amazon is the best I've found so far which is affordable since I got a surprisingly good price for my old Olympus.

Grand Master

Keldyn

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My only argument with the camera is that the menu's are a little esoteric. Fortunately the documentation that comes with is quite detailed (Y) I did find a neat feature the other night though whilst digging around. You can customise the IXUS 400's startup screen! I made a little neowin splash for it. :D

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Quboid

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Sounds good, although I'm not sure I could decide between a Neowin or a Liverpool F.C. startup screen :D Adelaide looks nice too - my aunt lives there. I hate Northern Ireland and I hope to move to Oz when I have the chance but that won't be for a while. Can it take any standard batteries if I'm miles away from a specialist shop?

Spyder, what's the A70 like? Does it remember settings? It seems to be a bit cheaper and more available than the Ixus400, although not as cool looking either :)

Grand Master

Spyder Veteran

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lol! re: cool looking comment

I love my a70. A few pages back I outlined the differences between the A70 and its big brother, the s400, so you can go check those out. The a70 remembers its settings as well.

for the record, I liked the s400 and almost bought it, but I didnt have that much money to spend. When I saw the differences between the two cameras were relatively minor (other than the look), I went with the a70 and saved myself alot of money.

Grand Master

AndyD

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Actually Spyder, doesn't the a70 have more manual controls? Most reviews talk about the lack of manual controls that the s400 have but it's something you must sacrifice, I guess, if you really want a smaller camera.

I decided the size was a major factor for me and decided to go with the s400. I have yet to see that many pictures in the dark, where I understand the s400 has a little bit of trouble taking shots. I guess I'll have to test it out for myself when it finally arrives (I have to wait till end next month since Dell has a backorder going :( )

Grand Master

Spyder Veteran

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thats one advantage I read as well that the a70 has..that it has manual white balance rather than pre-made settings or something. but I havent used the s400 and don't know if thats the case, so I don't want to say that :)

Looks wise, the cameras are quite different. Size wise..i held them both in the store, and the s400 isn't that much smaller.

i dunno. to each their own. the s400 is an excellent camera (as keldyn has shown!) i just couldn't justify the extra 150-200 for it.

Grand Master

Quboid

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Ah ha, found your comparison now. I missed it on the first read through as non-photos got lost...

The 400 is clearly the better camera but it's more a general slightly better in nearly everything than a huge improvement in any particular area. It also has a considerable price markup, more than I'd say the performance improvement warrants for the average user. However image quality is very important to me as some of my photos will be used professionally - also the higher res means I can cover crappy photography by shrinking a blurred photo by a larger percentage :)

The S45 and S50 are a bit too expensive unless I find a good ebay deal. Also, they look ugly :x

It would help if 90% of the ebay camera weren't being shipped from Hong Kong. I can do without paying ?60+ extra!

Grand Master

Spyder Veteran

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Ah ha, found your comparison now. I missed it on the first read through as non-photos got lost...

The 400 is clearly the better camera but it's more a general slightly better in nearly everything than a huge improvement in any particular area.

hmm...i found it only slightly better in a few things, and the rest were the same. perhaps you were looking at something I wasn't?

at any rate..you seem to have come to the same conclusion as me.. the slight difference is hard to justify the leap in price

Grand Master

Keldyn

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Can it take any standard batteries if I'm miles away from a specialist shop?

AndyD Posted on Jun 13 2003, 06:01

Actually Spyder, doesn't the a70 have more manual controls? Most reviews talk about the lack of manual controls that the s400 have but it's something you must sacrifice, I guess, if you really want a smaller camera.

Quboid Posted on Jun 13 2003, 06:45

The S45 and S50 are a bit too expensive unless I find a good ebay deal. Also, they look ugly?

Trunten Posted on Jun 13 2003, 16:42

Are you going to show us any night time shots, Keldyn??

Or are you still having those storms you menioned earlier?

Sadly no, you are limited to the lithium ion battery that comes with.

The S400 does have a manual mode where you have a little more control over such settings as ISO speed, white balance, exposure, etc. It also have a manual white balance feature, so you are not limited to the auto settings.

I looked at both of those cameras too and I have to agree, I was not taken at all by their appearance plus they are very expensive. I paid enough for the S400 thanks and it does all I want and more.

Trunten: We are in winter down here at the moment so the weather has been very poor plus i live a good distance from the city where I would like to take night shots. Patience grasshopper....

Spyder is right though, you can't go wrong with either camera, the S400 or the a70. They are both extremely good performers with a good many features. Best of luck with your purchase!

Here is a shot i snapped this evening on the way home....

post-55-1055581231.jpg

post-55-1055581231.jpg

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