S1 IS or something else for wife christmas

[dsze]

Hey all...this is my first time in this section of the forum, so I am noticing alot of new names.

I have never had anything but SLR's, but today my wife indicated a strong interest in getting a descent P&S for Christmas....I'm excited that she's interested in photography, period and I want to jump on this chance to have a common hobby with her.

So, my issue: I have recently began shooting semi-pro....weddings, portraits, etc... so, I'm having a hard time not going out and getting her a dReb. or used 10D, but I know that the SLR aspect is what scares her...so, I really don't know where to begin with getting her a P&S...

I've read the posts here on the S1 IS and several reviews and I think it may be the choice... So, the Poll.

...any advice appreciated as well...thanks!

-daniel

[Jon]

Since I don't have an S1 IS, none of your poll options fit. I'd say, though, get her something a tad smaller, maybe an A75-95 or S60/70, S410/500 series. If it's not too bulky, she's more likely to carry it, and if she carries it, she's more likely to use it. Also all those others except the A75 have higher resolution than the S1 IS.

[dsze]

Yes, good point... and I do want her to use it. Her reason for "fearing" mine is the bulky-ness and weight of the 10D/grip/lens/flash...

What does the S1 have over the others that you mention? ....Just the IS or more?

....also, would you see any benefit to her having a Canon camera other than being able to use my CF cards if necessary?

-daniel

[Jon]

It's got more zoom range as well (38-380 35 mm equiv., please let's not talk about the cra^hop factor!). The S60/70 have about the same movie mode capabilities, I think and go a bit wider (28-100 equiv.). The A-series are about 35-105 equiv.

Getting her a Canon would also mean you can both use the same software (ZB, Remote Capture, etc.). Get her a N*kon or _lymp_s, say, and you'd need to have their software loaded as well. get her a S_ny and everything will be new, different and unique[/i] (Can you say "proprietary", boys and girls? i knew you could.) If commonality is a big thing, I'd look at the a75-95 since they use AA cells (as does the S1). The S series use their own proprietary Li Ion cells.

[Velvet G]

I have the S1 IS and bought the A75 for my dad for christmas. The focusing on the A75 seems better (more accurate) than my S1 SI, doesn't seem to burn through batteries as fast and also has low light focus assist which my camera does not.

I do like the zoom on mine right out of the box and preferred the larger size in my hand. Other than that and the IS, I didn't see a lot that was actually different. Oh, the flip out LCD which I'm in love with. Mine has it. The A75 didn't IIRC. It's something I don't think I could readily give up because it makes shooting awkward things so much easier.

[dsze]

Hmm? Well, the A95 looks very good...I like the 5MP and the compact-ness. I like the design/shape of the S1 though. I can't imagine that IS would really be necessary or even useful on a compact P&S though... and the S1 gives up 2MP.... not sure how important that will be for this purpose.

I would like to stay with Canon for the memory cards...the software doesn't matter...everything will still be done in PS regardless. I like the fuji 5100 because it will shoot RAW, which I would like her to eventually learn to use...Maybe I'm pushing it a little :) ....but I don't want to have to invest in XD cards now.

-daniel

[Jon]

I can't imagine that IS would really be necessary or even useful on a compact P&S though
On a 38-380 mm lens? I'd say it's essential.
I like the fuji 5100 because it will shoot RAW, which I would like her to eventually learn to use
The S60/70 also do, and it's a Canon RAW.

[4walls]

The S1 IS has a 30fps movie mode which I think is a first on the P&S
cameras. So if she is gonna use the movie function this is the cam
to get.

You might give up some MP's over other models, but the optical zoom
will make up for that a lot of the time. If she isn't going to do a lot
of enlargements, then the big zoom (combined with the IS) will make
up for the lack of MP's.

Also the electronic viewfinder (if you can convince her to use it) will
lead to more stable hand-held positions of the camera, leading to
steadier shots and therefore more clear images. And if you leave the
screen turned off or turned in, and just use the viewfinder, the battery
life will be way longer.

