IXUS 400 VS IXUS V3

[kim3134]

Hi THERE,
WOULD LIKE SOME FEED BACK BEFORE I CHOOSE ON THE 2 DIFFRENT CAMERAS,HAVE NEVER HAD A DIGIT CAMERA BUT,NOW I FEEL THAT ITS TIME FOR ME TO INVEST IN ONE.
IS THEY ANYBODY KIND ENOUGH TO ADVICE ME?
I AM PLANING TO TAKE VIDIO SNAPS AND SNAP SHOTS AS WE HAVE A YOUNG KIDS.........I DO HAVE A VIDIO CAMERA BUT AS MANY PEOPLE KNOW,THEY ARE HEAVY TO CARRY ALONG AND THEN ONE HAS TO REMEMBER TO CHARGE THE BATTERY ect.......

WOULD BE GREATFUL FOR ANY ADVICE.

THANK YOU :-)

[Santos007]

After viewing samples from s230 and s400 I can only say that s400 is much more superior,in terms of image quality, sharpness of the pics, focus..etc. s230 's pics are just too blurry,soft and noisy....But again..that's just one person's opinion. Hope this helps!

[juukeli]

Hey Santos007

Tell me exactly where have you seen that the difference between the image quality of these two cameras is so dramatic???

I own an Ixus v3 (230) and have been comparing these very carefully and I can't tell the difference!

If you have better information, let us know.

Tell me an URL, where I can compare these and can see the difference.

Of course 400 is a new model and I quess there are many improvements, but you're talking like the difference is HUGE. I won't buy that.

[kim3134]

from what I have read on the net,it seems to me that they is not a HUG diffrent in the two cameras,One issue that pops up quite often is that the later one ixus 400 has a set back in view of video,is they such a BIG diffrent between 640x480 and 320x240 ??? why I ask is that I have plans to use video as well and one whould not like to miss out,whenever the kids are in action.
In my case I must admit that,space is a issue as we have 3 kids and by the time I recall to bring the Video,we are half way to our destination :-(

Thank you for the tips.

[khs8]

I bought the S230 3 weeks ago. I took it with me to a trip and took 130 pictures and video clips. All of them are sharp and clear. There is no difference in images unless you blow them up to beyond 11"x14". I was hedgin on exchanging my s230 for the s400, but after the trip and playing around with the video clips I took, I will keep my s230 for these reasons:

1. 3.2 M pixel is not much different than 4 M pixels, unless you enlarge the images to over 11x14". The s230 3 M pixel will use 1/3 less memory, allowing you to take more pictures on a trip.
2. The 3x zoom of the s400 is very desirable, but after the trip, I decided I can live with a 2x zoom. 2x can do most portait shots (70 mm lens), while the 3x zoom (105 mm) is neither portrait nor telephoto.
3. I very compared the 320x240 video clips with 640x480. If you watch them in a very tiny square on a computer screen, you will see no difference. But, I like to watch it in either full screen (14" LCD) or at least 1/2 screen, and the 320x240 is so blurry that it just would not work for me.

I think Canon deliberately downgraded the video clip on the s400 just not to obsolete the s230 (which is still a pretty new design). The s230 has most, if not all the electronics that is in the s400. People who complain about blurry pictures just do not know how to use an automatic camera. They should turn it to manual mode. These same people complain about the weak flash, but they take night pictures of people standing 20 ft away.

Anyway, my opinion is unbiased, since I still have a choice of exchanging mny s230 for the s400, but decided to keep the s230. If you do decide to buy, get a 256 MB or better still, if price is right, get the 512 MB CP card. You will need it if you take a lot of video clips. After you take the clips, use Virtualdub to put them all togetner to make a movie.

Happy shooting.

[Santos007]

For example:
s230:
http://www.pbase.com/john230/root

and s400
http://imageevent.com/kevroc/s400?n=0

[khs8]

This is a very misleading comparison. You have to take the same scenes at the same instant(more or less) using the two cameras and using the same camera settings, i.e., use full auto, allowing the two cameras to do the work on its own.

Looking at the comparisons again, I find the s400 pictures have a washed out look, while the s230 pictures have better contrast (the one with the cruise ship).

[Littlenose]

For what it's worth, you can see a few pics that I have taken with my Ixus 400 on the first couple of days owning a digital camera.. ie I'm a total novice.

I'm pleased with the camera, but I don't really rate my usage of the video as a high priority like yourself.

Hope this has helped a little... and feel free to email me.
Mikey

[Santos007]

Ok...direct comparison between s230 and s400 (and many other cams)...one can clearly see the softness and less sharp pics of s230 compared to s400 (where we can see sharp, noise free, rich in detail pics).
And also...if you own s230 that doesnt mean its better than s400.

