Sony Cybershot S650 Vs. Canon Powershot A450

Knowing my fondness for digital cameras, I was blessed last Christmas with a Sony Cybershot S560 digital camera with 7.2 megapixel capacity and 3x optical zoom. Already dreaming of the award-winning shots I was going to take right after dinner, I opened another present to reveal yet another digital camera-the Canon Powershot A540 with 6.0 megapixel capacity and 4x optical zoom. (Whoever said families don't think alike couldn't have been more misguided.) Rather than risk the wrath of a scorned relative by choosing one camera and listing the other on Ebay-mainly because both parties know my selling ID-I opted to try them both out and simply "retire" the one that doesn't fit my lifestyle that well. So who won? I made my decision based on two factors.

1. Price

Now, I realize since the cameras were gifts, price normally wouldn't make a difference, but cameras are a funny thing: their quality is fairly consistent with their corresponding price range, so finding out how much a camera costs will give you an idea of how good it is. I found the Sony Cyberhsot and Canon Powershot to be in the same price range at $139.95 and $150.00 respectively, so technically they should rival each other quality-wise. Neither camera edged out the other in this category.

2. Specifications

Each camera is also similar in their technical specs, but this is the area where the Sony Cybershot starts to shine. Offering a 2-inch LCD display and a 3x optical zoom, the Cybershot also offers a surprising amount of megapixels for its price range (7.2 megapixels, compared to Canon's 6.0). Its fast frame rate of 30 fps not only captures video quickly, it's only limited by your media's capacity. In standard mode you can take three one-second shots (three pictures taken with a one-second interval in between); that interval is increased to only two seconds when utilizing the 7.2 megapixel feature. There's an option to use Memory Stick media for easy transfer of your photos (not included with the camera) or you can use the Cybershot's internal 24 MB memory-more than adequate for most amateur photography enthusiasts. I also found the different modes handy: you can choose from a myriad of selections such as Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Beach or Snow to help make the most of whatever environment you're experiencing.

The Canon Powershot A540 had a few features that interested me as well, like the user-friendly interface, the near-miraculous battery life (well over 300 shots with 2 AA batteries!), the option of a custom white balance and a fairly decent movie mode. The problems with Canon's Powershot, however, annoyed me enough to turn to the Sony Cybershot more often: the screen isn't as high-res as Sony's is (although it is bigger by half an inch); the display goes blank when the flash recharges, leaving you to pray you don't miss something; and the flash itself takes too long to recharge for a camera in the Powershot's price range (I averaged about 4 seconds on most shots, but sometimes it was as long as 6 seconds.) Nothing really stands out as being inferior to its Cybershot counterpart, but because of these annoyances the Sony Cybershot S650 comes out on top in the specifications category.

I found myself using the Cybershot much more than the Powershot, mostly because I love its features and increased sensitivity (not to mention the 30 fps frame rate), but both performed decently when I used them both. When it comes down to the bottom line, the Canon Powershot A540 is powerful, but based on the top-quality technical specs alone I give the award to the Sony Cybershot S650.