Trying to decide between the A610 and a used G5.

[niteschaos]

I'm thinking of moving to digital because of the quick turnaround time, photo storage capacity (can hold several hundred pics in one card).

I currently shoot Provia 100 slide film through a Canon Rebel Ti with a Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 lens. I love the clear results I get. The speed of the camera is great and Provia scans beautifully at 4000dpi, giving me nearly 20MPixels of resolution if I want it with no noise to speak of.

The problem is that I have to take the film somewhere to get developed, which can take several hours or a day. Then I have to go to the library to scan and save the film to digital media because I don't have a film scanner of my own. I get great results, but the time I'm losing from taking the picture to order the print is dragging me down.

I want a camera that responds quickly in moderate to bright light (in low light I'd use a tripod anyways), produces clear and clean (no noise) landscapes. I can stitch photos together so I'm not worried about being stuck with a 35mm equivalent, even though I love my 20mm lens. I want a camera with minimal shutter lag, but I only have a budget of 300 bucks right now.

For my budget of 300 bucks or less, I was thinking of getting either the new A610 ($275), which is said to use G5 components, OR the G5 ($299 nearly new from KEH) which has a DIGIC processor and a hotshoe for those indoor family shots.

What do you guys recommend? Is there a different camera you guys would recommend?

[VanillaKisses]

Have you had a look at the reviews for each of those cameras in the review section here?

[niteschaos]

I've been on this site off and on for 3 years. There just aren't any reviews for the A610 yet.

[VanillaKisses]

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/a610.html

go here then

[niteschaos]

That site was exactly what I was looking for!

[EOSThree]

The cameras are pretty similar in a lot of ways. Some of the big things I see are the ability to shoot in RAW with the G5, Flexi zone TTL metering, and the G5's lens is a little faster. The A610 is very comparable on specs, with a slightly bigger LCD screen. The G5 is more of a high end P&S but the specs on the A610 look really good. I am a G2 owner and I have been nothing but happy with it, but the A610 looks like quite a nice camera and I think I would enjoy shooting with it. Final point, the A610 will have a warranty, with the used G5 you are on your own, KEH stands behind their stuff though. Personally these cameras are so similar I think you will be happy with either one.