Which one to choose from Canon SX230HS and ELPH 310HS (US Models)

[sachinsinghal]

Hi Guys,

I am looking for a good point and shoot camera for me and some family members. I have researched on some Canon cameras (interested in Canon only) and finally decided based on my needs and budget that I should pick from either of these two:

Canon SX 230 HS
Canon ELPH 310 HS

I live in Japan so my models will definitely be 'authentic' "Made in Japan" only (just in case it helps you frame your answer). For the convenience of you guys, I have provided the above links for the equivalent USA models since links from any Japan site would be in Japanese.

Here is the comparison chart between the two cameras from Canon US Site:

Comparison b/w SX230HS and ELPH310HS

One noticeable difference I can see between the two models is the Aperture. SX230HS has f/3.1 (W) - f/5.9 (T) and ELPH310HS has f/3.0 - f/5.9. (I am not a professional photographer so really don't know whether the difference of f3.1 and f3.0 is hardly considerable).

Other important difference (could be very imp) is you can manually set aperture and shutter speed in SX230HS while this can't be done in ELPH310HS.

Trade-offs for me:
--------------------------
I am fine with following trade-offs:

1. Even ELPH310HS does not provide manual control over shutter speed and aperture setting, I am fine with this set if this is really superior in picture quality than SX230HS. If both cameras carry exactly same image quality then I would love to see manual shutter and aperture features in my cameras. (Oh! I forgot to add that BOTH CAMERAS COME IN EXACTLY SAME PRICE IN JAPAN).

2. I am not much bothered about SX230HS having flash on its top point where we generally keep first finger of our left hand. If SX230HS is really better than ELPH310HS in everything I am ok with this trade-off.

Looking for an expert advice from such great experienced users and professionals. I would highly appreciate that.

Thanks a lot!
Sachin

[Bruce A]

I don't know about the cameras, but for me, I'd go with having the manual control option - all things being relatively equal.

[sachinsinghal]

Thanks Bruce for your instant response! I highly appreciate that. Do you think whether the difference of f3.1 and f3.0 makes a difference?

Suggestions from other users are most welcome!

[Bruce A]

Originally Posted by sachinsinghal

Thanks Bruce for your instant response! I highly appreciate that. Do you think whether the difference of f3.1 and f3.0 makes a difference?

Suggestions from other users are most welcome!

Very little IMO and not enough for me to forego the manual option. If you wish to delve into photography a little more than the average snapper, then you may find it an important option.

[inkista]

I'm with Bruce. Having full PSAM modes is a big advantage, so I'd go for the SX230. But. Make sure that the size of the camera isn't going to affect how willing you are to cart it about with you. Aside from the modes, the main differences are the camera size vs. the zoom range. The SX230 has almost twice the reach at 28-392 (film equiv.) (14x) while the 310 HS only does 28-224 (8x). But size-wise, the 310HS is smaller:

310HS: 140g; 96 x 57 x 22 mm (3.78 x 2.24 x .87")
SX230: 223g; 106 x 62 x 33 mm (4.17 x 2.44 x 1.3")

The big difference is in the thickness of the camera. My guess is the 310HS is shirt-pocketable. The SX230 is probably more coat-pocketable. So, what you give up in function, you gain in portability. That's usually been the big difference between the G/S/SX series and SD/HS models. The A series cameras are both crippled and big, in order to be supercheap.

[sachinsinghal]

Thanks Inkista for spending time on the configuration in detail and list out more differences. This will certainly help in framing my decision. Appreciate!

Keenly awaiting more inputs :-)

[sachinsinghal]

Hey Bruce, Inkista and others,

I found one thing with SX230HS which I am not sure is ok or not. Your advice will be appreciated. If you want to increase the shutter speed to more than 1 second, you cannot choose ISO level. ISO is defaulted to 100 with shutter speed of over 1 second. Is it ok and acceptable for night/low light photography or for the photography which requires higher ISO with lower shutter speed?

Thanks!

[inkista]

It's a PITA, but if you're not planning on doing astrophotography with it, or you learn digital techniques like stacking, you can get around the limitation. It's not crippling, but it could be annoying depending on how much long exposure photography you plan on doing.

[eyalg]

True, the SX230 has a much larger zoom range and manual controls,
but since you never mentioned your photographic habit, it's hard to say
whether the lack of those on the ELPH 310 will be missed.

x8 zoom is plenty in most situations, on the street and especially indoors.
When travelling, an x14 zoom could be handy but not a must, in my opinion.

The GPS of the SX230 could also be nice if you travel a lot,
but would be useless if you don't.

The ELPH 310 has a 1 cm minimal focus distance -
much better for macro shots than the SX230's 5 cm,
but again - only if you are not going to do macro photography.

The size difference between the two cameras could also be very important,
as the 22mm thickness of the ELPH 310 insures that it fits in your pocket,
unlike the 33mm of the SX230. It's not huge, but not tiny, either.

Good Luck!

-eyalg

[sachinsinghal]

Thanks a lot Inkista for valuable inputs once again! I highly appreciate that!

Hi Eyalg, Thanks for replying with key points. I appreciate!

On my photographic habits, actually I have been a very basic and novice photographer until today but now I want to play with my point-and-shoot camera a bit more. For example: I am now interested to shoot Light Trails with my point-and-shoot which is not possible with ELPH 310 I believe since it does not allow manual adjustment in shutter speed.

I really don't want to become a professional photographer at this age (I am 31 already and busy in my IT life) but want to take some improved and interesting shots keeping my camera budget towards medium end. In that sense I thought SX 230 could be a better option. If SX 230 can really give some exciting shots playing with shutter speed and aperture, I won't mind its size. But if it cannot give a big difference then I would love lower size and lower weight of ELPH310 since scene selection in auto mode is same in both the cameras.

On the focal length, I was checking on Canon US site that minimum focal length is same in both of the cameras - 5.0 (W) - 70.0 (T) mm (35mm film equivalent: 28 - 392mm) for SX230 and 5.0 (W) - 40.0 mm (T) (35 mm film equivalent: 28 (W) - 224 mm (T)) for ELPH 310. So I could not get that min focal length for ELPH310 is 1cm. Can you please enlighten me on this?

Thanks again guys for your help!

Regards ! Sachin