S45 VS. S400

[Robertmat]

I am torn between buying an S45 or an S400.

I travel often with a friend and we each bring our own film camera. I decided to get a digital camera so he can continue with film and I will go film-less. After research I have narrowed it down to these 2.

The traveler in me loves the size, style, battery life of the S400.

The techie in me loves the added controls and functionality of the S45.

This camera will mostly be used for travel photography.

Any comments from owners would be welcome.

Thanks, Robert

[DanyaL]

I have a G3 and as much as I love the control I get with it, I am dieing for an s400. I want one so bad!!
If I were you, I'd get the s400.

[oo7girl1]

I LOVE my S400.
I wanted a quality camera to have with me at all times.
I've only had it 2 weeks and it has come in handy several times already. It even saved my butt last week in a contract issue.

The things don't care for:
The slight delay between the button press and the exposure while it's metering.
The Menu/ Function/ Set buttons are not really intuitive, it just takes some getting used to.
You can't zoom in movie mode. (You can, however, set the zoom before you start recording).
The viewfinder zooms in and out (although not the digital portion of the zoom)

Several features that i think are really neat-o:
The size is perfect for my purse, which is about the size of a fanny pack.
Very little use of plastic!
The CD includes a "remote capture" program which records images directly to your hard drive, bypassing the CompactFlash card altogether. This program also lets you modify the manual settings on the camera which is very helpful if you break your LCD like i did (see the post "LCD Screen Replacement?").
The photo review is very intuitive (using the Zoom control to select images).
The battery is small enough to fit a spare in my wallet.
Both customer service and parts personell were fantastic.

I hope this helps your descision. Pleas post any specific questions and I will be glad to give more info.

-Julie

[UK_Terry]

robertmat wrote:
I am torn between buying an S45 or an S400.




The techie in me loves the added controls and functionality of the S45.

This camera will mostly be used for travel photography.

Any comments from owners would be welcome.

Thanks, Robert

here is an image from my S45, i also have a 10D.
i still love the quality and useability of the S45, and would not swap it for anything.

http://www.robinsfc.co.uk/Forum_Posts/s45picxxx

[PhilL]

OK! Here's my $0.02's worth. I have an S45, and now find the manual features to be absolutely essential. Sure its size (and weight) prevents you from forgetting that you've got it in your pocket, but with a proper case on your belt, its really not that bad. In fact, I've ben carrying it all over, even skiing, and I've now gotten quite used to it.

The S45 is probably a good compromise between an S400 which you can carry easily, but which will definitely limit you, and, say, a G2 or G3 that have got all the features and the benefits of a brigther lens, but that are horrendous to carry around.

So, my choice between an S400 and an S45 is still with the S45. Having said this, however, did you consider the A70? Although not quite as technically adept as the S45, and with a slightly noisier 3-megapixels-only CCD, it still packs in the manual features that you'd want, in a package that is somewhere between the S400 and the S45... In my view, worth considering.

Oh, before I forget, the S45 and the Gs (but not the S400 or A70) have got the RAW (no compression) mode. This is a pretty important for those shots that have got to be perfect, when compression artefacts are unacceptable. In my case, with the low cost of CF cards, I find that I take at least 10 to 20% of my pictures in RAW mode.

[DanyaL]

Ok!! It's official! I just got a new job, and as soon as I have enough money I'm rushing out to get an S400. I absolutely can't wait!When I'm on the go, I can definately do without the Manuals I'd be missing from my G3. It's well worth it with the size. If you are looking for a pocket camera, the s45 Is not one.

[Benny Tong]

The S400 review is out on dpreview. Apparently there is no flash compensation control on S400 so if you find some pictures too dark with flash, you won't be able to do anything with it.

I own a S45 and have used all the features of the camera after a go up the learning curve. And I love it.


Benny

[UK_Terry]

Danyal wrote:
If you are looking for a pocket camera, the s45 Is not one.

I cannot agree, the S45 is the Ideal "Pocket Camera"
not only is it small enough to put in a pocket or handbag, it also has awesome capabilities.
shoots RAW....ISO can be as fine as 50 (even my 10D does not give 50)....Full manual control...or just Point & Shoot. Brilliant Camera.

[Robertmat]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful comments.

The reply from PhilL sold me.

Also, the DPREVIEW of the S45 was extremely helpful. Thanks Benny for letting me know about the S400 review, when I was initially looked it wasn't there yet.

I decided to go with the S45 because I could not give up substance over style, at least not for 2 ounces :-)

Thanks again, Robert
New Hampshire