Canon S80 or Fuji E900

[Grajan]

Having tired of my Canon S45 and chickened out of a DSLR I am looking for a P&S upgrade.

Main issues with my current camera are slow shooting and poor dynamic range causing clipping. I am pretty much down to the Canon S80 or the Fuji E900. They both look a lot faster than my current cam and will probably improve the dynamic range a little - not to DSLR standards but at least better. They both have 640 x 480 video as well. I am not bothered by the lack of RAW as I don't have time to mess with my pictures that much.

No real issues with the Canon apart from some slight image issues at full wide angle - probably un-noticable in UW photos. Only thing I dont like about the Fuji is the proprietary memory format.

Does any one have any comments or observations that might help me select one of these?

Thanks a lot

 

[Gilligan]

I haven't compared the two side by side but I was disappointed that the zoom feature does not function in the Macro mode of the E900. It is fixed at wide angle which requires you to move the camera in and out. That may also be the case with the Canon. My old Oly C4000Z has a zoom function in the Macro mode and I use it all the time underwater.

It seems like the camera mfg's. are cutting corners on features while increasing megapixel ratings. After all, they don't make them for underwater use.

If I was buying a camera today for underwater use I would first look for a large monitor. AA bats are a plus in my opinion and the camera mfg's. seem to be going back to them.

Compare the F stop ranges on both cameras along with the shutter speed ranges. RAW is not a big factor for me either.

 

[Grajan]

Thanks Gilligan - still working on it.

 

[DesertEagle]

Of the two, I would go for the S80. It takes SD cards, not the more expensive xD cards. Also, the RAW converter with the E900 won't let you change WB. And there isn't any ability in Photoshop CS currently. The S80's lens is a little wider, so if you don't add a wide angle lens that's a bit of an advantage. Also the S80 has an AF illuminator. You're going to want to take a few indoor photos, so this will help.