Canon 300d versus Canon Powershot S1 (or fuji s7000)

I'm brand new to buying digital but I'm treating myself for Christmas....

I was looking at Canon Powershot S1 IS and the Fuji Finepix s7000 as being
the sort of thing that would suit me but I've just been sidetracked a bit
by looking at the Canon 300d - mainly because I have an EOS film camera
with a couple of lenses which i understand will work (with limitations)
with the 300D.

However, I can't see anything in the published spec for the 300D which
tells me that it is any better than the S1 (in fact the reverse appears to
be true with things like anti-shake on the S1). Am I missing something
blindingly obvious here in my naivety in the digital world? Will I get
'better' results from the 300d than the S1? If so, where would I see
that? Is it worth paying twice as much for it (totally subjective, I
know)?

Any comments appreciated.

Peter Russell

 

The 300D has a much larger sensor ( 22.7 x 15.1 mm vs. 5.27 x 3.96 mm )
which means that higher ISO have far less noise than with the S1. Also
the 300D is an SLR which means you can change lenses - on the downsize
it's larger and heavier (depending on the lens of course).

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_s1is.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos300d.asp

Kind regards

robert

 

The primary difference is that one camera is an SLR with
interchangeable EOS lenses and the other is not. They're two very
different animals, and which one makes the most sense for you depends
on your needs.

As an EOS system film user who shoots a lot of sports, and Powershot
G2 owner, the nearly non-existent shutter lag and allows the use of
Canon (and later model 3rd party) EOS lenses is the reason I jumped
right to the digital rebel. For me, I couldn't stand the
focus-unpredictability (i.e. no optical through the lens viewfinder)
and the shutter lag that seemed so inherent in all non-SLR form factor
cameras I'd tried. The S1 also lacks a hotshoe, so if you're doing
any flash photography that you want to look decent, the S1 leaves you
high and dry there with only its little on camera flash.

However, that said, that S1 is a lot less expensive, and comes with a
nice f/2.8 10x zoom lens with optical IS on it, whereas the kit lens
with the rebel is a much slower 3.5-5.6. So if your work is confined
to available light photography, the extra stop of aperture and the
handholding benefits of optical image stabilization may conspire to
make a compelling value for ya.

But the Digital Rebel is a far far more versatile camera.

The better comparison would be bewteen the G5 and the Digital Rebel.
At least the G6 has a hotshoe, and an f/2.0 lens. But at $619 it's a
rather insane thing to buy if interchangeable lenses and an optical
through the lens viewfinder are something you as an SLR veteran value.

Best Regards,

 

Thanks for your comments.
Maybe it'll take me longer to decide what to do than I was hoping-)
I shall do a bit of searching to see if I can glean any info on the
expected life of the 300d.
Thanks

Peter