olympus 1050sw vs 850sw I am trying to compare the different waterproof cameras. I would go with the 1030sw but I can't do the $300+ price right now. I was just wondering why people wouldn't just pick the 1050sw over the 850sw since they are both under $300. The 1050sw sounds better in that it has 5x optical zoom and it is 10mega pixels. Thanks for any suggestions!! olympus 1050sw vs 850sw I am trying to compare the different waterproof cameras. I would go with the 1030sw but I can't do the $300+ price right now. I was just wondering why people... » Read More olympus 1050sw vs 850sw I am trying to compare the different waterproof cameras. I would go with the 1030sw but I can't do the $300+ price right now. I was just wondering why people wouldn't just pick the 1050sw over the 850sw since they are both under $300. The 1050sw sounds better in that it has 5x optical zoom and it is 10mega pixels. Thanks for any suggestions!! « Show Less
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I personally have the 850sw and purchased it because a friend had it and loved it. I think that an extra 2 megapixels is overkill and merely ads to the noise at higher ISO settings. As long as you follow the scene modes you will get very good shots. 8 megapixels is plenty enough for the crop factor to enlarge so an extra 2x is a mute issue with me.
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Just wanted to bump this and see if there are any new replies. The 1050 and 850 are about the same price - so why buy one over the other (MP aside)?
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I have been going back and forth with the same question. I have read all the reviews and opinions I can find on both. After going to the local store and playing with the TZ5 and the 100 (since the 110 is not out yet) I did not find many major difference from the point of view of a novice user. The two main difference I noted were 1) the TZ5 is more compact and I really liked that, however 2) when I zoomed in with the canon on a small sign the image was crystal clear, when I did the same with the TZ% the same sign was very blurry, not even close to readable. This decided it for me. I went with canon. I have been going back and forth with the same question. I have read all the reviews and opinions I can find on both. After going to the local store and playing with the TZ5 and the 100 (since the 110 is not out yet) I did not find many major difference from the point of view of a novice user. The two main difference I noted were 1) the TZ5 is more compact and I really liked that, however 2) when I zoomed in with the canon on a small sign the image was crystal clear, when I did the same with the TZ% the same sign was very blurry, not even close to readable. This decided it for me. I went... » Read More I have been going back and forth with the same question. I have read all the reviews and opinions I can find on both. After going to the local store and playing with the TZ5 and the 100 (since the 110 is not out yet) I did not find many major difference from the point of view of a novice user. The two main difference I noted were 1) the TZ5 is more compact and I really liked that, however 2) when I zoomed in with the canon on a small sign the image was crystal clear, when I did the same with the TZ% the same sign was very blurry, not even close to readable. This decided it for me. I went with canon. « Show Less
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I am also comparing these 2 Cameras. I want to use for Snorkeling and Beach pictures on our upcoming cruise. My preference is for Quality Underwater Photos over how stylish the actual camera is. Also, I am looking for the one with the Best Zoom Capabilities....... Anyone out there own one of these cameras ???
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I live in WA and had this deployed both in the driveway for rainy weeks and in the woods. I do believe this will be effective in WA for the long run. This is by far the best camera I've purchased in the price range!EDIT: This camera went on sale today for $96 so I bought 3 more.
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I like everything about the Olympus except the XD card, I have close to a dozen SD cards already and a couple of readers. I expect that in a year or two Olympus will drop the XD card and go to the more common SD. I will be the first to buy that generation of this camera. I decided on going with a clone of the Sealife (Vivitar Vivicam 6200w) for now. It is significantly cheaper and shares all the same specifications, except the ability to link with an external flash. Which is pointless in this range of camera ...if you are going to be lugging that stuff around anyway you might as well step up to at least the Sealife DC800 or the DX-1G by Sea&Sea; I like everything about the Olympus except the XD card, I have close to a dozen SD cards already and a couple of readers. I expect that in a year or two Olympus will drop the XD card and go to the more common SD. I will be the first to buy that generation of this camera. I decided on going with a clone of the Sealife (Vivitar Vivicam 6200w) for now. It is significantly cheaper and shares all the same specifications, except the ability to link with an external flash. Which is pointless in this range of camera ...if you are going to be lugging that stuff around anyway you might as well step... » Read More I like everything about the Olympus except the XD card, I have close to a dozen SD cards already and a couple of readers. I expect that in a year or two Olympus will drop the XD card and go to the more common SD. I will be the first to buy that generation of this camera. I decided on going with a clone of the Sealife (Vivitar Vivicam 6200w) for now. It is significantly cheaper and shares all the same specifications, except the ability to link with an external flash. Which is pointless in this range of camera ...if you are going to be lugging that stuff around anyway you might as well step up to at least the Sealife DC800 or the DX-1G by Sea&Sea; « Show Less
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Funny, I was just looking at the two cameras myself and ended up purchasing the SD880IS. The SD880IS is slimmer (0.9 vs. 1.1) and has a bigger LCD screen (3.0 vs. 2.5). Granted, the SD880IS gives up a little in terms of optical zoom (4.0 vs 5.0) but that's the price you pay for having a slim compact camera. I wanted something above the run of the mill 3x optical zoom cameras out there and the 4x SD880IS fits the bill, even if I had to pay $50 extra over the price of the SD890IS. And FYI, the SD880IS is a newer camera, hence the "better" DIGIC 4 Image Processor over the SD890IS's DIGIC III Image Processor.
