I have a Cannon S10 - I can upgrade to S20 for about $250 (which to me is a lot of $$) BUT Is it worth it all things considered? ......

#1: Will greater number of pixels allow for "that much" better image quality when using optical + digital zoom (because of reduction to lower resolution) or not? I use zoom often for landscapes while travelling....I know 2x digital (even with the 4x digital) isn't that great anyway).... and

#2: I am not a professional photographer. Don't "print" that much, and send pix mostly on the web.

#3: I keep reading that "more is better" with greater pixels, but how much better for me at this price and application? Would the increased pixel count be better with this S20 if I can't afford a 3x Zoom camera now? Thanks, Linda

-- Linda L. Green (lgreen@tampabay.rr.com), May 22, 2000

Answers

If your application is truly web only, it is a little hard to justify the extra expense I think. Having the extra pixels does give you more flexibility to use digital zoom, you are right. The more you use digital zoom, the more your image quality goes down the tubes -- with 3 megapixels, you have more to throw away, so you might hesitate less to use it, and effectively get more zoom.

If you print even only occasionally though, the S20 would be nice for bigger prints. And even though you're not a pro, when you finally do get a really good picture, or one with a lot of meaning, you might have wished that you had the best quality possible right then. Then again you can always wait for the S30. :)

-- benoit (foo@bar.com), May 23, 2000.