S95 vs. SX230 - recommendations, please.

[Renfield]

Hi All,

New to your site. Thought this would be a good place to ask this question. I have been researching these models and I am trying to decide between the S95 the the SX230--new or used depending upon price. My budget is limited to approx $250.00. Looking for an advanced P&S with manual controls which is reasonably portable. New to digital cameras but not to photography. Have several older SLR's (film) and wanted to start with my first digital camera. Any recommendations/suggestions that could be made to facilitate the decision making process between these two models would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Renfield

[ceremus]

If you're looking for a superzoom the SX230 is a good model. It's not as long as the 30x optical zoom bridge cameras, but it's a lot more compact, and it compares favorably in the travel-zoom category.

The S95 doesn't have anywhere near the zoom range, I think it's something like only 4x, but it makes up for it in low light performance. On the wide end the max aperture of the S95 is f/2 versus f/3.1 on the SX230. The S95 will also shoot in RAW. It basically has the same internals of the G12 in a slimmer package, and that's frankly a desirable thing.

[inkista]

Go to a store and hold them. The size/weight of the two is substantially different, and the control ring on the front of the S95 is a very different kettle of fish from tons of buttons along the back. Feel in your hands may help decide.

As ceremus stated, it's mostly a matter of what you want more: superzoom? or low light capability?

[eyalg]

For someone not new to photography, I'd generally recommend the S95 -
Not only is it compact and ergonomically convenient, shoots RAW and
has a large max aperture setting for low light conditions, it also has a
larger than average imaging sensor - for better color depth, lower noise
levels and a wider dynamic range - allowing better overall image quality.

True, its zoom is basic, but for an SLR shooter it's much more FUN!

-eyalg