OT: Point and shoot digital camera redux

[Bruce K]

I know we've talked about this before but with the ever changing technology I need to ask again....

My wife is looking for a digital point and shoot camera that she can bring on our trip this summer. She wants to take scenery and wildlife type photos but doesn't want the hassle of my digital SLR (which I am bringing as well).

This might also double as a bike jersey camera in the future.

Any advice would be appreciated.

BK

[Kirk007]

depending on where you are going - and opportunities/or desire for water proofness, and the size you can tolerate, I've been very happy with Olympus products. The model I use for most things, including diving with a case, has been discountinued but they make a model that is waterproof to, I think, six feet. Really handy if your travel includes beachtime or wet rides/hikes.

[victoryfactory]

if you really want to photograph wildlife
like birds and animules, you need
a camera wth a big zoom. No good for pocket

High end I like the Canon S 90 small but not quite pocket
midrange good for pocket is the Casio elixm
honestly, unless you need raw they are all similar.
Dig. cameras have become like microwaves. if the specs
are similar they all Re pretty much even.
remember to judge the zoom range by " optical zoom"
not "digital zoom" which is a worthless spec
For a true pocket camera you want one where the lens
retracts fully into the body. if you get a bigger one you
won't want to carry it arount in your jersey.
VF

[Tyler Evans]

The Canon s90 is awesome. Picked one up a couple of weeks ago (after much research) and love it. I take it everywhere and it takes great pictures in full auto mode and if you want more control it's got about everything an SLR does (including a sensor that is on par with some of the best SLR's out there). Also shoots in RAW format. Highly recommend. Tyler.

[rickbb]

+1 on the Canon S90. Tons of flexibility and the sensor enables good shots in poor light.

[dimsy]

The Canon s90 is awesome. Picked one up a couple of weeks ago (after much research) and love it. I take it everywhere and it takes great pictures in full auto mode and if you want more control it's got about everything an SLR does (including a sensor that is on par with some of the best SLR's out there). Highly recommend. Tyler.

+1 on this! After a crash left my P&S useless, I went out and spent the money on this bad boy. It's been absolutely remarkable. great thing about it is you can use it in FULLY manual mode or Fully automatic or somewhere in between. like setting a scenery shot like landscape, aquarium or indoor and then choosing to adjust the manual focus. this camera is just packed with great stuff to TAKE PICTURES! i bold that part because the camera is missing some features found on other expensive P&S's like the ability to take HD video. not here. or having a touchscreen interface. not on this camera.

this isn't a gadget. it's a camera for people who want to take excellent quality photographs.

p.s. If you'd like to see an example. click on my signature pic for the Merlin photo. i took it at sunset with not too much light. the shot was taken in auto mode so you have an idea.

[Bruce K]

Thanks folks.

This one pretty much fits the budget and seems to be pretty user freindly.

Your rave reviews tell me all I need to know about picture qulaity, etc.

BK

[dimsy]

Bruce,

When all is said and done, a report on how the Mrs. likes the camera would be excellent. :)

In addition, your being a DSLR guy; a comparison on photo quality and controllability would be awesome.

Happy snapping.

[Tyler Evans]

Some images I took with the Canon S90:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kFFsK9uidAo/S6kxejpyUZI/AAAAAAAACAA/ioQA81O8d1o/s1600-h/Weld_Station_900px_1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kFFsK9uidAo/S6zHZrRBvQI/AAAAAAAACBQ/_Mr1QDKjGYk/s1600/Paint_Dept_900px_9.jpg

Took on auto setting @ 28mm.

[Ray]

If you want really good photo quality, go for something that shoots RAW files, like the Canon G11 or the Panasonic LX3. Unfortunately, neither of these have a lot of zoom, so if she really wants to be able to shoot wildlife and get in pretty tight, you're looking at a super-zoom subcompact, which is a surprisingly competitive part of the market right now. I have a Panasonic DMC-ZS3 and I really can't imagine wanting a better point and shoot. it has a 12x zoom and goes from a really wide 25mm (in 35mm film terms) to a very long 300mm and it actually has good image quality at all ends. When I say good, I mean for a P&S, but still, good enough for small prints and posting to the web.

