Two cameras. Two Screen Savers. Three countries. It's on.

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Kevin's showcase

Kevin snapped the following pics with his Canon PowerShot S400.

kevin rose - thumb


Sarah's showcase

Sarah shot the following photos and movie with her Nikon Coolpix 5400.





Sarah's post-battle summary

Let's face it. My Nikon's 5.1 megapixels beat out the Canon's 4-megapixel resolution. The Nikon's macro feature gets you beyond close to a subject, and the results are crisp and clear. Plus, the 12 different scene modes, endless auto/manual settings, and powerful zoom give you everything a photographer could want.

That said, I reluctantly admit Kevin had an easier time with his camera than I did. The Canon is smaller, it doesn't require constant fumbling with a lens cap (this drove me quite insane a couple of times), and it actually seemed to be more intuitive than the Nikon despite having fewer features.

Having owned multiple Nikons that used standard film in the past, I assumed many settings would be similar. Not so. This is not a camera you can "just pick up" if you're fluent with your SLR camera. Its response also can lag when you're quickly switching through menus, which is a detrimental flaw when you're trying to snap a pic, say, out the window of a moving vehicle. I kind of wished I could put my camera in my back pocket like Kevin did.

In summary, I think that if you're incredibly well-versed in the Nikon's full-feature possibilities and aren't at all rushed, you'll be thrilled with the Coolpix 5400. But for a backpacker, the Canon's the way to go.

Damnit! I lost the digital cam war! At least I'm still four months older than Kevin and can hold that over his head until the end of time.

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