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October 15, 2004
my powershot is dead. long live my powershot.
Yesterday I learned that the E18 error on the canon powershot s110 means that the lens door won't open on the camera, sorry, please don't try it again. While some people have been able to bang on the side of the camera to get it working again, my camera refuses to cooperate with the abuse.
This is a little bit upsetting as the S110 has accompanied me every day for the past three years. It's been to four continents. It's inadvertently been dipped into six oceans. But it was also starting to show it's age. The 2.1 megapixels were fine for dumbing down to the web but not so great for prints. I couldn't zoom in movie mode. The movie mode is limited to 10 second clips. I think I pushed it too hard. Maybe the camera knew it was due for retirement.
So now I need to replace it and I need suggestions.
My criteria:
I want it to be tiny. It needs to fit in a small backpack pocket or the big pocket on a pair of outdated cargo shorts. I want more than 3 megapixels. It's not a lot, I know, but the largest prints I make are 5x7. I want a sub-3 second startup time. Most importantly, I want a movie mode that'll record 320x240, 30fps in at least 3 minute chunks. I'd rather have the recording length be limited only by the size of my memory card, but that only seems to be possible on larger cameras or those that need Sony's Memory Stick Pro format. This is important b/c the only way I'm going to start videobloggging is if I start recording stuff with my camera and not my camcorder. Oh yeah, and i don't want to spend more than $400 for it. That new Treo is coming out in a month and I'm already subsisting on a diet of peanut butter and soup preparing for that one.
Okay, so with all that said, here are the nominees so far:
Canon Powershot S410 - Small size. Sturdy construction. 4MP. 3x optical zoom. Kin to the S110. Movie mode limited to 3 minutes. Doesn't take CF Type II cards.
Sony CyberShot DSC-W1 - Small size. Sturdy construction. 5.1MP. 3x optical zoom. 2.5in LCD.
Casio Exilim EX-S100 - Frikkin tiny. 3.2MP. Does 320x240@15fps. Not sure about that "transparent ceramic" lens. Nice but seems overpriced.
Canon Powershot S1 IS - Records 640x480@30fps onto cards as big as 4GB. 10x zoom. Only 3.2MP. Bigger than I really want but it does 640x480 video(!)
So what to do? So far I'm leaning towards the S410, but I'm gonna go check out the Sony and Casio this weekend. I was about to rule out the S1 when I read that happykatie got one and seems excited about it. I need to find her contact info and ask for all the geeky details. I also need to check in with Jay and ask what he uses. He's one of the biggest access-heads I know and I doubt he's using tape. Good for him. Anyhoo, gonna make the decision this weekend. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Posted by yatta at October 15, 2004 6:18 PM
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Comments
Although the Casio is sexy, I'd go with the S410 - they're solid cameras. I've got a S230 and have dropped it. Hard. It still keeps chuggin ;]
Posted by: noah at October 16, 2004 11:54 PM
I just purchased the Pentax Optio S4. I also wanted a small camera and the Optio is actually smaller than the Canon.
Posted by: Jen at October 17, 2004 12:51 PM
uuummm, FRIEND...I thought we had discussed the possibility of a cute little guy called the Pentax Optio s4i but obviously I imagined it as I'm beginning to suspect I imagined our friendship and fun sharing of suggestions.
Whatever. Buy what you want.
No really,
Andrea
:-)
Posted by: Harner of Harner meets Sedaris at October 19, 2004 4:25 PM