Are 2 digital cameras better than 1?
I've started to notice a trend. People who can't decide between a larger digital camera with more options and better features and a smaller digital camera with fewer features but the utmost in portability are finally making a decision. They are getting both.
Much like having two jackets in your closet, one for spring-like weather and one for the coldest of winter days, having two digital cameras serves a similar purpose. One larger, fully-functional digital camera for capturing those up-close action shots of your kids playing sports or those adorable photo Christmas cards. And another, tiny digital camera that easily slips into your pocket or fanny pack and is always within reach to catch your daughter's first time down the ski slope or a group victory pose at the end of a long race.
The perfect blend of size and features
While there are several decent cameras to choose from on the high-end side, my clear-cut favorite for a portable camera is the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. This camera is part of the Canon Digital Elph series and has the perfect blend of size and features.
The Canon PowerShot SD1100IS stands at just 3.4" wide, 2.2" tall and a stunning 0.9" thick. And it weighs in at just 4.5 ounces. Yet it still comes packed with a 3x optical zoom, image stabilization and the ability to shoot up to 8 megapixel pictures.
And for those fashion minded people, the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS also comes in 5 colors: blue, pink, brown, gold and silver.
At a price of right around $155 on Amazon.com, it's really hard to go wrong with this camera.
Get a bigger memory card
One word of caution, however. The Canon PowerShot SD1100IS is packaged with only a 32MB memory card. This is typical of almost every digital camera manufacturer so make sure to include a 2GB SD memory card with your purchase unless you like the idea of running out of space on your memory card after taking only 20 pictures.
6 comments for this blog post so far...
January 27, 2009 at 10:26 pm
asudduth
We came to this conclusion about 7-8 months ago… My wife mentioned she wanted a really nice Digital SLR… then a week or so later she said she wanted a really small digital camera to take pictures on a missions trip. and I said “but you said you wanted a Digital SLR” she said “yes, both.”
We have yet to purchase a digital SLR, however we did some research back then and ended up purchasing the Canon SD1100 mentioned here… I had previously owned (more expensive) other point-and-shoot digital cameras and this one impressed me greatly. I got rid of the Olympus 5MP camera and we both use the SD1100. It is a great camera with some nice features!
January 28, 2009 at 9:53 am
Patric Welch
@asudduth Always nice to hear others confirm what I am saying. How uncanny that you ended up with the same exact camera that I mentioned!
January 29, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Bryan
PW - Like you, I’m probably not the yardstick by which to measure the technology decisions of the general public. My digital camera arsenal includes -
Nikon D50
Nikon D70s
Panasonic DMC-FZ18 (hybrid - not as large as the full DSLR, but not a compact point/shoot, either)
Panasonic DMC-FX8 (truly a slip in your pocket camera)
I did finally donate “antique” Sony model - circa 2000, 1.2 megapixel - to a friend, along with the 32Mb MemoryStick.
Gotta have options!
January 29, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Patric Welch
@Bryan So in your case 4 cameras are better than 1!
February 02, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Colin Clark
I’ve been totally drooling over the Canon powershot G9. It’s definitely quite a bit bigger than the one you reviewed here, but it’s closer to a professional-level camera. The beauty of the G9 is that they just came out with the G10 so the price is going way down. I think they originally sold for over 500 bucks, but now you can get a new one for less than half that. Have you had any experience with this camera? It seems to be a stellar buy at that price.
February 02, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Patric Welch
@Colin I don’t have any specific experience with the G9 but I own the Canon Powershot G3 and love it!
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