Canon IXUS 980is

[Spark]

When I came across this camera yesterday I was quite excited about it, the prospect of having full manual controls on a compact camera is a rarity.
The full spec can be found here on www.amazon.co.uk

My problem is this, I already own a canon IXUS 850is which was the top model at the time. And while I really like this camera the upgrade to the 980 is quite tempting. What do you think about the upgrade? It is the same price as what I paid for the 850.

One reason I was contemplating an DSLR was to get the manual controls however I thought that I might not always want to carry a large camera.

 

[stevesteve]

I don't know this one Spark but I have used an older model in the 'G' series. The current one seems to be:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-G7-Digital-Camera/dp/B000IMBA2M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1227210822&sr=1-2

This has less pixcels (there is also a 14MP version which is more) but nearly twice the optical zoom.

My one has:

• Aperture priority,
• Shutter priority
• Program
• Full Auto

and loads else.

As someone who started with a manual Zenit and went up to machines such as the Pentax ME Super I was delighted with the flexibility. Mine is tired now having been all over the place with me and I would consider the newer model now.

Not sure if that helps or not!

Cheers,
Steve

 

[shep]

There are a few around in the same price range. I have the Ricoh Caplio GX100 which has MASP modes and thumb wheel for aperture and shutter speed adjustment.

The important thing to realise is that full manual controls don't really make that much difference on a compact because of the small sensor size. Whatever aperture you use, you're going to have loads of depth-of-field. Isolating a subject against it's background is nye-on impossible. The only exception so far is the Sigma DP1/2 which has an SLR-sized sensor.

Having manual control is only useful when you want shutter speed effects, which I rarely fine-tune on the hop. It's easy enough to set up any compact to blur or freeze action as desired, just a little slower than with finger wheels.

 

[Spark]

So is the general consensus to not bother with the upgrade to the 980, due to the size of the sensor, not the the megapixels. I know that pixels are no way everything. Maybe I will stick with what I have got until I decide to get a dslr. The main reason I was thinking of an upgrade was to be able to have more control over the exposure as I can only adjust the exposure or the shutter at one time.
To get around this I did try using the 'allbest' alternate firmware but I couldn't always get it to work as I wanted it to.

Am I right in saying 'MASP refers to Manual, Aperture, Shutter Priority?

 

[Wayland]

Snip>Am I right in saying 'MASP refers to Manual, Aperture, Shutter Priority?

Manual, Aperture, Shutter Priority, Program.