Shopping for a digital camera
in theory yes, but in real life it doesn't work that way. point and shoots actually suffer when you cram a lot of pixels into such a small sensor.
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No no no -- it's the pixel size that matters, which is why I mentioned it. If it was the same sensor size, then yes 12 mPix would be noisier than 8. But the sensor is enough larger that the pixels themselves are also larger. So in this case it will be less noisy. That's why dSLRs are so much better, they use huge sensors with gigantic pixels. (And also require huge lenses and are far from compact.) The larger sensor size in the 900 series is why I got that one for my wife.
Trust me, I do this for a living, I'm building a camera right now with a sensor the size of a bathroom tile. (If you've got a spare $1m sitting around, we should talk!
)
Trust me, I do this for a living, I'm building a camera right now with a sensor the size of a bathroom tile. (If you've got a spare $1m sitting around, we should talk!
)
Last edited by bclee; May 20, 2008 at 01:13 PM. Reason: clarification
sorry, i was thinking of same sensor size. i didn't take in the fact that it has a bigger sensor. speaking of bigger sensor, sigma dp1. gotta give them credit for trying that.
The SD1100 IS got excellent reviews for picture quality, etc.. and for its size had best in its class for low noise.
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I'd look at the Canon SD950. Compared to the 1100 it has a larger sensor, larger pixels and more resolution (12mPix vs. 8). So in theory even at 100% resolution it should have slightly less noise. And scaled down to lower resolutions it should have even better (lower) noise. It also has a slightly wider zoom range. I got my wife the 900 (the previous non-IS model) about a year ago and I've been really impressed by the quality of images it produces.
They are pretty much flying off the shelves there.
It's a great camera, easy to use, has image stabilization, decent enough zoom, thin, SUPER LIGHT... weight practically nothing! I like it. It doesn't have a view finder though.
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Yeah, that was another reason I got the 900, the reviews said the titanium body was less prone to getting scuffed up than some of the other Canon models.
I should add the one one complaint my wife has about the 900, which applies to the 1100 as well -- she wishes it had a wider zoom range. But the really wide zoom range cameras tend to use even more tiny sensors and the image quality can get pretty bad. I have a 12x point and shoot, 7 mPix, it's great for getting an occasional long shot but the images need to be scaled down to about 2mPix before they look ok. The 12x and up models also aren't very compact.
I should add the one one complaint my wife has about the 900, which applies to the 1100 as well -- she wishes it had a wider zoom range. But the really wide zoom range cameras tend to use even more tiny sensors and the image quality can get pretty bad. I have a 12x point and shoot, 7 mPix, it's great for getting an occasional long shot but the images need to be scaled down to about 2mPix before they look ok. The 12x and up models also aren't very compact.
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Gagan: thanks for the heads-up! Guess I gotta go have a look ASAP.
bclee: IIRC, was the 900 the one with the weird positioning for the power button? And if so, is it really a pain in the behind or are people just being cry babies? Thanks.
bclee: IIRC, was the 900 the one with the weird positioning for the power button? And if so, is it really a pain in the behind or are people just being cry babies? Thanks.
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The power button is on top. I never have any trouble with it. I dunno about the 950 though. If I was buying today I wouldn't get the 900, I'd get the 950 -- I can't live without IS. Or rather, I take a lot of blurry photos without it.
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My SD850 has it on the back. It is a bit of a pain in the ***, but it's not all that bad.
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