latmo said:
W1 is quite expensive
for both body and accessories
also memory card is very expensive for sony
thats what i dun suggest ppl to buy sony :nono:
My wife owns the Sony W1 (bought less than 2 months ago) and I must say its an awesome camera. She bought it at AP for around $680, which I think feel is definitely cheaper than Ixus 500, not sure about A80 though (but then again, A80 is 4MP, so not in the same class as the 2).
For digital camera, besides the price of the camera body, there are 2 other inportant accessories - battery (the juice provider) and memory card (for storing those precious photos and video clips).
Battery (Juice!)
Well think A80 and W1 wins here (in my opinion) cos the Ixus 500 uses proprietary rechargeable batteries (NB-1LH), which is pretty expensive compared to rechargeable AA batteries. The A80 uses 4 AA batteries while the W1 uses half of that (i.e. 2 AA batteries). AA batteries are not exactly light, especially when you pack 4 into a compact camera. So in terms of cost for battery, the W1 seems to be winning.
Storage
Both the A80 and Ixus uses compactflash (CF) while the W1 uses the obvious memory stick (MS). Yes I don't disagree that CF cards are indeed cheaper than MS. A 512MB (40X Lexar) CF sells for around $199 while a similar 512MB MS Pro (Lexar) cost $245. The A80 & Ixus seems to win here.
Wait, there's one more thing! Did someone mentioned that the potential buyer is married and wants the camera for the baby? If that's the case wouldn’t video capturing capabilities be important? If so, you’ll also need to look at the video capturing abilities of these cameras, right?
A80 – max resolution 320 x 240, 15 fps (3 minutes)
Ixus – max resolution 640 x 480, ? fps (30 seconds)
W1 – max resolution 640 x 480, 30 fps (as long as MS Pro (must be pro) has the spare space to accommodate)
Well from the specs of these cameras, seems like W1 can capture awesome videos.