Bridge Camera

madmum33

ZootHornRollo wrote: »

doing a comparison on dpreview does not reveal many differences between the 6500 and 9600. what does the extra money buy?

All the features pointed out by Red Rose Exile, plus the S9600 has a tilting LCD screen to make shooting from low down or above your head easy - you could walk down the street with the camera held at waist height, taking photos of your surroundings, and nobody would know you were actually doing it.

ZootHornRollo

madmum33 wrote: »

All the features pointed out by Red Rose Exile, plus the S9600 has a tilting LCD screen to make shooting from low down or above your head easy - you could walk down the street with the camera held at waist height, taking photos of your surroundings, and nobody would know you were actually doing it.

one for the stalkers then! :rotfl:

madmum33

ZootHornRollo wrote: »

one for the stalkers then! :rotfl:

:eek:

I find it really useful for getting unusual angles - accentuating the perspective of tall buildings, or getting the ants eye view of flowers. I have dodgy knees so I wouldn't dream of lying on the ground (I'd never get back up!) so this camera opens up all sorts of opportunities

ZootHornRollo

i'm still struggling to make up my mind. The 9600 really is an attractive buy especially at the refurb price.

my main uses for the camera are going to be landscapes, wildlife, family photographs and action shots at dog agility shows - i may even use the video function occasionally.

would the s9600 produce better pictures despite having a smaller ccd chip packed with 3 million more pixels?

fwor

madmum33 wrote: »

All the features pointed out by Red Rose Exile, plus the S9600 has a tilting LCD screen to make shooting from low down or above your head easy - you could walk down the street with the camera held at waist height, taking photos of your surroundings, and nobody would know you were actually doing it.

Interesting feature... I'm starting to get tempted to upgrade from my old but trusty S5000...

One thing that is a bit worrying: The tilting screen ~looks~ like it could be a bit fragile. Could anyone who's used one comment on how robust that part of it feels?

To the OP: I think the general "received wisdom" is that for most users you only really gain in quality up to around 8Mpixels, and above that most users will get nothing more than huge picture files.

ManAtHome

The S9600 folding screen is robust enough for me - it's just a fold-out, not a fold and swivel which probably makes the difference.

The camera is bigger than the S5/S6 series - I normally end up taking the S5600 on holiday, little practical difference for most circumstances (I find the S9600 better for "take your time" shooting). Haven't found any staggering difference in quality on A4 or smaller prints between the two. However, if I was forced to keep only one, it would be the S9600.

Red_Rose_Exile

The tilting screen is great for strong light conditions as well as the reasons that ManAtHome mentions, it is quite robust., but obviously you wouldn't want to drop it on that particular part. It doesn't need to be out, but it is handy to have should you need it

You really would notice the difference if you occasionally printed on A3 Photo paper for framing purposes with the S9600. Have a look at some of the test pictures on the page linked to earlier.

ZootHornRollo

hi,

i ordered the s6500.

i decided that by the time i get memory cards and bags etc it would be well beyond my stretch to get the more expensive one.

thanks for all your help.