Steve'sDigicams

daveyboy · Nov 23, 2002, 4:38 PM

Good question.
I'm not really qualified to give any expert opinion on that. What I understand and feel, is that they seem to produce a cleaner, more natural, "easier on the eyes" photo.
Their reputation for quality cameras is second to none.
I also respect the quality they seem to achieve at limited specs whilst others boast of high megs and amazing zooms.

Perhaps they set the standard of which others try to outdo. :P

StarsGlowin · Nov 30, 2002, 5:53 PM

I like the c50. but i think im getting the s230 b/c of the size. nice pictures.

daveyboy · Dec 1, 2002, 4:00 PM

In case you were wondering, on my last post I was referring to Canon.
The C50 seems like a solid performer, but as I previously mentioned, it's selling for about $300 more than the S230 in Canada. That's a fair amount of moolah.
I think I'm going to pick up the S230 next week. I'll test it out myself for 30 days.
If it's everything I hope it to be, I'll keep it. If not, it 'll be nice to have over the holidays.

Arne · Dec 1, 2002, 9:22 PM

I had a hard time deciding between the C-50 and the S230. I ended up with the 230, though I had previous good experience with Oly's. Since I had already reconciled that the very compact digicams just can't do everything (zoom limitations, flash performance, lens quality, etc.) I knew I was going to buy two cameras, so the cost was a big factor. The Canon's image quality consistently was rated as good as cameras with more megapix in the specs, so the 3 vs. 5 didn't really bother me. The Xd card still isn't mainstream and I couldn't find a readily available cheap reader for it and I have had repeated problems with the D 400 series Oly's clam shells failing.

moondaug · Dec 3, 2002, 4:48 PM

Based on the shots posted on PBase, the C50 has the same grainy artifacting that the Oly-C40 has which made me decide on the S230 despite the larger MP size. Blown up, the S230's image are still sharper than the C50 and if you want more vivid color you can set the S230 to 'vivid color' mode. But I find it's default colors quote realistic, anyway.

The S230 is smaller and cheaper than the C50 and uses cheaper CF cards which makes it the better buy in any case. IMHO.

Oh and you can get a really great and cheap underwater housing for the S230 here in US (~$175). The Olympus housings are only available in Japan for some reason.

daveyboy · Dec 5, 2002, 6:28 PM

It seems like the consensus is growing that Canon esp: S230 produces, for the money and size, the clearest and most natural pics in digital photography today... let's hope Santa has enough "elves" (elf's?) for everyone this Christmas... :lol:

I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with this product....At least until new technologies are incorporated. eg: see link...
http://www.foveon.com/X3_tech.html

daveyboy · Dec 5, 2002, 8:12 PM

By the way, Moondaug, do you think this newFoveon V3 technology
will be the one camera makers will adopt in the near future?

moondaug · Dec 6, 2002, 1:32 AM

>>By the way, Moondaug, do you think this newFoveon V3 technology
will be the one camera makers will adopt in the near future?<<

I'm really impressed with the image quality of the X3 sensor over a CCD. But like VHS winning over Beta, the adoption of X3 technology has less to do with superior image quality, than with what sort of licensing and manufacturing deals that Feveon and make with chip fabs and with the camera companies.

daveyboy · Dec 13, 2002, 8:40 PM

Well, I just picked up the S230 a couple of days ago, and have been fiddling with it since. Basically, I've been comparing some S230 pics with pics that I took with the S30 I had a couple of months ago. My initial conclusion is the following:

The auto focus on the S230 is far superior to that of the S30 in that virtually none of the shots I took were out of focus. By contrast, the S30 seemed to produce a much higher percentage of out of focus shots. A few of the S30 shots taken, however, turned out crystal clear (perhaps even clearer that the S230). If you want consistancy of "in focus" picture taking, however, stick with the far superior S230.
Perhaps this new DIGIC Imaging processor and 9 point AiAF is not just a bunch of techno babble.... I think this is a legitimate technological improvement !
Shots taken in low lighting, unfortunately, is where this little guy still falls short. The auto flash still produces too bright a light on the intended subject, creating "pasty faces". Perhaps the S30 flash gets the edge.
Besides that, so far the only thing disappointing about my purchase is that Canon is still using that crappy Zoombrowser softwear. It is problematic and confusing...they surely can do better.
I've come to accept the fact that the S230 has only 2x zoom and I accept it gladly as a tradeoff for clearer pictures.

Other than that though, this little camera is truely a "David" in the world of "Goliath" digicams.

slaman · Dec 16, 2002, 11:51 AM

I am sorry, but I am very disappointed with the S230. I must be one of the few, but this camera simply will not take a picture unless you're outside in a bright-light situation or use the flash. I'd say over 75% of my pictures are out of focus and blurry. I have used a tripod with a timer, and still get blurry pictures. I am extremely frustrated.

I cant take night picture because the lights always blur. I cant take indoor pictures because they are never in focus. Using the flash messes up the color enormously.

