I have the Canon S40. I don't think it's as good as the reviews praise. The same would apply for the S45 and S50. All functions are tucked into the menu and are navigable with an unwieldy four direction + pressure button. It's really
quite difficult to anyone to use, let alone adjust for exposure with it. The manual focus is hard to adjust and nearly useless.
The autofocus doesn't seem to work indoors (moderate light).

Even in fully manual mode, there is a huge delay between the
time you press the button and when the camera takes the picture. This delay time seems to increase severely as the
battery level drops. The CCD scanning algorithm produces ghost images on fast motion, such as swinging sticks. There is a "Sports mode" but it's not fast enough to reduce motion blur.

I like the movie modes, but I wish there were more in this department. The internal microphone and audio circuit really
suck. Every movie is started and ended with a sharp pop.
Why doesn't Zoom work in the movie mode? Now, you may ask, why use a camera movie mode? Because, it's the most portable video recorder out there. Subjects that freeze on videotape or reject it alltogether seem to accept the camera in movie mode.

I suppose my review is on the negative side. On the other hand,
I paid about $450 for the camera and $170 for a 512 MB flash card over one year ago.

Canon S330 Digital Elph
Nikon Cool Pix - OLDER ONE

Canon GL2 (yes, it's an acceptable digicam)
Canon A10
HP 912 (w/ Pentax optics. Nice but slow 2Mpixel SLR, non-changeable lens)

I've seen alot of nice new "real" digital SLR's but I'm holding out for a Pentax *istD.
Why?
Film cameras: Pentax ZX5 and ZXL and 25 years of lenses, 28mm to 1000mm.

Gints,

Your criticisms of the S40 are common to many digital cameras. I had similar problems when I first got my Canon G2. After about a month and some research I was able to learn to how to get the photos I wanted.

Check out this post, it's a list of tips I compiled a long time ago - many people still find it useful.

Thanks Michael, there's some very good tips there

Excellent list. Thanks !

Just sold my 2 D30s this week to pick up a 10D - very impressed with the upgrage so far.

Also use a G1 for point and shoot.

Steve

I was searching for a used digital camera and I found a used Olympus E-10 for US$450. I bought it today and I have the English manual on order.

I now have my own camera and I can stop borrowing my friend's E-10. I couldn't find a new smaller camera that had a PC outlet, so happy I got the E-10. It's not as many pixels as the other cameras mentioned but for right now, it will do. Can't wait to hook up my old Vivitar 285 flash and experiment.

I have the Canon EOS 300D a.k.a. Digital Rebel.

I currently have a Canon Powershot A40 (mainly for my wife) and a Canon G3....I am getting ready to buy a Canon 10D. I was just at the shop yesterday with $1100 in hand to buy a Digital rebel....However beside the Rebel in the case was a 10D and a 1D, after taking both the 10D and the Rebel outside to play with I firmly decide that the 10D is for me. Now I just need to save up another $1800 for glass , flashes, and a battery grip.

For Film I have 2 Canon AE-1Ps and 2 Canon T120s...I have a large assortment of FD mount glass.....BTW once I get my 10D I would be willing to sell most of the FD bodys and glass if anyone is interested.

I've owned Fuji Fine Pix 1700Z and I was very happy with the cam for the 3 years I used it. Fast and resposive - no need to wait for focus - just press the shutter and it'll snap in a second. Drawback - low 1.5MP and noisy. Perfect for web/e-mail and ocasional printing in small size.

In the beginning of this year replaced by Canon S45. You can't do what I mentioned above so it comfirmes Gints words - if you press the shutter to the bottom nothing will happen. You have to prefocus each time and it means it takes time.

It makes beautiful shots though - vivid and very true colors, lack of any noise. Way ahead of even good point and shoot as Olympus myu.

If you want you can read my opinion on S45 here:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read_opinion_text.asp?prodkey=canon_s45&opinion=15165

Sony f717 rocks
 

I love this camera with its bright lens (f2.0-2.8) and x5 optical zoom. Its battery goes strong for over 3 hours of continuous shooting (I rarely use flash) and its body design allows to compose from waist level (love it!) or from above my head without losing my grip on the controls.

Great for portraits (shallow dof when you need it), adequate white balance.

Again, an equivalent lens for one of the Canon D-slr's would cost more than twice the price of this camera. It's metal body feels solid and is durable. Not one failure in almost 2 years and over 5000 photos.

Has one of the lowest noise levels for a consumer camera (better than canon G5).

I would buy it again. As a matter of fact, I am planning to buy the new f828 when it becomes available and will be selling mine soon.

Check out the review at dpreview.com
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...ny_dscf717.asp

Regards
-- Andre

Nikon 995, Leica Digilux 1, Contax Tvs digital.

I like the Digilux very much, but it has one big drawback: there is no scale focussing.

The Contax is good when there is plenty of light. Though it lacks full manual control, it has a lot of very nice features. This is the camera I always carry in my handbag (purse in American).

Best,
Helen

I don't own a camera at the moment. Would it be better to go with a digital? Is it possible to get a photo lab to develop 4 X 6 prints? Is the quality similar with film prints? Which camera models are good for everyday home shooting?

Richard,
As you can see from this thread there are many, many choices in digital cameras today. Yes, they are an excellent choice for convenience and economy. You can print your own prints with very good results on many models of ink jet printers using photo printing papers. Canon has a nifty little 4x6 photo printer (the CP-300) that does an outstanding job!

One of best places to start reviewing the vast array of digital photo camera is Phil Askey's www.dpreview.com.

For "everyday home shooting" my vote goes to one of the compact Canon Powershot models or one of the Nikon Coolpix models. Very good photos, reasonably good range of control, easy to carry.