Here are a couple that I've taken with it on rides around here that I've posted before:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4532237411_02ccb7c37b_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4447845604_eb94564538_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4532884006_4cecb3b3a0_o.jpg

-Ray

[dimsy]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2789/4447845604_eb94564538_o.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4532884006_4cecb3b3a0_o.jpg
-Ray
very nice pictures.

[BengeBoy]

My last couple of P&S cameras were Panasonics with the long zoom. Loved 'em.

One of them broke recently so I replaced it with a Canon S90, which so far seems to be great - as noted above. The Canon s90 is just a *bit* smaller than the Panasonics with the long zoom, making it better for a bike jersey. The Panasonics are definitely small enough for a handlebar bag.

[Ray]

very nice pictures.
Thanks. I was trying to illustrate the zoom a bit. The two landscapes are taken are pretty close to full wide angle. The horses are shot at well below maximum zoom, but that first horse is NOT close to me, probably 150-200 feet or so. So its pretty versatile. It does have a lot of manual options too, but I'm not sure about manual focus - not sure how you'd control that one on a P&S.

Another thing to consider might be one of the new Pen cameras - micro 4/3 format from either Olympus or Panasonic. A LOT smaller than a dslr, but very nearly the same picture quality except in really difficult situations (very low light, etc.). It won't fit in a jersey pocket comfortably, but with one of the pancake lenses, they're pretty small. Easily fit in a small handlebar bag. And they take interchangeable lenses, so you can take a long telephoto, a normal range zoom (also a pretty small lens), and a fixed focal length pancake for lower light situations and when you just want to shoot and not worry about zooming. I recently got Olympus's newest version of this camera and a couple of lenses and I'm really amazed at how close to DSLR the image quality is. And much easier to travel with. For me, its INSTEAD of a dslr, for a lot of pros, they're in addition to a dslr. Worth a look in any case.

-Ray

[dimsy]

Thanks. I was trying to illustrate the zoom a bit. The two landscapes are taken are pretty close to full wide angle. The horses are shot at well below maximum zoom, but that first horse is NOT close to me, probably 150-200 feet or so. So its pretty versatile. It does have a lot of manual options too, but I'm not sure about manual focus - not sure how you'd control that one on a P&S.

Another thing to consider might be one of the new Pen cameras - micro 4/3 format from either Olympus or Panasonic. A LOT smaller than a dslr, but very nearly the same picture quality except in really difficult situations (very low light, etc.). It won't fit in a jersey pocket comfortably, but with one of the pancake lenses, they're pretty small. Easily fit in a small handlebar bag. And they take interchangeable lenses, so you can take a long telephoto, a normal range zoom (also a pretty small lens), and a fixed focal length pancake for lower light situations and when you just want to shoot and not worry about zooming. I recently got Olympus's newest version of this camera and a couple of lenses and I'm really amazed at how close to DSLR the image quality is. And much easier to travel with. For me, its INSTEAD of a dslr, for a lot of pros, they're in addition to a dslr. Worth a look in any case.

-Ray

The s90 has a really beefy sensor.

the s90 built into the camera two jog wheels, one on the front (the perforated ring) and one in the rear encircling the focus/flash buttons. they're fully programmable for what they control but in manual mode i believe the front controls ISO, and the rear has two functions which you cycle through with the click a button (Aperture and shutter speed). Of all the research I did in buying a camera, the reviews for low light shooting put the s90 on top.

the manual focus is an option grouped together with portrait and macro settings. it can be used in pretty much any shooting mode except video, controlled again, by one of the two wheels provided, i believe by default it's the rear. the wheel is sort of indexed the rear dial is not indexed and and is a little difficult to turn at first, but you get used to it quickly.

at this pricepoint, there are a few options, but i decided to go with this one for it's wide array of functions and controllability/programability, even though it forgoes HD video and a touchscreen, the latter of which i consider a novelty more than anything.

some samples,
the low light picture was taken with virtually no light except the kitchen light dimmed to about 1/3 intensity.
one taken at sunset.
and one taken where i let a bit of extra sunlight through so it appears a bit brighter.
the software it comes with has a very cool photo stitch assist feature which i used from my terrace for the last picture.
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1825/terracey.th.jpg (http://img199.imageshack.us/i/terracey.jpg/)
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6237/img0089cc.th.jpg (http://img413.imageshack.us/i/img0089cc.jpg/)
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9074/img0052bb.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/i/img0052bb.jpg/)
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8936/img00322k.th.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/img00322k.jpg/)