Dec 3, 2002, 4:48 PM	#15
moondaug Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 52	Re: S230 vs C50, QV-R4, F100.... comparison shots!!! Based on the shots posted on PBase, the C50 has the same grainy artifacting that the Oly-C40 has which made me decide on the S230 despite the larger MP size. Blown up, the S230's image are still sharper than the C50 and if you want more vivid color you can set the S230 to 'vivid color' mode. But I find it's default colors quote realistic, anyway. The S230 is smaller and cheaper than the C50 and uses cheaper CF cards which makes it the better buy in any case. IMHO. Oh and you can get a really great and cheap underwater housing for the S230 here in US (~$175). The Olympus housings are only available in Japan for some reason.

Dec 6, 2002, 1:32 AM	#18
moondaug Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 52	Feveon X3 >>By the way, Moondaug, do you think this newFoveon V3 technology will be the one camera makers will adopt in the near future?<< I'm really impressed with the image quality of the X3 sensor over a CCD. But like VHS winning over Beta, the adoption of X3 technology has less to do with superior image quality, than with what sort of licensing and manufacturing deals that Feveon and make with chip fabs and with the camera companies.

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Nov 23, 2002, 4:38 PM	#11
daveyboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 24	Good question. I'm not really qualified to give any expert opinion on that. What I understand and feel, is that they seem to produce a cleaner, more natural, "easier on the eyes" photo. Their reputation for quality cameras is second to none. I also respect the quality they seem to achieve at limited specs whilst others boast of high megs and amazing zooms. Perhaps they set the standard of which others try to outdo. :P

Nov 30, 2002, 5:53 PM	#12
StarsGlowin Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 20	I like the c50. but i think im getting the s230 b/c of the size. nice pictures.

Dec 1, 2002, 4:00 PM	#13
daveyboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 24	In case you were wondering, on my last post I was referring to Canon. The C50 seems like a solid performer, but as I previously mentioned, it's selling for about $300 more than the S230 in Canada. That's a fair amount of moolah. I think I'm going to pick up the S230 next week. I'll test it out myself for 30 days. If it's everything I hope it to be, I'll keep it. If not, it 'll be nice to have over the holidays.

Dec 1, 2002, 9:22 PM	#14
Arne Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 18	I had a hard time deciding between the C-50 and the S230. I ended up with the 230, though I had previous good experience with Oly's. Since I had already reconciled that the very compact digicams just can't do everything (zoom limitations, flash performance, lens quality, etc.) I knew I was going to buy two cameras, so the cost was a big factor. The Canon's image quality consistently was rated as good as cameras with more megapix in the specs, so the 3 vs. 5 didn't really bother me. The Xd card still isn't mainstream and I couldn't find a readily available cheap reader for it and I have had repeated problems with the D 400 series Oly's clam shells failing.

Dec 5, 2002, 6:28 PM	#16
daveyboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 24	It seems like the consensus is growing that Canon esp: S230 produces, for the money and size, the clearest and most natural pics in digital photography today... let's hope Santa has enough "elves" (elf's?) for everyone this Christmas... :lol: I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with this product....At least until new technologies are incorporated. eg: see link... http://www.foveon.com/X3_tech.html

Dec 5, 2002, 8:12 PM	#17
daveyboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 24	By the way, Moondaug, do you think this newFoveon V3 technology will be the one camera makers will adopt in the near future?

Dec 13, 2002, 8:40 PM	#19
daveyboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 24	Well, I just picked up the S230 a couple of days ago, and have been fiddling with it since. Basically, I've been comparing some S230 pics with pics that I took with the S30 I had a couple of months ago. My initial conclusion is the following: The auto focus on the S230 is far superior to that of the S30 in that virtually none of the shots I took were out of focus. By contrast, the S30 seemed to produce a much higher percentage of out of focus shots. A few of the S30 shots taken, however, turned out crystal clear (perhaps even clearer that the S230). If you want consistancy of "in focus" picture taking, however, stick with the far superior S230. Perhaps this new DIGIC Imaging processor and 9 point AiAF is not just a bunch of techno babble.... I think this is a legitimate technological improvement ! Shots taken in low lighting, unfortunately, is where this little guy still falls short. The auto flash still produces too bright a light on the intended subject, creating "pasty faces". Perhaps the S30 flash gets the edge. Besides that, so far the only thing disappointing about my purchase is that Canon is still using that crappy Zoombrowser softwear. It is problematic and confusing...they surely can do better. I've come to accept the fact that the S230 has only 2x zoom and I accept it gladly as a tradeoff for clearer pictures. Other than that though, this little camera is truely a "David" in the world of "Goliath" digicams.

Dec 16, 2002, 11:51 AM	#20
slaman Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 9	I am sorry, but I am very disappointed with the S230. I must be one of the few, but this camera simply will not take a picture unless you're outside in a bright-light situation or use the flash. I'd say over 75% of my pictures are out of focus and blurry. I have used a tripod with a timer, and still get blurry pictures. I am extremely frustrated. I cant take night picture because the lights always blur. I cant take indoor pictures because they are never in focus. Using the flash messes up the color enormously.