This seems like a great little camera. I have used it a little. A friend
of mine who shoots professionally (with Nik*n equipment) picked up
one of these for vacationing and family events.

Get her a nice little camera bag with the S1 IS and she will use it a lot.

Cheers and Merry Christmas.

[dsze]

thanks for the suggestions everyone....I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm leaning toward the S1 or A95. The S60/70 RAW would be nice, but I just dont like the design of that camera at all. I like the pop-up flash on the S1 better than the A95, but she'll probably prefer the compact-ness of the 95.

4Walls: Yes, the 30 (actually 29fps) is better than other cameras that do movies. I can't imagine that she'll be using this much though. I have 2 other miniDV cams for movies that she has no problem using.

A side note:

Jon... Yes, I could see how IS might help on a real 380mm lens...but come on, this is a tiny P&S with a zoom...its not like your trying to steady a 70-200 or longer on an slr. Although, the small, lightweight nature of this camera might make it harder to hold still than my heavy slr.

...and if the shutter speed is kept up around 320 or faster at 380mm then, I really don't see the point of IS. I know, I know I've argued with many people about this and a lot of people disagree with me...but it seems that for most events that I'd be shooting with a tele lens, I'd have enough light to keep the shutter pretty quick. Not that IS isn't a nice feature, but I think its way over priced and over rated. I guess this is more of a discussion for the EOS forum, but for what you spend on one lens with IS, you could buy 2-4 lenses without. Just my opinion...I know others love their IS lenses.

Thanks everyone...I'm going shopping....I'll let know what I come home with. I'm sure any # of cams would be fine. What we really want is for her to learn the basics of metering, exposure, composition and the digital workflow...(what I'd secretely like, is for her to work as my 2nd photog. for weddings some day) :)

thanks!
-daniel

[Jon]

The 380 effective mm focal length is just as much in need of stabilization as a true 380 mm on 35 mm full-frame because you're enlarging the sensor image proportionally more from that dinky little chip. So while image blur from hand-holding at 1/60 sec on a 50 mm lens might be acceptable on a 35 mm neg being enlarged 8x for an 8x10 print, that same amount of blur on an S1 IS at a real 50 mm focal length (330 mm effective focal length) will be enlarged 48X for the same 8x10 print.

And you're getting this for your wife, not for you, right? Is she going to remember to keep that shutter speed up?

[dsze]

I understand your point and you are right in that regard.

-daniel

[iwatkins]

I can't answer the poll, but I have bought the S1 for my missus for Xmas.

It bascally meets her requirements:

1. Turn on and shoot, no standing about messing with controls, etc. (that'll be me with my 10D then ;))
2. More that 8x optical zoom
3. Must fit in her handbag (purse for USA).
4. Must do JPEGs she can simply drag off the card and use straight away in emails/webpages etc.

So I've bought her the S1, a case and some NiMH batteries. I've also fitted a CF card reader to her PC and installed BreezeSystems Downloader Pro. She will then just be able to shoot, remove card, plug into PC and the computer will do the rest, i.e. download, store, organise and then clear the CF card. I've also fitted a 256Mb CF card I had spare as the S1 only ships with a 32Mb card.

I hope she will enjoy photography as much as I do and more importantly will have her own camera instead of trying to use mine all the time. ;)

Cheers

Ian

[dsze]

.....bought the S1 tonight....paid way too much for it as Best Buy...probably could have saved $100 by ordering online, but.... I guess thats what I get for waiting so long to make a decision on her gift eh? :) Oh well, she'll have it for Christmas. I've set it up, so its ready to start shooting as soon as she opens it and I couldn't resist snapping a few shots... First Impression: SHARP images. I have to say I was really impressed with the sharpness and the auto-white balance. I was less than impressed with the auto-focus though. It seems to be lacking. Of course, I've only shot 15 photos, but I think she'll like it. Thanks for all the input everyone!