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Well, I'm now reading about another option: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization.This one compares to the Panasonic ZS3 and both sell for approximately the same price. I guess I'm still stuck in wanting to figure out which one of these models (DSC-H20, ZS3, DSC-W350, W370) can do all of the things they promised but at a faster speed.
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Not until you mentioned it.Now looking at the SD870 IS, the upgrades from SD850 IS are:1)3" LCD2)No Viewfinder (downgrade)3)3.8" Optical Zoom (Less by 0.2")4)Wide Angle (Biggest Difference between all 3 models)Of course, I forgot to mention the megapixels (7 vs 8) but everyone looks at that and unless you print, it doesn't make a difference at this level.The price just keeps getting higher and I'm not so sure I really need all those features. Do you see yourself using the wide angle? Is the IS that much more helpful than holding down and focusing first? Not until you mentioned it.Now looking at the SD870 IS, the upgrades from SD850 IS are:1)3" LCD2)No Viewfinder (downgrade)3)3.8" Optical Zoom (Less by 0.2")4)Wide Angle (Biggest Difference between all 3 models)Of course, I forgot to mention the megapixels (7 vs 8) but everyone looks at that and unless you print, it doesn't make a difference at this level.The price just keeps getting higher and I'm not so sure I really need all those features. Do you see yourself using the wide angle? Is the IS that much... » Read More Not until you mentioned it.Now looking at the SD870 IS, the upgrades from SD850 IS are:1)3" LCD2)No Viewfinder (downgrade)3)3.8" Optical Zoom (Less by 0.2")4)Wide Angle (Biggest Difference between all 3 models)Of course, I forgot to mention the megapixels (7 vs 8) but everyone looks at that and unless you print, it doesn't make a difference at this level.The price just keeps getting higher and I'm not so sure I really need all those features. Do you see yourself using the wide angle? Is the IS that much more helpful than holding down and focusing first? « Show Less
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Hi all,A quick update. I am an engineer and I pay attention to Specs but when it comes to the SR100 vs SR300, I hands down tried both. The quality of the SR100 is far far much better. Yes it is that much diffrent. The colors are more vivid, smooth I dont see any boxyness. Also it is grainy. The only advantage is the still pictures are better then the SR100 but as far as video, there is no comparision. The SR100 is much better in low light...I dont see grains but the SR300 is obvious. I dont belive the specs about the SR300. If Sony does not come with a replacement, I may just sell this on ebay and buy a SR100 for video and use my digital camera for stills. Frank KalkattawiParis, France(Moved) Hi all,A quick update. I am an engineer and I pay attention to Specs but when it comes to the SR100 vs SR300, I hands down tried both. The quality of the SR100 is far far much better. Yes it is that much diffrent. The colors are more vivid, smooth I dont see any boxyness. Also it is grainy. The only advantage is the still pictures are better then the SR100 but as far as video, there is no comparision. The SR100 is much better in low light...I dont see grains but the SR300 is obvious. I dont belive the specs about the SR300. If Sony does not come with a replacement, I may just sell... » Read More Hi all,A quick update. I am an engineer and I pay attention to Specs but when it comes to the SR100 vs SR300, I hands down tried both. The quality of the SR100 is far far much better. Yes it is that much diffrent. The colors are more vivid, smooth I dont see any boxyness. Also it is grainy. The only advantage is the still pictures are better then the SR100 but as far as video, there is no comparision. The SR100 is much better in low light...I dont see grains but the SR300 is obvious. I dont belive the specs about the SR300. If Sony does not come with a replacement, I may just sell this on ebay and buy a SR100 for video and use my digital camera for stills. Frank KalkattawiParis, France(Moved) « Show Less
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The SX120 at ISO 800 and 1600 is way better than the SX110, this is the biggest difference I've seen. Search for some reviews that have the same shots at ISO1600 for both cameras and compare the two side by side and it'll jump out at you. I'm not so sure the slightly smaller sensor has much difference, sensor technology improves very slowly too, so maybe it has better signal to noise ratio even though it's more MP on a slightly smaller surface area.I don't like the SX200 for a bunch of reasons, the always up flash is annoying. It has a slower lens than the SX110/120, and it's way more expensive. The SX120 at ISO 800 and 1600 is way better than the SX110, this is the biggest difference I've seen. Search for some reviews that have the same shots at ISO1600 for both cameras and compare the two side by side and it'll jump out at you. I'm not so sure the slightly smaller sensor has much difference, sensor technology improves very slowly too, so maybe it has better signal to noise ratio even though it's more MP on a slightly smaller surface area.I don't like the SX200 for a bunch of reasons, the always up flash is annoying. It has a slower lens than the SX110/120, and it's... » Read More The SX120 at ISO 800 and 1600 is way better than the SX110, this is the biggest difference I've seen. Search for some reviews that have the same shots at ISO1600 for both cameras and compare the two side by side and it'll jump out at you. I'm not so sure the slightly smaller sensor has much difference, sensor technology improves very slowly too, so maybe it has better signal to noise ratio even though it's more MP on a slightly smaller surface area.I don't like the SX200 for a bunch of reasons, the always up flash is annoying. It has a slower lens than the SX110/120, and it's way more expensive. « Show Less
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I was going to buy this one too, but if the price stays over $400, I'll get the Olympus XZ-1. The main benefit of the S95 for me is price!
