My S230 just died - now what?

[DavidInNH]

After 4 1/2 years of faithful service both above and below the water and biking and skiing and hiking and ...., my Canon S230 Digital Elph has passed on to that great electronics graveyard.

I'm thinking about replacing it with another Digital Elph but have gotten so overwhelmed looking at them that I have to ask you phine pholks if there's anything I should avoid in this line? I've got a Sea and Sea strobe that I intend to use with the new camera. Anything in particular I should consider? I figure that with prices as they are, an 8 MPixel camera is probably the least to consider.

Thanks in advance.

- Dave

 

[Kevster]

Unfortunately IMHO most of the current cameras on the market seem to be lacking.
E.g Some have Raw but do not have a wide 28mm range, others have too many pixels resulting in noise etc.
There does not seem to be any models out there that tick all the right boxes.
However there are some excellent galleries based on the A710 & A640. Was impressed with vanesub photos from Lembeh , I think he has an A710

I am in a similar position , my S70 is dead and was looking at the G9. I have seen the results from the G7 and was very impressed. The video quality is also excellent. The G9 has Raw so it was my natural choice.
Unfortunately the G9 is not suitable for my Inon wet lens that I own, UWL AD & UCL AD so I am no longer considering the G9. I intend to buy the Inon UFL for my next camera.

From all the reviews/forums I have read the Old Fuji E900 looks the best bet. The macro ability is outstanding. Unfortunately this model is already 2 yrs old so I am reluctant to buy this.

If you do not intend to add wet lens , I would prob go with the G9 or A640.
I think I will wait another 6 months until the next wave of models hit the market.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what you buy.

 

[randini]

If you've been happy with the S230 and don't anticipate expanding to a more complex system, check out the SD870 or the SD800 that replaced it. They are some of the modernized sucessors to you camera (pretty much the same size) and the lens is 28mm on the wide end.

Otherwise, if you do want to expand, all the options Kevster mentioned look like great options. The A710 (or the A720 that succeeded it) offer much more manual controls than the elph's in a relatively small package (slightly larger than your elph, but still smaller than the G's or the A6xx's). Another one that I like in this size/price range is the Nikon Coolpix P5100. It's similar to Canon's A series in size and features, but it adds a hotshoe for external flahes & strobes and uses almost the same sensor as the G9.

 

[DavidInNH]

Thanks for all the information, especially to you Randini - Kevster gave a lot of good information but must have missed that I was looking into another Elph. (I use the camera above water a lot and want one I can put in my pants pocket.)

I'm leaning toward the SD870 but haven't commited yet. I'll let you know what I decide. Thanks again to both of you.

 

[DavidInNH]

As I discussed earlier in this thread, I was considering the SD870IS as a replacement for my S230. I've purchased both the camera and the housing and should have the camera on Monday. (Housing arrived yesterday.)

I'm not likely to take it underwater for a while yet since I don't generally dive with the camera here in New England during the winter. I don't get out too often in the winter and generally don't want to be bothered with the extra task loading that accompanies shore dives with cameras scrambling over the rocks etc.

Anyway, the only problem I anticipate is masking off the on-board flash with black velcro for the external strobe's fiber optic cable. The camera is so small that there isn't a lot of surplus area on the housing on which to mount the shield. Oh well, I'll manage.

Can't wait to get the camera! It might go skiing before it goes diving!

Happy Holidays to all!

- David