-daniel

[bosamar]

My wife has the A95. She likes to point and shoot so this is working out great for her. We considered the S1 for her but decided 3.2 MP was just not enough and the LCD was too tiny. If the S1 was 4 MP and had a 1.8 or 2.0 LCD if would be ALOT better.

[gsmx2]

My dad was going to Africa for two weeks and asked my opinion for a digital camera for him. I suggested the S1 IS...he loved it. It was the perfect choice for him; not perfect for everyone. Here's what worked for him.

3 megapixel...If he ever prints ANYTHING it will only be 4 x 6 so this worked for him. What will your wife print out? If 8 x 10...go for the 5 megapixel camera. Side benefit for dad; 3 mgp camera holds A LOT more pictures on his 256 mb cards. That mattered for that trip.

10x optical zoom. The 38x380 equivilant lens was GREAT in Africa. People with other digital cameras were putting their cameras down as dad was filling at least 50% of his frame with animals.

Size of camera was not too small for his hands, nor too big for him to carry.

100% accurate viewfinder. My last Canon had 70% accurate viewfinder....drove me nuts...and I refused to hold the camera at arm's length to view through the screen.

I liked the camera so much, I purchased one for my work. The neo-camera people there can use it...enough said.

OK, downside...the viewfinder is a led or something screen, which is too dark and grainy for my taste, but that really doesn't effect what's captured, so that may just be a personal annoyance.

Oh--I see you brought one. I think she'll like it. It certainly has a lot of capabilities built into a 3 Mpxl camera.

[dsze]

bosamar, I struggled with the 3.2MP's too, but anything that gets printed large will probably still come from me anyway. She'll probably get 4X6's, maybe 5X7's. I'm curious though; you said it would be a way better camera if it had a larger LCD and 4MP.. How much difference do you think there really is between 3.2 and 4 MP? Not much. Going to 5MP would be a larger difference, but you really don't gain anything as far as printing when going from 3.2 to 4MP. Here's an image that shows the differences: http://www.digitalsecrets.net/secrets/SizeMatters.html. And the LCD...I was OK with the smaller one. A larger LCD just uses more battery power. I prefer to view images on the computer anyway....the LCD is just a quick reference in my opinion.

Here's another question though: I didn't get her a bag for it yet because I didn't find any that I liked. It has to be small and very easy to carry (she just shakes her head at my Compact AW), but I also want it to be large enough to hold maybe a couple CF cards, extra battery set. Any suggestions?

thanks,
daniel

[4walls]

How much difference do you think there really is between 3.2 and 4 MP? Not much. Going to 5MP would be a larger difference, but you really don't gain anything as far as printing when going from 3.2 to 4MP. Here's an image that shows the differences: http://www.digitalsecrets.net/secrets/SizeMatters.html.

Wow, thanks for posting that link.

[Moppie]

I had two photos printed as x-mas presents, one was taken at full 4mp, the other at only 3mp on my A80.
Both were printed to 8x10 and Ill be damned if I can tell any differnce between them.

[DocFrankenstein]

I have S1 IS which I don't use anymore. It has to compete with rebel... it fails. :)

IS is needed in it.
10x zoom is nice.

IT IS BIG. Nobody uses the camera, because of it's size. When in a bag (and you need a bag for it, because the lens cap falls off all the time) it get bulky for a Point and Shoot. It's basically as big as G6.

I'd get something SMALL... something that's easilty fits in your pocket...

And best buy is a BAD company. Return it! ;) OR live with it :lol: hehe

[dsze]

Thanks Doc.... BB is not so bad.. They'll get you every now & then if you let them, but they're not so bad; there are worse.

Ofcourse, the S1 doesn't compete with the rebel, I don't intend for it to do so. My wife wants it because she feels intimidated by my 10D. After playing with it a little, I think she'll like it. It is a little big, but it also feels like a real camera in your hand.

thanks,
daniel