[Littlenose]

Ooops, forgot my homepage address.

www.mikeyscott.co.uk

Mikey

[khs8]

Santos: where are the pics for direct comparison. I am not saying s230 is better than s400, but I do not think one can tell the difference between the two unless you enlarge the pics to 11x14. Convince me if you have direct comparisons. I still have a chance to exchange my s230 for the s400.

[juukeli]

I honestly don't see the difference in those pictures, you clearly have much better vision than the rest of us, Santos.

Look at these: http://www.pbase.com/nevadajack/s230_tests_shots

"one can clearly see the softness and less sharp pics of s230 compared to s400" LOL, what's your problem anyway???

[Santos007]

Sorry...forgot the link for direct comparison.
Here it is:
http://myalbum.ne.jp/cgi-bin/a_menu?id=fd991545

[juukeli]

There is a difference when comparing these two images, you're right about that. But we shouldn't forget, that s400 has 4 Mpixels when v3 has 3. In my opinion, that explains the difference.

Technology goes on all the time, and they wouldn't make a new model, if there were no improvements. let's take good pictures and end this here... this doesn't lead us anywhere.

Have a nice weekend :-)

[Santos007]

True.

[khs8]

You guys have to help me out. I assume IXY 320 is the s230 and the IXY 400 is the S400. I view these images on my laptop Dell 4150 with 14.1" sxga+ (1400x1050) lcd. The images were enlarged to 8"x11". The s200a image is clearly not as sharp. But, I cannot see much difference between the IXY320 or the IXY400, except that the former is a darker by a small amount. I did not see any noise on any of them. Did you guys use a higher res screen or did you print them out to compare?

[khs8]

OK. I looked further down and compared the portraits of the lady, and the IXY 400 image is clearly much better than the IXY 320. But this is enlarged to 8x11. At smaller sizes, the difference is hard to see. Anyway, I'll keep the s230 because I do like the vga video clip. Thanks for the info.

[Santos007]

Yeah.you should save both pics (230 and 400) at original size. Then switch from one to another in a viewer (acdsee lets say) so you can see the differences better.

[khs8]

Santos: thanks for the info. You are right, the s400 does produce a sharper picture at close examination of the lady's hair, the background bush, etc. But this really takes an effort to see the difference. I think I will keep the s230 since I want the VGA video clip and the still image quality is not that much different from the s400 that it will bother me. Anyway, this is a great excercise for me, and I really appreiciate your help.

[Santos007]

Anytime

[paul c]

i think the V3 works really well,IMO , if i was to upgrade,i would sell my V3 and probably buy the canon 10D DSLR,instead of the S400,meantime i'm gonna stick to my film cameras EOS 1,3 & 5,digital P&S is still considered a toy.don't get me wrong ,it works and does hat it's supposed to do.(within it's limits of course. keep shooting ! pc

wish i knew how to upload some photos i shot with my V3, am just ignorant with computers. sigh !

[khs8]

Paul: I am (was) a film camera hobbyist (including processing and printing). Some of my best shots were made with P&S cameras. My last film camera was a Nikon FE with 105 mm macro lens which took very sharp pictures (and I have owned it for over 20 years). But, alas, the best equipment does not neccesarily produce good pictures, since it depends so much on ones artistic skills. I resisted the digital camera until my daughter bought the S300 and that 2 MP camera really impressed me with the resolution (at 4x6" of course). So, I decided to buy the s230 for my last trip (since it is 3 MP and can do up to 9x11" with good res). Although it is called a P&S, but there are some manual features you can use to control the outcome, just like the film camera, but using different methods. You can call it a toy, but it is really a hi tech toy that you have to understand how to play it, otherwise the result will be disappointing like many users find. And viewing the pictures on the pc is so much more convenient (at 9x11" size). I only send the pictures I wanted to print out to the photoshop (via the internet of course). The rest I put them on slide show for my friends to view. The movie feature of s230 is great (VGA resolution) and it covers the situations that a still camera just cannot do in the scenery situation no matter what kind of wide angle lens you have. An added benefit with these small digital P&S is that you can carry it with you in your pants pocket and go anywhere. Digital camera is a whole different hobby (not to mention you can do so much is terms of altering the images digitially).

[mikebegley]

I have an S400 and LOVE it. My father as the S230 and my sister has the S100.

The differences are big in my opinion. The 3X zoom on the S400 is a plus.

And not only is the S400 4 MP, which is a step up from the 3.2 of the S230. It is a new type of sensor, it is the same sensor as the Canon G3.

As for the movie mode, it is good for capturing little snippets of life, BUT it is no replacement for an actual digital video cam.

