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pjdf
Oct 19, 2006, 6:59 PM
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I'm looking to purchase a digital camera to take climbing. I am looking for something that has good image quality, is very small, and is reliable. I've done a fair bit of searching, and the two that look best so far are the Canon SD600 (6.0 MP) and the Casio EX-850 (8.1 MP). The reviews suggest the Canon has better image quality (fewer artifacts, etc.) but the Casio has higher resolution and the option for manual aperture and shutter speed settings. Does anyone have thoughts on these cameras? Or about the tradeoff between image quality and the ability to play with manual settings? Or is there something else I should be looking at or another axis along which I should be basing my decision?
Thanks for all the help (and, yes, I have searched the photography forums, and looked at the suggestions there).
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antiqued
Oct 19, 2006, 8:24 PM
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The Stylus referenced doesn't have a direct view finder. I find that the LCD screen is absolutely hopeless for composition most of the time (bright or dappled sunlight). Most of the Canons and some of the Pentax have viewfinders, but this is getting quickly rarer on small P&S digitals.
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chanceboarder
Oct 19, 2006, 8:54 PM
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I'd go Canon all the way. I've seen images from Casio's both on screen and in print and in my opinion they have horrible image quality. When it comes down to it, what do you care about more, whether you can control more functions with the camera or have an image that looks good. Personally I'd go with having an image I'd be proud to put my name on then a camera I can push more buttons with. :wink:
Jason
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johnson6102002
Oct 19, 2006, 10:23 PM
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I own the SD 600 and have a good protective case for and still cracked the LCD screen in the gunk's when it was on my harness. I have read a lot of reviews on how easy it is to break the screen. I would definitely take that into consideration
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johnson6102002
Oct 19, 2006, 10:23 PM
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I won the SD 600 and have a good protective case for and still cracked the LCD screen in the gunk's when it was on my harness. I have read a lot of reviews on how easy it is to break the screen. I would definitely take that into consideration
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thegreytradster
Oct 19, 2006, 10:38 PM
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The small Cannons are notoriously fragile.
I've had two pocket size point and shoot Fujis I haven't been able to break. No experience with the supper small ones though.
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abtisme
Oct 20, 2006, 12:19 AM
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i disagree that canon's are fragile. i have a small p&s digital canon that i have abused beyond belief. i had a friend trip and kick it off of a ledge and have it bounce off of rocks down a steep 10 ft. gulley and it still works great. my brother also has one that he has all but molested that is still working perfect. actually, these are both older models that don't have lcd screens the size of your head, so maybe that has something to do with it. anyway, i love my canon and when i replace it, ill replace it with another.
aaron
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healyje
Oct 20, 2006, 12:41 AM
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In reply to: The small Cannons are notoriously fragile.
I dropped my Canon SD300 in a LowePro Rezo 10 case a clean 70 meters on to rock and other than a dimple in one of the top corners of the case it still works fine. They just started shipping SD800s and I'm trading up to one of those for the image stabilization.
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karlbaba
Oct 20, 2006, 1:14 AM
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Healyj has the idea. The SD 800 is WAY better for climbing shots because of its wide angle lens and image stabilization.
Ain't cheap yet though
Peace
karl
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healyje
Oct 21, 2006, 8:02 AM
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In reply to: Healyj has the idea. The SD 800 is WAY better for climbing shots because of its wide angle lens and image stabilization. Ain't cheap yet though Peace karl
Karl, Thanks for the pointer to Dell - my SD800 order is in and should ship on the 27th - can't wait.
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pjdf
Oct 22, 2006, 12:11 AM
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Hey guys,
I appreciate the responses. Unfortunately, the SD800 is a bit out of my price range for now, but it sounds like the SD600 may be the way to go. I like the idea of manual exposure controls because I enjoy playing with photo effects with my SLR. However, if the image quality is really poor, it's not worth the tradeoff. The thoughts about the toughness are useful, but my experience has been that the Canons do okay as long as you don't drop them 60 m onto hard rock (though it was less damaged than I expected :-). Any other thoughts are welcome.
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ihateslopers
Nov 17, 2006, 9:01 AM
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Registered: Nov 14, 2006
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the casio WILL break if you buy it, expecially if you plan on taking it rock climbing, i work in a camera shop and probably half of the new digital cameras i get in for repair are casio's, overall horrible durability, but decent pictures
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