A495 vs. A3000IS

Hello,

I am considering buying one of these two cameras to restart my exploration in digital photography. A dSLR will come later. Previously I had an A470 until the son dropped it in the Hudson.

Can anyone provide feedback on which one of the two cameras (A495/A3000) might be a better choice, based on experience, and the ability to load CHDK?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and advice,

eos3fan

My main camera is a Canon 60d dslr, but I just ordered an A3000 from Amazon this morning because I wanted a camera to carry in my pocket. I ordered this model because of the image stabilization. Amazon has a special running for $79 you also get a free camera case and memory card. Time will tell if this is a good deal or not!

eos3fan wrote in post #12613283
Hello,

I am considering buying one of these two cameras to restart my exploration in digital photography. A dSLR will come later. Previously I had an A470 until the son dropped it in the Hudson.

Can anyone provide feedback on which one of the two cameras (A495/A3000) might be a better choice, based on experience, and the ability to load CHDK?

Thanks in advance for your wisdom and advice,

eos3fan

Hi!

I purchased the A495 about 2 months ago. With a carrying case, 4 gig memory card, and the camera, the total price came to $80.00. I purchased the A495 because the special, offering the A3000 at $80.00 was over and the camera went back to $100.00. I have a DSLR so I just wanted a very cheap camera to carry around and video record some track races.

This is what I wrote on my Amazon review:


The Canon A490 has been a pleasure to get to use. For a camera under $90.00, the image quality is good and the video quality holds its own as well.

(Terms: Excellent, Great, are relative in comparison to other point and shoot cameras. Don't expect to be on NatGeo's next cover)

The camera's image quality varies. The image quality is much better outdoors than indoors. Outside the camera takes fairly high quality pictures. Macro shots are excellent and portraits are very great as well. The image quality indoors is still good for an entry level camera but does tend to get grainier (as expected) when there is little light. The screen displays a much grainier picture indoors than what it actually takes which turns out to be a nice surprise.

The flash indoors is essentially useless. It tends to wash everything out and overall just isn't worth having on. I'd save the battery and just hold your hand still and you should get enough light to take a decent picture.

I was very impressed with the video on the camera. This was one of the main points when it came to choosing this camera. The video isn't ready for the big screen but at 480x640, it's good enough to record events of all types. Again, the video is much better outside than inside. The camera also has no limit on how long it will record video for. If you have an 8GB card, it can record 8GB without having to record in portions. You must use the software provided to convert the raw video into a format that regular programs such as Window's Media Player, can preview them.

The modes are somewhat helpful. I tend to stay on soley auto mode which is what these entry level cameras are really made for. Action shots (outdoors) turn out surprisingly quite well!

The camera's 2.5 inch screen is big enough to preview the pictures you've taken comfortably but I would still recommend seeing them on your monitor. The camera comes with a lot of software; although, it is aimed more for beginners. The battery life isn't great with cheap batteries or the ones provided. I'd recommend going out and spending $10.00 on a double A battery charger so the hassle of constantly buying more batteries is eliminated.

Overall I am very pleased with this camera. My ratings are only applicable in comparison to other point and shoot cameras in this price range. The quality doesn't stand up to a DSLR but it makes for an amazing starter camera or a camera for an aging relative who isn't interested in all the bells and whistles.