What Camera(s) Do You Own?

[zourtney]

Discuss what cameras you own (or have owned) and their pros and cons. The more information you can spew out, the better!

[zourtney]

I have only ever owned 3, myself.

• 1) Canon Powershot Elph S200 - 2.0 megapixels
  
  This was the first camera I had. I got it in June 2002 and took approx 57,000 pictures with it (underestimating).
  
  The camera was a brick! I dropped it in a puddle in a gravel lot, I dropped it from waist height onto concrete, and carried in my pocket daily without any serious ill-effect. I took it on junkyarding adventures, took pictures with my greasy hands as I worked on my cars, and treated it like it couldn't break.
  
  For Christmas 2006 I got a new version of this camera. By that time, the S200 had a permanent spot in the lens (could see it easily if you point it at the sky, otherwise it was tolerable). The screws which held the body together slowly worked themselves out and the flash was getting slow (old batteries could have something to do with that). More notably, many photos were becoming hazy due to perma-dust behind the glass of the lens.
  
  Consequently, most images looked better if you bumped the exposure down 1/3". However, this camera's durability gave me the freedom to take pictures anywhere at any time. Because of this experience, I have a camera in my pocket 95% of the time!
  
  Verdict: The best $400 I have ever spent.
  
  
• 2) Canon Powershot Elph SD600 - 6.0 megapixels
  This is the second camera I have had. I got it as a Christmas present in December of 2006. Since then, I have taken at least 12,000 pictures with it. It has proved to be nearly as durable as the S200. It is lighter and has a few more pieces which are plastic, but the metal body has saved this little guy on the many times it has dropped from my hand, pocket, table, etc.
  
  It is starting to experience the same over-use, under-care symptoms as the S200. By this, I mean that I found a spot in the lens which may be a permanent mark (though I have seen it show up a few times). There is obviously dust and pocket lint throughout the insides -- you can see it if you look into the open lens. Also, the body is starting to pull apart slightly along the top edge (I'm sure dropping it repeatedly throughout the years hasn't helped!)
  
  My only grip with this camera is that, for having 3 times the mega-pixel capability as the S200, the images are not astoundingly better. This is, of course, because of the itty-bitty lens and sensor on these cameras.
  
  Verdict: This has been a great camera and I would purchase another...in fact, I did! I purchased a newer model of the Elph series for my wife's birthday.
  
  
• 3) Canon S1 IS - 3.2 megapixels
  The newest addition to my camera family is actually Nick's old toy. He got this thing in 2004 or 2005. I bought it from him last month (May 2008) when he purchased a newer Canon S3 IS. So far, I like this camera a lot, though am still pretty ignorant of how to use it. I have only ever used a point-and-shoot camera, so real settings are a fun new world.
  
  The 10x zoom is awesome and quick. Even with nearly half as many megapixels, the average picture looks notably better than the average picture with my SD600. (When I can keep the camera still enough not to get a blurry shot!) Most pictures seem have have better clarity and color. But I'm no expert.
  
  Verdict: Satisfies my current desires for manual settings and clearer scenery shots. I'm still playing 
  

[Nick]

• 1) Olympus D-370 1.3 megapixels
  My first (digital) camera and the camera that really got me interested in photography. No zoom and small picture size didn't detract for the usefulness of the camera, or the joy it provided. It was a gift in 2000 as a precursor to a trip to Virginia. The first real use it got was a nice little camping trip. This was also when I discovered my love for pictures that predominately contained green. The cameras sliding front and 'tiny' recessed screen on the back made it a tank. It survived extensive use and abuse up until it was stolen from within my car one night in Portland, Or. This lead me to purchasing my next camera.

.....

[Nick]

Just got a new camera. It's an Olympus Stylus Tough-8000. So far things look good with it. Much better macro then my old 770sw, you can charge it up from any USB port (provided you have the proprietary cable on hand) and low-light photography seems a little better then the 770sw. More testing will be needed to be sure.

I will have some sample pics up soon to compare the color handling and low-light performance. 

