A70 or S45, can't decide

I am deciding on which camera to buy. I really like both camera's, but I have a few things I am considering that keep swinging my decision back and forth in favor of the other. I want to be able to have a good all around camera. Im in college and will take a lot of sports shots, night shots at parties, and outdoor shots. But I want something that is very easy to carry around. That's why Im considering these two models. These are a few things I'm considering to be important:

1. Battery life - I know the A70 has about the longest battery life in it's class according to www.dpreview.com, but it uses 4 batteries. I really don't mind that though. The S45 supposedly has above average battery life, are these two understandings correct?

2. LCD - I have seen where the mirror surrounding the A70 seems to be a bit annoying in bright sunlight. Is this something that I will really notice, is it that big of a deal??

3. Quality of Pictures - For those of you who own these models, is there that big of a difference in quality in the pictures. I've heard that the A70 sometimes has soft pictures, while the S45 doesn't perform all that well in low light situations sometimes.

4. Value for price - I dont mind spending the money for the S45, but if I can get a great camera with the A70 at a cheaper price, I will do that.

I just need a good idea from real people, not reviews, about which camera I should get.

well i dont have a S45 or seen the resutls. but i have the A70. i think it's a GREAT buy for the price and the features u get for a beginning photographer (me)
got most of the manual features as the higher end canon cams. original lense and zoom is great. u can get lense adapter which allows u to add on anything out there for diff effects and etc etc. 52mm thread. very nice.
the image is clear, but it sucks compared to a G1-G5 or the sony 717... i wish i had extra cash to get those =T
but for the price, i'd say A70 in that class.

now someone compare it to a S45 =)
good luck!

About the mirrored surface surrounding the LCD in the A70, it comes with a protective layer of transparent film, on that area, you should remove before starting to use.
Well, i didnt remove it! It is completely transparent and totaly masks the mirrored surface so if u are worried about that becoming a problem, just do like i did.

I have a Nikon 801 with a full set of objectives...and the Canon S40 (the previous model of S45). I'm so satisfied of S40 that now I almost use the digital S40. So I suggest you the S45. You can use it from fully automatic to fully manual.

You can see a good review on http://www.steves-digicams.com/

thanks for the replies

i went to circuit city today, and held a s50 in my hands. i dont plan on getting the s50, simply because i dont need 5mp, but i really like the feel of that body, and i know the s45 is identical as far as the build of the camera. my question now is, should i get the s45, over the s40 or even s30. i've read reviews where people say the s40 in some ways is better than the s45. i've pretty much made my mind up i think, im going for the s45, but i just wanted to get an opinion or two about that, and if someone has any more info about the a70, please post. thanks again.

Hi hoop
I have a S50 (the 5MP S45), and used a A60 (the 2MP A70), and they are very different cameras. the A70 is "almost there", but it lacks a couple of things to my tastes:

The feel. The S45 is a more robust camera, with more metallic parts, and probably it will take more abuse than the A70.
The A70 lacks histogram display (I use it a lot) and doesn't have "shutter priority" mode. I'm not referring to the Tv mode, but to the fact the S45 is always ready to take a picture, even when in "play" mode (if the lens is extended, of course), and when you press the shutter the camera switch to "record" mode and takes the picture. The A70 has a 2-position record-play switch, so no "shutter priority" is present.
The A70 lacks RAW mode (a must in my case). Only JPEG support.
And the obvious one The S45 has 4MP and the A70 has 3MP.

As counterparts, the A70 is smaller, cheaper (a lot), can use standard AA batteries (and has an excellent battery time, almost doubling the S45), can record movies at 640x480, and has a threaded lens, so if RAW and histogram aren't important for you, you plan to add some filters or add-on lenses, or you want a smaller camera, the A70 is an excellent choice for sure.

I doubt the S45 and A70 have different image qualities. The lens used is almost the same (if not the same), and the processor used is DIGIC in both cases. I think the only difference is CCD resolution.

Regarding the S30 and S40, they are discontinued models. Probably to stay with the S45 is a better idea, except you get a very good deal.

I'd say be honest withurself and are u a very good photographer? Do u know every bit of a camera?

I'm not, i'm just starting so the A70 was the go for me, i like having all the 12 shooting modes so i don't have to know every detail for a shot, but when i play with different things (atm depth of field, and long night shuuters with lights n fireworks) the camera has the ability.

Basically, do u know the Ap and shutter and focous for every shot you wanna take? I have no idea but the pre-sets give me an idea on what i should be taking. Then i take those numbers and go and play with them.

If the other camera doesn't have all the pre-set modes it better have a dam good auto one.

But if your skilled in the field and know what your doing then the S45 might be the go, because the A70 is limiting to the advanced user, but avery good starting point for a begginer, might not be the best shot, but its a good one.