Need Help - SD850 - SD770 or Pan TZ5?

[Liz]

Okay - I've done my homework and now can't see the woods for the trees. I'm helping a friend to choose the best p&s for her. She is an artist (painter) so IQ is most important. However, she wants the camera to make the choices and will normally use auto for vacation, so she needs one that will give her good straight-out-of-camera shots (with a little adjusting that I could help her with before she goes).

After doing a lot of reading including John's great review on the SD850 and some comments on the SD770 and another extensive review on the TZ3, the choice would most likely be among these 3:
Canon SD850 - SD770 and the Panasonic TZ5.

SD770 - looks good although she would like more zoom (3x).

SD850 - looks pretty good. One concern is "weak red-eye feature" as I know she will most likely use flash indoors at times and doesn't do much post processing.

Panasonic TZ5 - upgrade to the TZ3 with apparently better IQ from what I read. Pros include 3" LCD, 10x zoom and 28mm wide angle.

Questions: I'm wondering if the IQ is as good as Canon (I'm a Canon person). Also, is it too much camera for someone who will use it on auto? Having said that, if it's easy to use and has good default settings on auto, then I guess it would work. It's $269 after a $30 instant rebate.

Although the Canons don't include "sports" or "action" modes, they do include what is called "motion blur detection" which Canon claims controls motion well. Is that better than nothing?

I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks.
Liz

[Liz]

It's good I took a vacation day today - I spent most of the day checking out camera reviews.

I've suggested the SD850 - leaning heavily toward this camera. Costco has it instore for $249 and it comes with a new Canon printer. Not bad - the printer sells at B&H for $90 with a $20 rebate. My friend will most likely sell it. At any rate, I figure the bottom line cost will be $200.....if she likes it!

ETA - anyone know about the red-eye correction reviewed as "weak?"

I think the Panasonic is too much camera - she doesn't need all the (great) features. The SD770 has a 3x zoom which is a bit too small for her. Nice camera although a bit more expensive.

Then there is the SD870 - simpler camera with 3" LCD a bit more money......great Cnet pro and owner reviews though.

Liz

[Photo-John]

There were a couple of questions posted on the Canon SD850 IS pro review page recently. So I did a little research today. I agree that the Panasonic TZ5 may not be right. It's certainly a more powerful camera. But it's not really a pocket camera. You either want a real pocket camera or you don't. I don't see the Canon SD-Series cameras in the same class as the Panasonic TZ-Series.

Anyway, looking at the current Canon SD-Series offerings, I'm liking the SD770 IS. Based on the surprisingly awesome image quality of my SD950 IS, I am sure the 10-megapixel SD770 IS has great image quality. And it's got an optical viewfinder. I've always liked the idea of the SD870 IS because of the wider lens. The wide end of the zoom on the SD850 IS and the SD950 IS is a source of frustration for me. But it probably won't matter to most people. When I weight it out, I will trade the optical viewfinder for the wider lens. I just can't pan accurately for action shots without and optical viewfinder. But I've recommended the 870 IS to a lot of happy photographers. Wide angle or optical viiewfinder. That's what it comes down to in the end. Which is more important to you?

[Liz]

Just to say I picked up the SD850 for my friend - it came with a printer that B&H sells for $90. It's a nice little camera although I did have a slight red-eye problem (rather green eye problem with the cats - for some reason their eyes turn green vs red).

Then this afternoon a decent size red pixel appeared in the middle of the LCD screen. It's big enough to be distracting. Do these grow by any chance? It's interesting that it wasn't there earlier.

However, I only tried about 20 shots and may exchange it for another SD850 without the red pixel - or I just may get her the SD790 or SD770. Both look like great cameras.

Liz