A70 Vs S30

[drisley]

I notice that the new A70 is MUCH cheaper than the S30/S45 camera's.
Any idea why? The A70 looks like a much better camera than the S30 and even the S45 (although the S45 has a slightly higher res).

I mean, you can even add lenses to the A70, which you can't with the S30/S45's

[PhilL]

The A70 is a jewel of a camera (although I still have to see some of its pictures), and is in some respects better than the much older S30 because it has got the Digic processor and iSaps technology which somewhat corrects the inherent difficulty these cameras have in properly focusing and assessing exposure.

However, if we discount the 0.8 4 MP resolution difference, the A70 is not quite in the same class as an S45 which has the 1/1.8" instead of the 1/2.7" CCD (bigger CCD, so less noise), 9 vs 5 points AiAF (better autofocus), exposure bracketting, focus bracketting, flash intensity adjustment, RAW mode (uncompressed pictures for absolute best quality), orientation sensor (which I don't use), histogram view in playback (neat to assess exposure balance), a fabulous 1.8"/118,000 vs the run-of-the-mill 1.5"/78,000 pixels LCD, and probably many other features.

Having said all of this, I sure miss the lens attachment on my S45, and would much prefer AA-size batteries instead of the proprietary NB-2L.

Phew! Sorry about the long-winded reply.

[DanyaL]

In about two weeks(When the A70 comes to stores near me) I'm going to buy the A70 for a very important reason.
1. About a week back I had my heart set on buying a new S50(I was dreaming about that camera) but I had never held one. So I went the store and checked out and S45. It was a lot larger than I expected it to be. I figured, I must be looking for something that combines the Compactness of the new S400 with the features of an S50 and at a nice price. That's where the A70 comes in! I'm gonna get me one soon!!

And sorry I really can't answer your question about the low price. It has about the same amount of MP's as the S45!

-Dan

[drisley]

actually, the s45 has 4 mipxels, the a70 has 3 mpixels

[PhilL]

DanyaL,

Had the A70 been available when I purchased my S45, I probably would have excruciated over the decision alot more than I did over the competition simply because the A70 is indeed a pretty good compromise. I love my S45, but I find that it is a bit "chunky". I probably could have sacrificed some of the higher-end features of the S series for a smaller, lighter package.

... but then, I'd probably right about now be missing the RAW mode, and would convince myself that I could actually see the drop in picture quality due to the CCD difference... So I'd want an S45... See, I'm still debating with myself, and I can't make up my mind :-)

Regards

[DanyaL]

PhilL,
Yes the RAW mode is definately something I have considered about. It's a shame the A70 doesn't have it as an option. It might even make me change my mind about buying it. Right now I will be purchasing a G3 in the next few days. That will keep me busy for a little while. I'd still like to get an ultra compact style digicam though in the near future. We'll see what Canon comes up with shall we!!

[ve2cjw]

As for myself, I just bought a used S30 and like it very much. I am still wondering about the A70 though. I have seen and printed the A70 demo pictures that are on the Canon web site and find them soft, especially the one of the litle boy and his dog. In a review on the web, one reviewer also said that the A70 has a "softness" problem. I would prefer the A70 over my S30 because of the standard batteries and much simpler and less costly way of adding lenses and filters. If it turns out that the A70 picture quality is as good as the S30, I will put my S30 on ebay. The funny thing is that a S30 on ebay sells for a lot more than what I paid for mine so it wouldn't be a problem. Has anyone ever compared the two cameras? Take care all.

Mike in Montreal.

[subq]

I disagree. I bought an A70 for my wife (I use a 10d and previously a D30) and the pictures are not soft at all. This is a great little camera and I will probably pick up the waterproof housing so this thing can be taken to the beach.

ve2cjw wrote:
As for myself, I just bought a used S30 and like it very much. I am still wondering about the A70 though. I have seen and printed the A70 demo pictures that are on the Canon web site and find them soft, especially the one of the litle boy and his dog. In a review on the web, one reviewer also said that the A70 has a "softness" problem. I would prefer the A70 over my S30 because of the standard batteries and much simpler and less costly way of adding lenses and filters. If it turns out that the A70 picture quality is as good as the S30, I will put my S30 on ebay. The funny thing is that a S30 on ebay sells for a lot more than what I paid for mine so it wouldn't be a problem. Has anyone ever compared the two cameras? Take care all.

Mike in Montreal.

