Numbers for all digital cameras I have owned so far:
- Powershot S1 IS: 239 (8871 / 37 months)
- Powershot A400: 285 (6000 / 21 months)
- Powershot A450: 362 (3260 / 9 months)
- Powershot A460: 280 (1400 / 5 months)
Currently I still use the venerable S1. Due to it being heavier and less convenient I prefer to use its sophisticated features for special events where I take several hundred pictures a day. These keep its totals up considering it lies idle much of the time.
My other current camera is the A460 which replaced the A450 (dust got into the lens) in turn superseding the A400 (sold). I bought the A400 one month after the S1 as I always intended to have two cameras, following my film model of an expensive sophisticated camera and a small cheap pocket model. Hence the picture total of the three small cheap (about $200) cameras is somewhat greater than the S1 (cost around $700) and they have all been used almost every day because the A450 and A460 have been permanently carried around on my belt.
Currently we are awaiting the announcement of the Powershot S6. I did not consider it worthwhile replacing the S1 until the advent of the S5; the lens has not gained enough performance to make it worthwhile so far compared to other makers. Last year of course I chose to spend my dollars on bikes instead. The hotshoe addition on the S5 is a great feature. I would hope the S6 goes to a 15x lens. Rumour has it we could see this camera out sometime around August-September.
Have looked a few times at low end digital SLRs but unless they come down well below $1000 it’s not going to fly for me. Basically I love the ultrazoom lenses, to get that on an SLR would cost heaps more. Sure, you can get a higher quality picture but is that worth the extra cost? There are still people who claim that digital doesn’t come up to the quality of film and who are willing to spend thousands on film cameras and the film itself. You are just not going to get me joining them. I simply regard such people as too obsessive about such things. Unless you are a professional who must have the highest quality then I simply don’t see why people in our society spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment, like thousands on bikes or whatever, these become pretty expensive hobbies.