I don't have any samples from the S230 but if you would like to see some from the S400, follow this link to my gallery I set up recently (if a picture does not say taken with the S400 they were taken with an older Kodak).

http://www.BDesign.MyPhotos.photoshare.co.nz

Hope this helps you decide,
Mike

[khs8]

If you use this link, you will see the review of the s230 and photos and movie clips as well. Not having to take along a movie camera is the big plus of the s230 because that is the whole point about elph, ie, small and pocketable.

http://www.drcesource.com

[AjayToo]

Does your S400 emit a loud fluttering noise as the lens focuses? The noise of the S230 is hardly audible. My S400 focusing mechanism makes a loud fluttering noise. Is this normal or is my camera defective?

[pachelbel]

mikebegley wrote:
I have an S400 and LOVE it. My father as the S230 and my sister has the S100.



Hi Mike!

I'm glad to see you have access to those three IXUS. I used a S100 while on a long trip backpacking and loved it.

As many other people, I am considering either the S230 or the S400. Since you can comfortably test those cameras, you would be a great help for all of us considering this purchase decision.

Could you take some test shoots for us? Ideally with the three cameras, but mainly with S230 vs S400.

As one of the most important issues seems to be the quality of the optics, I find that it would be fair if the pictures are shoot all at equal resolution of 1600x1200, auto mode, same settings.

3 pictures should do: A landscape, a portrait and an indoor with flash and if you still feel like it, maybe nightshoot might be fine too.

Shooting conditions should be the same for all the pics, same time of day, and light, ideally using a tripod with the timer on.

Do you dare to take the challenge for us? ;)

[khs8]

Have you looked at the link in santos007's post? There is a direct comparison of s230 and s400, and others as well.

[pachelbel]

khs8 wrote:
Have you looked at the link in santos007's post? There is a direct comparison of s230 and s400, and others as well.

Yup, I did, nice comparison indeed.

I find that if we want to test the optics, it would be fair to compare both cameras at the same resolution, as in those pics one is 4Mp and the other is 3Mp and well, that seems to be the only comparison we have on the web.

Having some more pics to compare can't hurt...

[mikebegley]

Well, I can but I can't. I will ask if they can take their shots for me. I live in NJ, they both live in seperate parts of CT. I won't see them for a while. I could ask if they could email something to me.

[mikebegley]

pachelbel wrote:
mikebegley wrote:
I have an S400 and LOVE it. My father as the S230 and my sister has the S100.



Hi Mike!

I'm glad to see you have access to those three IXUS. I used a S100 while on a long trip backpacking and loved it.

As many other people, I am considering either the S230 or the S400. Since you can comfortably test those cameras, you would be a great help for all of us considering this purchase decision.

Could you take some test shoots for us? Ideally with the three cameras, but mainly with S230 vs S400.

As one of the most important issues seems to be the quality of the optics, I find that it would be fair if the pictures are shoot all at equal resolution of 1600x1200, auto mode, same settings.

3 pictures should do: A landscape, a portrait and an indoor with flash and if you still feel like it, maybe nightshoot might be fine too.

Shooting conditions should be the same for all the pics, same time of day, and light, ideally using a tripod with the timer on.

Do you dare to take the challenge for us? ;)





Sorry, my post did not attach to yours. I am new to this forum. It is set up different than the one I usually hang on.

I can see if I can get them to take their shots. They live in CT, I am in NJ. I won't see them till the summer probably.

If for now you would like to see some pictures I have taken. Most are on SuperFine setting. I have some pictures here thought taken on a 3.1 MP Kodak as well. So look under each picture so you know it is the right camera.

http://www.BDesign.MyPhotos.photoshare.co.nz

Please let me know what you think.

Mike

[Palendrone]

I thought the V3 only took a maximum size of 256mb flash card ?

Im sure its int eh manual anyhow as i remember ordering the flash card before the camera and feeling sheer relief to find out i had not bought a bigger one !

Please advise if anyone has a bigger card in there V3 as i would be interested !

[juukeli]

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9738

It accepts at least 512 MB card. :-)

[pcpilot]

I have to agree with Santos.
My wife has the S230 which takes nice picture, But I just purchased the S400 and the pictures on the S230
are a little blurrier and softer than the S400.

:P

Mike
PcPilot

[rsprods]

I read somewhere that the S400 has a tendency towards over-exposure. I took a bunch of pix today by the pool in the sunshine and a lot of things, such as white tee-shirts, etc. were over-exposed. I went into manual mode and chose the setting for bright sunlight, but still got the over-exposure. Has anyone else heard anything about the S400 having a tendency towards a slight over-exposure, as compared to the S230?

