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"I say save and upgrade"
3.0 starson by MatthewvernPros: Great pictures,Tons of scene modes, Nice LCD, Scroll wheel is a major +
Cons: EXTREME noise before picture and video taking (not in the pictures), too many buttons and menus to comprehend
Summary: I recently bought the S80 as well as the Rebel XT. The s80 claimed to be a nice transition from compact to pre-SLR. The s80 has great features and many different adjustments for the novice photographer. Only problem is that whenever you are looking at the LCD screen while you are trying to take a picture there is a TON of noise. When I say TON I mean it. Never have I ever seen that kind of noise. When I called Canon to try and see what the problem was they said it was normal and it might have something to do with the size of the screen or brightness. What? I Adjusted the brightness, no change. I had the Kodak V550 and it also had a 2.5 inch screen. No Problems with the Kodak. I say that before you spend $600+ on this camera, go ahead and save %200 more and get the fantastic 8 megapixel Digital Rebel XT. It is simply amazing with better picture quality and with an not-so-complicated interface.
The s80 is a good camera, but THERE ARE FAR BETTER 2.5 INCH LCD CAMERAS OUT THERE TODAY. Com' on Canon.
- 5 replies to this review
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The only thing that is really important to me beside the fine quality of the camera is the size. The Rebel is a great camera but it doesn't fit in my jacket or pants pocket.
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I acknowledge that it is possible you may have a faulty unit, but this would hardly reflect on the model as a whole. However, I'm fairly certain that what you're talking about is actually the result of a very useful feature. I recently upgraded from an Ixus 400 (Powershot S400) to this camera and found that, yes, the LCD image is very noisy indeed in low-light conditions, but it is because the camera boosts the brightness of the preview image in low light conditions to allow you to see what you are about to photograph. And as we all know, if you ramp up the brightness of the signal from a camera sensor you get lots of noise. But wouldn't you rather have a terribly noisy preview image to allow you to compose your shot than to have to point the camera blindly and hope for the best, as I used to do with my S400? I should add that, in normal light conditions the LCD preview image is perfectly fine.
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Really Matt, you don't need me to tell you this because it is your money after all. But since you took the effort (commendable) to write a review - this is not the prime spot to vent. <br>You really owe it to yourself to go to a store whare they have a camera and COMPARE them. What do you expect on the telephone? The guy to tell you whether your picture is good or not?<br>So, please, and let us know.
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It amazes me how one user can find problems with a camera that another user does not experience at all. For example, I have not seen any noise whatsoever when using the S80. It is inexplicable to me. Maybe your camera has a defect? I don't know, but I am sorry about your experience with such a costly model.
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I found this review to be helpful, because though I did consider the S80 for awhile, I changed my mind a few weeks ago and am looking at the Digital Rebel XT. I didn't like the fact that the S80 did not have RAW, and a few other little things. The XT, being an SLR, will take a bit more time for me to get used to, but I'm quite looking forward to the challenge! As I have not owned either camera (yet), I cannot review the performance, etc, but I will say that if it was in my budget, I would buy both the XT for most serious shooting and the S80 for bringing everywhere.