After a lot of research I'm down to the choice of 2 cameras. The Sony Cybershot DSC-V1 and the Canon Powershot S50. I've read so many reviews and articles I don't know what to think any more! Can anybody give me their own personal experiences to help me decide. This will be my first digital camera (to replace my old 35mm compact) which I'll use when I can't or don't want to carry my Canon EOS around with me. Hope you can help.

[seany]

"So what didn't I like? I found the photo quality to be inferior to the F717 and Canon G3/S50 for two reasons: noise and rather drab colors (turning up the saturation helps somewhat with that). Redeye was a problem as well, at least in my standard test. The camera body, too large to be pocket-sized, has a poorly placed optical viewfinder,no diopter correction knob, and a pop-up flash that gets in the way when in use. The battery life on the V1 is much worse than the competition, and the higher capacity Memory Stick Pro cards are nearly four times the cost of equivalent CompactFlash cards"

"I hope that didn't sound too negative -- as I did enjoy my time with the DSC-V1. I would rate the camera as "above average" -- certainly better than the Minolta DiMAGE F300 and Olympus C-50Z, but I think the PowerShot S50's photo quality is better. Do note that the S50 (which is quite a bit cheaper too) lacks the fancy movie mode, hot shoe, and support for add-on lenses."

Thanks a lot. Personal experience is a great help - the reviewers never seem to agree!

[seany]

You've got me wrong mate, you've missed the quotation marks.

It's from a review, i missed the "personal experience" part of your question, sorry

From what i can see, the £114 price difference is not warrented for the sony, add that to the cost of pro sticks, and it should really put you towards the S50, which can take a microdrive


Users reviews here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read...dkey=canon_s50

compare the two http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons50/page15.asp

I have the ixus400 £1 cheaper then the S50 and a fine camera

Originally posted by keanyboy
"So what didn't I like.........and the higher capacity Memory Stick Pro cards are nearly four times the cost of equivalent CompactFlash cards"

if you look around this just isnt true ,american sellers are flogging 256mb MSPRO on ebay and with the good exchange rate they go for about £55-£60 delivered even if you get stung for duty this is likley to be only about £10

even in this country hotkit.co.uk do some great prices

as you may have guessed im a sony camera fan but cannon do some fantastic cameras ,the best bet is to go to your local jessops and hold a few cameras and see which feels best given your hand size ect

hth
chunk

After much soul searching & deliberation, i opted for the Sony. Yes there are a few niggling bits (battery life, flash placement) but no camera is perfect.

What you will get is some of the best, colour rich & detailed pics i have ever taken. I can honestly say i have no regrets whatsoever in buying the Sony & would fully recommend it to anyone.

I had the same dilemma as you the S50 or the DSC-V1.

Even now i would still plunge for the Sony as i'm that happy with the pics & the numerous manual overrides you have (most of which i never use).