I'm really very frustrated trying to choose between these two cameras! Why couldn't Canon just leave the 640-480 video mode in the S400? The way I look at it, since I don't own the video camera, if I keep the S400, I'll kick myself for not having the better video mode; if I keep the S230, I'll kick myself every time I try to zoom into something and I'm stuck with the 2X zoom. Ugghh!!

[khs8]

In another forum, there seems to be a lot of posts saying the S400 focus assist light is off (below the focus centre). I would check it out before you make the final decision. I have settled on keeping the s230 because of the better video (I hate to have to buy a video cam and lug it around), and as for the 2X zoom, just get closer to the subject. The 3X zoom is not going to help much with distant scenery any way. Like you said, it is too bad Canon did not put the VGA video in the s400.

[Andrys]

pachelbel wrote:
khs8 wrote:
Have you looked at the link in santos007's post? There is a direct comparison of s230 and s400, and others as well.

Yup, I did, nice comparison indeed.

I find that if we want to test the optics, it would be fair to compare both cameras at the same resolution, as in those pics one is 4Mp and the other is 3Mp and well, that seems to be the only comparison we have on the web.

But, why ignore exactly what the extra megapixel might do ?? Besides, if you love a picture it will print out at 8x10 much better from 4 megapixels. Otherwise, no huge difference. But enough for me, including the zoom lens being 3x more.

Earlier tonight I mentioned a favorite shot of mine, but besides that, check out the detail in the large 4-megapixel 2272x1704 version if you click on the first photo (http://www.andrys.com/elph/more2/i_m_042103-9.html)

The 2nd photo, upon a click, is the original size and the detail is quite amazing. The 8x10 color print of this from my 3-year old HP deskjet has such tight grain that people at work could not tell it wasn't a custom photo print. They asked me how much it cost to get that kind of print.

[atotos]

I have had a IXUS 400 since september. I've taken 3 or 4 videos since then, because video is not my priority for the moment being.

I've found it quite good quality and I have been able to make good stills out of the video too. Actually a trick I have found is that if you have a fast moving object you shoot a video and than take stills out of it ;)

On my site I have a few fireworks shots, they are not spectacular, but they were taken as video at a distance of at least 3-4 kms away and recording only those that emerged from behind a hill that stood in the way. The sound was good too, could hear the fireworks cracking away. I was otherwise unable to take stills of them, I had no tripod and was too much in a hurry to fix ISO and long shutter parameters in the most absolute darkness... :)

I don't have the videos on my site (unless one fine day I decide to edit them) because they are too large, but I am very satisfied with it considering that video recording is not my priority. :)

[atotos]

P.S.: I have actually edited the videos and now have 2 short movies on my site ;)

[S45_fornow...]

Sorry, but I'm bringing this thread back to the top because now I'm in the same dillema.

I own the s230 and I'm thinking about upgrading to the S400.

I've read this whole thread thoroughly, but has anyone done more testing of s230 vs s400, or found anything new that they like/dislike about either camera?

I'm still stuck on the s230's 640x480 movie mode, but after seeing the "punch" that the S400 has with still pics, I'm now considering the jump up to the S400.

All comments welcome.

[tekgik]

first off, i dont own both cameras. But im looking forward to have a camera to lug with me at all times. I own an s300 3years ago and man i enjoyed every bit of it! Ive been watching for the s400 for this past few months and found this site from marco http://www.pbase.com/nero_design/canon_s400 amazing gallery.

heres another s400 gallery http://www.pbase.com/mofongo/s400

Base on the sample pics here i think the s400 wins in sharpness, for video is the v3. It is now depends on your needs. And one plus for the v3 is the price.

just my 2 pesos :D

[S45_fornow...]

I've decided that still image quality is more important than the video resolution, so I've put my S230 up for sale in the marketplace section.

I also think I'm going to wait to see what Canon plans on releasing this Spring as far as new models go.

My S230 For Sale: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24431

[mike j]

If you're buying from new, IMO 4MP vs 3MP and 3x optical zoom verses 2x optical zoom means that there is no decision to make !

And if you're thinking about upgrading, I'm not so sure it's worth it - there's bound to be a newer, better IXUS out this year sometime.

As it's been mentioned in this forum on many occasions, the movie mode on these cameras is really only a gimmick and in no way replaces a decent digital camcorder which will give FAR superior quality pictures and sound. Most people will just want to view the clips as a reasonable size mpeg on their PC and 320x240 is fine for that. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy and use the movie mode on the IXUS400 - I just don't think it's worth worrying about the smaller movie size when comparing it to the V3.

Oh - and I LOVED that comment above - "as for the 2X zoom, just get closer to the subject." Hilarious !