[Cody]

I've also got the Olympus Tough-8000 and it does it's job as a pocket camera as well as take wonderful underwater pictures in my opinion. I must complain though on it's desire to totally wash everything out with it's flash that has no adjustment. Also, I have had problems with motion pictures of any sort..they always come out blurry. Some other small annoyances that I can't think of right now or don't matter enough to mention. I do, like Nick said, like the fact that it can be charged plugged into the wall or the USB port. Can come in handy for emergency charges in the woods should you have your lappy and no awesome Blazer converter like plug-ins.

Of course then we all know I have my gigantic Canon PowerShot S5IS which I just absolutely love. Granted I can't throw it in the lake, knock it off a cliff onto some pointy rocks, or get buried in an avalanche of snow and expect it to still function as if someone had just taken a feather duster to it but hey! The pictures are great and it has waaay too many options and stuff I can't even begin to understand or use.

Both great cameras in the end. Each has it's uses, pros, and cons like all things. And as always I stick to my belief that Canon makes better overall cameras than just about any other brand out there I have used. But that's just my opinion.

[Nick]

Every cannon pocket camera you and Zourtney have had end up with masses of dust in the lens. That alone is enough to stop me from getting one. Plus the powershot s70 I had got dust one the CCD! I had to take it apart and pull the dust out from under its little CCD cover. I do agree that canon pocket cameras of the same price as the tough-8000 take better pictures, but they just don't take abuse well. One can take good pictures with the Olympus ones, you just have to learn its quirks and work with them. Turning the flash off is step one Picking a good ISO (I normally think the camera will select too high of one on its own) is a good step two. And the half-shutter press is your friend. Pick some point that gives good metering and shoot back at your original target. This helps with bright areas being blown out as you can get a midway point between the dark areas and light.

[Brad]

Do those Olympus water-proof cameras have spot metering? It's more work, but at least it should allow you to get proper light metering for most instances. The evaluative metering on those seems to suck.

I think the one at work's macro mode is broken. It's nearly impossible to get it to focus on anything in macro mode. And there is no manual focus either.   I don't think all of them are like that though, I remember Nick's camera's macro seemed to work correctly.

[zourtney]

I guess Canon has a waterproof pocket camera these days, but the styling appears to be targeted toward 9 year old girls. I played with Cody's newer Olympus. The macro was better than the one at work, but still frustrating about half of the time. My crappy Canon seems to work better for this. It'll switch back and forth from macro to normal shots just fine when you hit the right settings.

My big old Canon S1 IS (Nick's old toy) is fairly finicky with close up shots, too. It does not have a dedicated "macro" mode, but an "all purpose lens -- their words, not mine. You have to focus on other up-close things for a while until it gets the idea...Then you can find your subject and take its picture. All around, not bad, but you can't reliably switch from "macro" to "infinity" without lots of holding down the shutter button halfway. That's one of very few gripes I have with that ol' camera.

[Nick]

The Olympus ones do have a spot meetering mode, have since the first one I owned (That old clam-shell 1.3mp unit that got me started) The spot metering works well enough, takes the center of the frame into account and ignores the rest (I don't think you have home the metering area like with Canons.)

[Cody]

I'm not sure why you think my camera's macro doesn't work all that great. Of all it's features I thought that was one of the best. The only annoying part is it  has macro and super macro and you have to choose the right one depending on how close you are obviously...and it stays in macro until you change it. Even if you turn the camera off... Oh well! I got used to that I guess.

[Nick]

I also like the macro ability.Its better then that of the old 770sw that I had. Other cameras will have better macro capabilities given that they have external lenses, and so more room to house all that stuff. Its all about compromise. Extra tough and waterproof vs. having to be 4cm away from the target rather then 1. I have my big camera for that. Though I no longer have the macro-maker attachment

[zourtney]

Yeah, it was probably the "super macro" thing that I never found. My Canon's have never had that, so I wasn't looking for it.

[Nick]

I have always been secretly jealous of your cameras easy macro.

[zourtney]

As everyone who ever visits this site already knows, I got a new camera for Christmas. It was a nice surprise from Eve. It is a Canon XSI DSRL camera and it is awesome. Yes, it's a really expensive toy, but it is capable of taking very, very nice pictures (though I may not be).