Kodak or Canon

[abid786]

I am purchasing a new camera. Actually I have an older camera that broke down many times and it was under warranty and so as per the conditions of the warranty, I am getting a new camera. I have 2 choices: either the Kodak z700 or the Canon a520. I am leaning towards the Canon, because I think they have better lens quality and I have another Canon camera too and I like it. Anyway, which one is a better choice if price is not a concern: Kodak z700 or Canon a520?

Thanks in advance,

Abid

[hucsman]

Canon, anytime.

You'll find that most people around here swear by either Canon or Nikon. I myself am a Canon Fan.
The best thing about the Canon A Series is that it grows with you, can be a simple point'n shooter or a pre-prosumer. Plus battery life is probably the best in the market.

[yorrick]

Canon or Nikon

Kodak was one of the first companies in the digital camera business, but the style, form factor and user interface has never really matched those of Nikon, Canon or even the "second tier" brands such as Pentax, Olympus, Minolta and so on.

Generally speaking - any 3-5MP camera these days are pretty good and they will continue to improve.

If you want a good site for digital camera reviews - try www.dpreview.com

[JAmerican]

I got a Cannon PowerShot S500 off of Ebay and now I need a battery and charger for it. Can anyone show me a place to get a great deal on a High-capacity battery and a charger for my camera. Thanks

JAmerican

[pgenie]

I prefer the Hewlett Packard Photosmart 945 5.1 megapixels, 8.10x Zoom. Have captured great shots with it...;)

[SonyStyle]

canon.....but iperosnally like sony

[Fine_lai]

Cannon... it's not sooo expensive adn the quality is cool.

[dragonsgames]

Sony anyone? ;)
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=dcc_DIDigitalCameras&CP=sony_hm_nav_elec_digcamshop

[pgenie]

Naaahhhh!!! Here is the thing.
HP HP HP (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/HP945/945A.HTM)

[JohnKes]

I find that Kodaks are extremely easy for digicam newbies to use, esp. when it comes to using special functions like exposure compensation and transferring photos to the PC. You may be past that point already. In which case, the Canon may be a better choice. I think Canons have less shutter lag too. Check dpreview.com for specs and reviews.

[jhintonh]

Good Evening-

I have done (too much?) research on this level of digital cameras, on forums, in magazines, at camera shops and on the internet. Regularly and usually, I hear nothing but good things about Canon digital cameras...at every price point, which is an important point. One realizes that when Honda produces a winning Formula 1 car racing team, that the proven technologies and innovations will trickle down to cheaper, consumer-available models (Accords, Civics, etc.). The same is true in large consumer electronics companies. If the top of the line is great, then the lower models are usually pretty good as well. There are exceptions to this, but they are few.

I have owned three Canon digital cameras now. None of them have failed me, and in each case, I simply replaced them to upgrade to a higher megapixel rating (2.1 to 3.2 to 5.1). The A Series from Canon is a fabulous choice for many reasons, but I will confine it to five for the sake of this post:

1) Unmatched color saturation and accurate color reproduction,
2) Great lenses
3) Wide range of shooting modes for novices on up to "Pro-sumer" levels
4) Deep ability to manipulate the processing of the picture (near-analog)
5) And this is my favorite...runs on four AA batteries; they can be rechargeable or just four emergency units picked up at CVS; this means no expensive proprietary battery pack that takes an hour or two to recharge, you run out of juice, just buy more at any convenience store, anywhere in the world...VERY convenient.

The A Series is not the lightest compact cameras (due in large part tot he AA batteries), but they are designed with the "classic" camera feel, not like an iPod with nothing to hold onto whilst snapping away (try taking a pic with one of those cute Sony or other brands that look like a deck of cards...very hard to hold onto).

I own the A95 (5.1 MP) and it is truly a fantastic piece of equipment. The A520 is a bit smaller in size, but it is actually a A95 in a new body. Which means, it is a good camera too.

You should look at this news article from today's Slashdot regarding some lens failures and avoid those models listed: http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/05/10/10/2235206.shtml?tid=233&tid=137

Note that the A520 is not one of the cameras listed.

Good luck and enjoy your new Canon (complimentary assumption of your fine taste and above average intellect, ;)).

-Jhintonh

[SamuraiCatJB]

If it were a canon vs a Nikon, you can compare features to see which is better. If it is a Canon vs. anything else, Canon all the way. :)

[hucsman]

Naaahhhh!!! Here is the thing.
HP HP HP (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/HP945/945A.HTM)
HP? That's a bottom 5 digicam manufacturer! :eek:


Like jhintonh said, Canon A series all the way. If God had a camera, it would be a Canon (although, he could probably just put the picture in your head or something cooler).