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I own one, and have taken it everywhere since Olympus net it to me to review. I think the UW shots are pretty good, not as sharp as the Hero, but as sharp as my Lumix TS5. I have not tried night shots of the sky, but have shot outdoor parties. Samples: http://digital-photography-school.com/review-olympus-tg-850-tough-waterproof-camera/
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Go with the 850. I have the 860 and from a distance of 10 feet you will not be able to tell the difference between red and blue. It's all a marketing ploy to gain a couple of extra bucks from you under the smoke and mirror extended warranty haze. Save your money. There is no difference between the 850 and 860 in terms of picture quality and that is what you should be paying your hard earned cash for. 850 vs 860...both are exceptional sets. Enjoy!
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the lx7w it seems a very good compact camera but, the gf5 is dslr! that is a advantage over de lx7w, other thing is the gf5 has more megapixels 12.1 vs 10.1, but the lx7 has other advantages... for example 1.7f but this in gf5 means another lens, ... in my opinion is better the gf5 because of the compact size and the Interchangeable lenses.
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Sorry, there is no comparisons here. The SONY is a "pocket" camera" and the Olympus is (overall) much bigger and will not fit in a pocket. There are several main differences. First, the Olympus is 40X optical vs the Sony 20X optical. With that much zoom power, you need a camera you can hold on to. The Sony offers little in this area. On the flip size, the xtra wide angle of the Olympus can't be beat. Second, (and this is my preference) I like using standard (rechargeable-Nimh) double AA batteries for the Olympus, vs. a custom battery for the Sony. While I have taken over 20,000 pictures with my SP-820, I have mastered only 30% of the features; and try to learn new ones when I can. My Son likes Sony Camera's for their size, but he mostly shoots on auto modes and rarely uses any of its features.. While there is a "significant" difference in megapixels (Sony 18 megapixels vs Olympus 14 megapixels) this could make a difference in prints larger than 11" x 17" (and you would need a really large printer.) I have such a large printer, and I am always impressed with the quality of the prints from my Olympus. You maybe wondering, what photo programs I use. Generally Picasa, Photo shop (for digital manipulation), Corel Photo (quick and easy) are my three favorites. The decision you must make - do you want a POCKET point and shoot camera or one that will really take pictures you want. My only failure to date is I have been unable to "shoot" the International space station as it zips by. I must tell you that until you become accustom to the 40X zoom, a good light weigh quality tripod (or mono-pod) may be required.
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Hey Julie- I too had this same question so I went out and purchased the Lumix DMC-TZ5. I found the camera to be very good in the zoom department and video was nice as well. The reason I returned this camera was because of the picture quality. Panasonic seems to me, to have yellow pictures. Even though there is IS, I still had many shots that turned out to be blurry. I owned a Pansasonic in the past and had the same issues on that camera. I now own the Olympus Stylus 1010 for about 2 weeks. I had a mid-size camera for years and loved it but wanted a pocket size camera that would do justice. I am very picky and have bought and returned 4 different point and shoot cameras. The Olympus 1010 is the first camera that I have fell in love with. Very fast, very small, and the image quality is awesome! I have a very difficult shooting base but this camera far exceeds any other camera I have purchased or spent many hours playing with. I am so very satisfied with my purchase and Olympus really has come through with this camera. Hope this helps!
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Hi everybody!DO you think that the image stabilizer in both cameras (800 and 850) are the same? In Brazil, the prices are lowest to buy SD800 IS, but this resoruce is very important to my job. So, if it´s better in SD850 IS.... Could you help de to decide?Tks, Arnaldo.