<p>My daughter needs to replace her digital camera before she leaves for her semester abroad. She still wants a pocket camera and we have narrowed it down to two different cameras. One is the Olympus Stylus 830, the other is the Canon PowerShot SD 870. Each camera has a few features that are appealing-the Olympus has a 5X optical zoom, 2.5 inch screen and has a splash proof casing. The Canon has a 3.8X optical wide angle zoom and a 3.0 inch screen. Both have face detection and optical or duel stabilization.</p>
<p>I have found several reviews on the Canon and most everything I read is great. I can only find two reviews on the Olympus; one is good, the other is fair. The main concern with the Olympus is the concern that picture quality isn’t great; isn’t that why you take pictures is for a great photo? I have seen sample photos online and while if I put pictures from each camera side by side I think the Canon pics are better, if I saw the Olympus pics alone, I don’t think I would say they were bad.</p>
<p>The problem is my daughter really likes the feel of the Olympus and also likes how the dials and menu are set. The Canon is a bit heavier and a tad bigger, but only slightly. If the Canon’s pictures are really superior, then she needs to get the Canon. If with the type of pictures she is taking she will not notice the difference, then she wants the Olympus.</p>
<p>It is hard to read the reviews as the person writing them is usually not one that would use a point and shot camera on a daily basis so any small camera is not going to be up to snuff!</p>
<p>They are both good cameras, but the Canon picture quality is unbelievable (assuming you are not taking pictures from a great distance; you would need an SLR with appropriate lens for that).</p>
<p>My Ds both have Canon powershots (SD750 or something like that) with the 3" screen. They really like the 3" screen - it’s actually significantly and noticably larger than the 2.5". They’re happy with their cameras. They also make decent videos. These cameras are actually quite compact - more so than the Canon powershot ‘Axxx’ series.</p>
<p>My wife had a previous Canon powershot (2.5" screen). All was well until it recently decided to give an error message on power up and that’s pretty much the end of it. We had similar problems with Pentax point and shoot digital cameras to the point where I won’t buy Pentax any more. </p>
<p>Go for one with a relatively reasonable price and just assume it’ll probably break in 2-3 years. She also should get at least one 2G or 4G memory card to go with it. Assuming she’ll have a laptop with her, the 2G should suffice although memory’s getting so cheap now maybe go with a 4G or two 2G (so one can be kept separately in case the camera’s lost or stolen - still have some pictures). Also make sure she has a power adapter that’ll work in the country she’s going to.</p>
<p>Canon is good quality stuff. I had a 2.1 MP camera for 3 years (handed down from my father who himself had it for 2) before it broke. Some of the pictures I took with it would rival those taken by today’s 8.0 MP un-necessities. I’d side with Canon; with a steady hand, you can take some truly startling pictures.</p>
<p>I have a Canon compact camera and I’m very happy with it.</p>
<p>Consider the Canon PowerShot TX1 – it’s both a compact digital camera and a camcorder – and has a 10X optical zoom. It’s more expensive, though.</p>
<p>Don’t underestimate the ergonomics. In a camera of that type, variations in picture quality in the “real world” are not very noticeable. The printer or monitor you use will have a greater impact than the camera. But how the camera feels in your hand, how the buttons are positioned all go to your ease in using it, getting the shots you want and avoiding mistakenly hitting a button that alters a setting while you are taking pictures. Add to the ergonomics the greater optical zoom of the Olympus and I would go with that.</p>
<p>I found and interesting site last night while reading an old travel magazine. Flickr, the online photo uploading site, has a section where you can compare pictures taking with different cameras. What I like is that these photos are taking by real people that upload their pictures. Unfortunately, the Olympus Stylus 830 isn’t listed and the older model doesn’t have any pictures shown. Maybe someone else will find this site helpful though.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat-I agree with you on how the camera feels, which is why my daughter is leaning towards the Olympus. But, if it is true the picture quality is not good or the flash really stinks in low light, that is a big negative in my book. Of course, I think these reviewers are use to SLR’s and are not going to like any point and shoot camera; although they all seem to love most Canon cameras. I always wonder if other brands get trashed just due to brand name.</p>
<p>I really need to quit obsessing over this, but that is how I am!! We have both cameras here at home and my daughter has played with them some, but only inside the house and she is only looking at the pictures on the screen. We didn’t want to totally unpack the boxes as we will have to pay a 15% restocking fee on the Olympus if we return it; although I think I can talk them out of that! Of course both camera’s pictures look fine with both cameras. The true test would be to have her take them both out for the evening and try both in the same setting. I don’t think she is willing to do that; she just wants the camera to work, not to have to compare. </p>
<p>I see she packed up the Olympus, but now I feel bad as I think I convinced her the Canon would be better. I just want the best camera for the price and I got a great deal on the Canon. I would have been better off not reading the reviews; she would have bought the Olympus and been happy with it and I wouldn’t be reading reviews for 3 days straight. Do you think I have too much time on my hand?</p>
<p>^^ Ha Ha - yes. But, I do the same thing and research things to death. Most likely either camera would be fine. If she’s leaning towards the Canon, don’t worry about it - she’ll be happy with it. If it’s a better deal then all the better - especially given the proclivity for these compact do-everything cameras to break.</p>
<p>Well, she is keeping the Canon even though she told me she likes the Olympus better as far as feel and size! Either she values my opinion or she just wanted me to shut up about the cameras!!</p>
<p>Not only did I get a great deal on the Canon, but I do not need to buy a memory card for it as she already has two 2G memory cards from her old camera. With the Olympus, we would have to buy an XD card that only Olympus, and I think Fuji use; so that was another expense and the XD cards are not as cheap as the SD cards.</p>
<p>I am debating whether to order an extra battery for her. I would think she would be able to charge the battery most days so I am not sure it is necessary. The battery life seems to be much better on the Canon, another plus!</p>
<p>Canon- checked all the reviews last spring before I got my IS 800, love it. H got me into Picasa, it’s great for photo management on your computer.</p>
<p>rebel- I love your pictures! Of course you use a nicer camera that a point and shot, but great shots. Just curious, how many of your shots are natural and do you adjust most on your computer? I could never take good pictures even if I could tweak them on the computer :-(</p>
<p>I am enjoying looking through the pictures on Flickr, I just didn’t know until the other day that you could compare by cameras.</p>
<p>Snowball - I think there is a real tendency for reviewers to get caught up with all sorts of technical stuff that in the world of SLR digital cameras and “serious” photography mean something but in the world of “point and shoot” is not that relevant in practical terms. I have a high end digital SLR and a point and shoot for each member of the family. The point and shoots are Olympus, Canon and Casio. For all practical purposes, the picture quality between the point and shoots is indistinguishable for typical casual photography. Kind of like the difference between 720p and 1080p for LCD tv’s. Yeah, 1080p is superior but for a screen 32 inches or under, it really doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>I like my canon 571IS but now that I understand more about RAW I wish I had gotten a model that used that.
When I chose my camera I did a lot of action shots, but now would like to do more macro shots- but since cameras cost about what I could spend on lenses :)</p>