[JackAxe]

I second SamCat, I can't believe you would even try and compare Canon to Kodak, or anything but Nikon :D

Whatever you do, just don't buy one of these Cameras;
Canon (http://www.canon-asia.com/index.jsp?fuseaction=image-phenomena_notice)
Fujifilm (http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/ServiceSupportProductContent.jsp?dbid=839010&prodcat=2147483647&sscucatid=664262&quicklink=true)
Konica (http://www.konicaminoltasupport.com/English.importantnotice_en.0.html)
Sony (http://www.css.ap.sony.com/consumer/template/ANDetails.aspx?Id=45536)

BTW, I get just under 250 shots on my Nikon's propietory batteries, so unless I'm on a family vacation "excessively" taking images all day, it rarely needs charging. And on those "busy" family vacations, it has never died at an inconvinient time like my cousin's *cough* Canon, and has always held up even through my picture taking frenzy modes. :)

<]=)

[jhintonh]

BTW, I get just under 250 shots on my Nikon's propietory batteries, so unless I'm on a family vacation "excessively" taking images all day, it rarely needs charging. And on those "busy" family vacations, it has never died at an inconvinient time like my cousin's *cough* Canon, and has always held up even through my picture taking frenzy modes. :)

<]=)

Good Evening-

What model Nikon do you have? A friend of mine has a CoolPix (cannot remmeber the model no. right now but it is a 6 months old 5mp), and he says he gets about 150 shots out of the battery before it is gonzo.

My point is, you never "monitor" your battery life, at least I don't. So it is usually something that strikes when you are not prepared and least expect it. At least with my Canon, I can easily buy a few batteries quickly and inexpensively. That was my point.

-Jhintonh

[jjesusfreak01]

Good Evening-

What model Nikon do you have? A friend of mine has a CoolPix (cannot remmeber the model no. right now but it is a 6 months old 5mp), and he says he gets about 150 shots out of the battery before it is gonzo.

My point is, you never "monitor" your battery life, at least I don't. So it is usually something that strikes when you are not prepared and least expect it. At least with my Canon, I can easily buy a few batteries quickly and inexpensively. That was my point.

-Jhintonh
You can just tell by how many shots you make. Anyways, the more expensive cameras actually have better battery life. DSLRs have substantially better lifes than regular digital cameras. Some of it is due to the fact that they generally turn on instantaneously, so you dont have them on as long, and they get the shot quicker. It doesnt hurt that they have larger batteries too.

[SamuraiCatJB]

HP? That's a bottom 5 digicam manufacturer! :eek:


Like jhintonh said, Canon A series all the way. If God had a camera, it would be a Canon.
But Jesus would have a Nikon. :p ;)

[SamuraiCatJB]

Good Evening-

What model Nikon do you have? A friend of mine has a CoolPix (cannot remmeber the model no. right now but it is a 6 months old 5mp), and he says he gets about 150 shots out of the battery before it is gonzo.

My point is, you never "monitor" your battery life, at least I don't. So it is usually something that strikes when you are not prepared and least expect it. At least with my Canon, I can easily buy a few batteries quickly and inexpensively. That was my point.

-Jhintonh

I have a spare, though have never really needed it. I go through many photo trips with the nikon batter. Never counted how many photos. However, I took 150 on one battery recently for the X-Prize, filled 1.5gig of memory cards (RAW mode). The battery was barely showing a drain. There is a battery indicator. I charge one battery while I am using the camera and swap it out after I am finished taking photos to be ready for the next.

Mine is a Nikon D70.

[JackAxe]

I have a 4300. It's a 4 MPixel and almost 3 years old now.
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/coolpix4300-review/

Quick blurb; On my last vacation, which was basically a close family renuion, my brother kept on joking that my digital camera would kill the battery only after a few shots. So to shut him up, I charged my battery that night and took lots of pictures on our outing in the Redwoods the next day.

Anyways, to correct my earlier number of total shots, since I still have all of these images on my Powerbook to reference, I took 204 Images and 10 videos. Note that my CF card is only 256, so I had to dump images onto my Powerbook when we got back, so that I could take more. I aslo deleted some scenic shots while out, so I could take some more of my family in the woods.

This camera has never died unexpectedly, and has always held for an entire days use. I suppose my lil 2" screen isn't as much of a drain as some of these larger screens. The camera also goes to sleep if I haven't used it for a couple of minutes.

What really kills my battery, isn't taking pictures, it's connecting it to my Powerbook via the USB port. I bought multi-card reader to remedy that drain.

<]=)