Nikon vs. Canon

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rossjc

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Alright, in a perfect world I would be able to pick up an A series b/c it is incredible, but I need something smaller. I need an ultra compact. I am looking for the best camera I can get in the "itty bitty" size range.

Right now I am looking at the Coolpix 5200 and the Powershot S500. Can anyone help me with this purchase? Seems that the Nikon has a bit more manual control, but the housing doesn't seem capable of using those controls (Fantasea XXX). Even if you haven't taken photos with them, can you reccomend what looks best on paper?

If you have any good ideas other than these two cameras I would appreciate you opinions.

Josh
 
A good site for comparison shopping on specs is www.dpreview.com. Go to the "Buying Guide" and choose the "Side-by-side" comparison section. Based on that info, the only "manual" advantage the Nikon has is manual focus; it doesn't appear to have much of a manual mode, though it does have an all-metal body which is a really nice feature. As far as optics go Canon and Nikon are both good.

Technically, the Coolpix 5200 apparently is not classified as an ultra-compact; it's larger than the Canon S500. Even though the latter is thinner than the 5200 I feel it is still a bit of a brick compared to other ultra-compacts. Have you held either of these in a store yet? The new smaller A-series (released about a week ago) isn't that much bigger than the Coolpix 5200 (1mm thicker, 4mm taller, 3mm wider)-- would that be a viable option? One technical drawback I see for the Coolpix is that the widest its lens goes is 38mm vs. 36mm for the S500.

If you want a "real" ultra-compact I would suggest something smaller than the S500 or the 5200. The three true ultra-compacts I can think of off the top of my head that have housings available are the Canon SD110, the Fuji FinePix F440/450, and the Minolta Dimage X series.
 
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