I just had a very interesting argument with myself. It goes back to an earlier post about buying a point and shoot camera for the family (actually its for me). I was going back and forth between form and function. Sure it would be great to have all the functionality of my DSLR in a point and shoot but that usually means the cameras will be too big to fit into shirt pockets which I decided was important to me. Maybe it's because of all those miles lugging around my DSLR kit but small, compact and brainless to use were on the top of my priority list.Then I starting seeing new features in the newer cameras out there. Samsung's T1000 has an imbedded GPS in it which tags the location on to the photo whenever you activate the shutter. That's something I always wanted and would come in useful for any travel photographer. It also has built in wifi and bluetooth so you could post your pictures on some web apps directly, handy for you social network butterflies.
Then there was Olympus' Tough 8000 which was waterproof (to 10meters), shatterproof (from a 2m drop) and freezeproof (to -10 degrees). Okay so the last one is of no consequence to me coming from the Philippines but imagine bringing a camera to the beach, kayaking, mountain climbing and not worrying about it. (Secret tip - most travel photographers do that anyway, even if their gear isn't water/shock/freeze proof).In the end though the it's all about the pictures and both these cameras didn't stand a chance against the Canon S90. Okay, so it's an unfair comparison the S90 costs US$100 more than either the Olympus and the Samsung. I thought I could live with average image quality but on reading the reviews I can foresee major bouts of frustration if I don't get the Canon. Also, some of the functionality seem to not work as well as you think but give it a year or two when image quality is up to par and when the GPS and wifi and the waterproofing works as it should and I may pick one up. BTW, Olympus said it would be releasing GPS with all of it's cameras in the near future.
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I bought one of those Olympus cameras, it really is tough, I was able to carry it around in my pocket for a whole year and it still worked. Before that I had gone through a Canon in less then 3 months.
That's why I'm so tempted to get the Olympus but taking stock of my current lifestyle, I find myself less and less climbing mountains, scuba diving and mountain biking and more and more walking around a mall. Sad I know, so it's that and the image quality which has me leaning towards the canon.
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