Wednesday, April 18, 2007

A new camera

After three weeks wait for my camera to be cleaned, I received a call from the service company saying, "We're sorry that your camera could not be repaired. Please go to Best Buy, and they will issue you a replacement." You can imagine my puzzlement.

So I went to Best Buy and explained that I had sent my camera out for cleaning under the service contract, and had received this call, and didn't know what to do. They were just as baffled as I was, but didn't know what else to do but issue a new camera. So I have a new camera!

I knew that I liked Canon (having had 3 of them now), and was convinced that I didn't use the manual functions enough, or well enough, to justify getting another with all the manual settings. Three cameras had also taught me that camera size and shape do matter when everything going with you on an outing is going to be carried on your person. Lastly, I knew that an anti-reflective, scratch-resistant screen was a priority for me. Those criteria made the choice easy: Canon's SD750, their only slim camera with a scratch-resistant screen.

I took some snaps today, but Blogger's photo management is down right now, so pictures will start to appear again in the days to come!

4 comments:

Dylan said...

Test it out and let me know what you think. We're (probably) in the market for a new digital camera ourselves. Our current one is a Kodak CX4230 and I'm none too happy with it.

Battery life is ridiculously short, shutter lag time has cost us too many shots to count, time to subsequent pictures is long, LCD is the size of a postage stamp, and boot time is lengthier than I'd prefer. Worst of all, it corrupts some photos--they display on the LCD but don't download to the computer properly. Troubleshooting and internet research revealed this to be a common occurrence with this model.

I'd really like my next digital camera to be an excellent purchase. I was eying the SD1000 on the page to which you linked. It looks the same in all regards except a slightly smaller LCD in exchange for a viewfinder. I'm also considering a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1, recommended by my sister-in-law.

I'll do some in-store browsing before I decide, especially since I'm undecided between size and functionality--which is more important to us...

Graham said...

The SD1000 has a great track record as a camera, having been on the market in the same case for nearly ten years. The latest version has lots of great features. The reason that I decided against it was because it didn't have a scratch-resistant screen, and I take my camera just about everywhere.

I highly recommend Canon for sturdy cases, smart interface and excellent imagery. Their new A570 IS might be ideal for you. It uses AA batteries, and rechargeables last a long time in it. It also has the scratch-resistant screen and a very sturdy case.

And I'll let you know how I like mine . . .

Dylan said...

The page to which you linked didn't indicate a difference between the SD1000 and SD750 regarding the LCDs other than size. Are you certain the SD1000 is not scratch resistant?

Graham said...

I just checked on the Best Buy site, and it says that the SD1000 does have a scratch-resistant screen. However, if you visually compare the screens of the SD1000, SD800 and the SD750 and A570, it is obvious that the latter two have a different surface.

I'd recommend checking them out in-store to see what you think before you buy.