[bking]

I've carried the Panasonic lumix cameras on several trips multi day bike trips. I go for the 10x opitical zoom (I see the new ones have a 12x). I can also say I use the HD movie featrue, and that would kill the Canon mentioned above, along with lack of real zoom.
I like the Canons, I've got the 50D and various lenses, great camera. I just prefer the Panasonic's for the compact opitcal zoom and of course you can't beat a Lieca lense.
Bruce

[Ray]

The s90 has a really beefy sensor.
I just read up on it a little bit. Sounds like a really nice little camera. RAW processing, lots of manual options, as good a sensor as you're gonna find in a tiny camera, and considerably more zoom than the LX3. The only question is whether it's enough zoom for Bruce's wife's needs. The LX3 is a great little camera and this one sounds at least as good, and smaller on top of it. Thanks for the info.

-Ray

[Pete Serotta]

I have tried both and the S90 is a little smaller and thus gets the nod. THe Lumix is a wonderful camera and the zoom is longer. Keep in mind that neither has a viewfinder - so in bright sunlight it can be difficult to capture the exact photo you want.

[Don49]

I'm shopping for a pocketable P&S right now, and that S90 sounds like one to consider. However, I'm still hung-up on the need for an optical viewfinder rather than just a large LCD. My current camera is a Sony DSC-W7 and it's LCD is pretty useless for composing in full sun. Just wondering if the LCD visibility has improved much in the last five years? Otherwise I'll probably go with the Canon SD780 just for the optical viewfinder.

[Pete Serotta]

MY WIFE HAS 780 AND IT TAKES VERY NICE PICTURES/ I BORROWED IT FOR RIDE THE ROCKIES LAST YEAR BEFORE BUYING THE S90

I'm shopping for a pocketable P&S right now, and that S90 sounds like one to consider. However, I'm still hung-up on the need for an optical viewfinder rather than just a large LCD. My current camera is a Sony DSC-W7 and it's LCD is pretty useless for composing in full sun. Just wondering if the LCD visibility has improved much in the last five years? Otherwise I'll probably go with the Canon SD780 just for the optical viewfinder.

[Bruce K]

Does anyone have any experience with Nikon point and shoots?

I have a chance to use some American Express points to "purchase" one.

Otherwise, I'll probably go for the Canon.

BK

[JMerring]

The consensus among those in the know is that Canon makes better P&S's than Nikon. I have a Nikon P&S and a Nikon SLR. I love the SLR but when it comes time to get another P&S, I'm going Canon or Olympus.

[Ray]

Does anyone have any experience with Nikon point and shoots?

I have a chance to use some American Express points to "purchase" one.

Otherwise, I'll probably go for the Canon.

BK
Have you checked to see if the AmEx points can be used to purchase Amazon gift cards? I recently found out I had a couple hundred thousand Wachovia points from a credit card I didn't know had been earning points for many years. I looked at a Canon G11 that they were "selling" for 66,000 points. But I could get a $500 Amazon gift card for 50,000 points and Amazon was selling the G11 for $475 or something, or the equivalent of about 47,500 points evidently. So I cashed in all of my points on Amazon gift cards because you can also buy ANYTHING from Amazon. I blew off the P&S and got an Olympus Pen E-PL1 for less than I WOULD have "paid" for the Canon G11.

AmEx may not have that option, but you should check it out. I just kind of stumbled onto the Amazon cards when I was browsing through what I could get. Ended up being able to get a lot more stuff for a lot fewer "points".

-Ray

[Bruce K]

Great idea on the gift card.

I'll check.

Thanks,

BK

[staggerwing]

Does anyone have any experience with Nikon point and shoots?

I have a chance to use some American Express points to "purchase" one.

Otherwise, I'll probably go for the Canon.

BK

I've shot Nikon gear from 1978 (original FM2) to present (D300) and love their professional level cameras and flash systems. However, in the P&S world, Canon and Panasonic are worlds ahead.