[DanyaL]

I just ordered the A70 for $330 U.S.(I think it's a good deal). It looks great. I have done lots of research on it and think I made a good choice. I also have a G3 but found it too big to take everywhere with me. The A70 looks like a highly pocket-able camera.

[John Macmillan]

I just picked up my new A70 yesterday. My first digital camera and I have to say this thing really rocks!!!!

Still have lots to learn and experiment with but so far I'm really impressed with the flexibility and power in this terrific camera.

Any other new A70 users out there?

[klee]

John, i have the original IXUS when it first launched and have taken close to 5000 photos. am now looking for more Aperture/Shutter-priority picture taking control in my shots - the A70 interests me greatly. And I have been following all Canon's A, S, and G series units closely. Has anyone having had other units, could comment on whether the drop in LCD pixels affects them when picture taking/reviewing? A70 (and perhaps the whole A-series) has 78,000 vs the usual 115,000 pixels. Also any notes on slight distortions to vertical lines in photos - I read several posts on this and on DCR website, one of the shots actually exhibited this .. I don't know if anyone else noticed this - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a70-review/IMG_9737-pp.JPG
Any discussion welcomed.

[bwb s30]

i had an A70 for 6 days ... ended up taking it back and getting an S30. The A70 was "nice" but I preferred a couple of things about the S30:

1) rechargeable battery
2) ability to turn down the strength of the flash
3) RAW pic format (for those times when you really are going for quality
4) the metal body just feels more "solid" to me

I'm sure that there are many more pros/cons ... but these ones are the main differences that I found.

[ThatGirlNextDoor]

Sometimes I think I want a G2/G3 and other times the A70 is so appealing. If I had the A70 I think I would take it with me more often. It would be easier to carry with me. I really havent made up my mind yet. This is harder than deciding who to go out with on a Saturday night! :)

[klee]

girl, that is so true indeed! btw do you currently own a digital cam? which one? is the lens accessories destined for the A70 shared with other canon units eg G3? is the G3 about time to be replaced? btw the A70 can use rechargeable AAs - one just needs to go and buy them with a charger - canon only supplies alkalines in the box to get one started.

[ThatGirlNextDoor]

Klee, I currently have a Kodak DC3200 digital camera. It is a 1 mp camera and only has "digital" zoom. Actually it isnt too bad but I think its time for a more capable camera. The more I think about it the more the A70 appeals to me. I wish I had gotten the Ni*on 4500 before the price went up. (Oppps, can I say the word Ni*on here?). :)

[klee]

girl, u so need to upgrade! u might as well just go for the A70 and have fun NOW as the low price make it attainable ... years later (and this always happens), a better model that comes in between A70 and S45/S50/G3 will definitely surface! Given the low price of the A70 for someone like u and others, this could be a no-brainer decision. Dont then confuse yourself with why not pay a little more for the S45/S50/G3 cos I think the question of size overrides matters here.

More info for all, after having done more reading... the A70's slow synch flash mode isn't available directly from toggling the flash button, instead it is available under the Night Scene program mode (where one can actually also control whether to have the flash fire or not!). So I don't know yet how inconveniencing this is when compared to most cameras out there that make the slow synch available under the flash toggle button. Any comments from A70 users? At least we know you can still have 'slow-synch' on the A70.

[bwb s30]

one very important fact (to me) is the size of the CCD sensor that is recording the image:

A70: 5.27 mm x 3.96 mm = 20.87 sq.mm
S30: 7.18 mm x 5.32 mm = 38.20 sq.mm

the sensor in the S30 is basically *twice* as large.
As far as I'm concerned, this *has* to mean better pictures.

[klee]

hmmm, thanks for that valuable calculation - I'll assume its correct and if so, would really appreciate a fairly expert soul out there to give their view on quantifying how this translates to a better picture. Or in other words, to appreciate the difference between photos captured via the two CCDs, what should we all be looking for in the photos?

Is it visible or is it just academic? Is the A70 struggling to capture scenes whilst the S30/45/50/G3 cruises?

Could this be directly related to softness in captured photos due to the A70 engine smoothing out ... but what does smaller CCD mean? Less detail? leading to the A70 imge processor engine interpolating? Do help.

[bwb s30]

other cameras with the *same* sensor as the S30:

Canon S400
Canon G2
Canon G3
Canon S40
Canon S45
Canon S50
Nikon Coolpix 995