Digital Camera Advise

[hbk409]

The other nite our camera a canon elph s230 died. Something is wrong were in camera mode the screen is black and will not take a picture. If you push the button to take a picture it shuts off. If you turn the camera on to display mode you can view all the pictures that are on the memory card, so its not the screen. This camera is about 5years old. My wife likes it because of the the compact size it fits right in her tiny purse, so she wanted to get another elph or similar small camera. However one thing that always bothered me with this camera was the optical zoom was only 2x, we went looking the other night and most of the compact camera only and like a 3x or 4x optical zoom, however the megapixel have increased from our camera which was a 3.2 now they are 7-8, whould this make a big difference in zooming in when you crop the picture afterwards? I was looking at a little bit bigger camera more that had a 10x zoom, but it would by as convient to always have with us. Didnt know wich to go for?

These where the ones we were looking at
Digital Cameras - High-End, Advanced Digital Cameras - Performance and Style, Digital ELPH Cameras - Easy and Fun! A-Series Digital Cameras - Digital Camera - PowerShot SD750 - Canon USA Consumer Products

Digital Cameras - High-End, Advanced Digital Cameras - Performance and Style, Digital ELPH Cameras - Easy and Fun! A-Series Digital Cameras - Digital Camera - PowerShot SX100 IS - Canon USA Consumer Products

Sony - Cyber-shot 8.1MP Digital Camera - Black - DSC-H3/B

just saw this one, they didnt have it in the store,does anyone have any experience with panasonic cameras? Panasonic - Lumix 7.2-Megapixel Digital Camera - Blue - DMC-TZ3A

Also if you have any other suggestions it would be greatly appreicated. My wife is going on a vacation Nov 1 and would like a new camera by then.

 

[whiteyanderson]

ok i will offer you some advice about digicams. this may long winded... try to keep it brief...

i'm a professional photo retoucher and i am a serious hobbyist. my girlfriend (fiance actually we get married nov 10th) is a photo agent who reps some of the biggest photographers in america. one of her photographers Lionel Deluy was on america's top model week before last and another of her photogs Frederic Reshew is on the upcoming episode i believe. not that that is a big deal- the shows suck and i'm only using these points to let you know that in this house we know a little bit about photograpy- not to toot my horn.

first the megapixels counts on these point and clicks are fairly meaningless numbers unless you're blowing up to a poster size huge print. and you don't want to use a point and shoot for that anyhow. companies use huge megapixel counts as marketing ploys in the small hand held point and shoot camera market. it's all about the glass (lens). read more here- great site: The Megapixel Myth

second forget about a point and shoot UNLESS you really have to have one. get a SLR. an SLR will get all the shots that you miss with a little pocket cam because it's shutter will not freeze on you. if you have a small camera you know what i'm talking about. plus SLR will give you the ability to add or swap out lenses. in other words an SLR is a digicam that performs much like a regular 35mm camera. remember those?!!

i'm not talking about a $3,000 nikon or canon SLR. what i'm pointing you towards is the nikon d40 (NOT THE OVERPRICED and actually not as good new d40x). you can buy it as a kit with one lens or a kit with an additional high power zoom lens. before you start thinking "man it will be too complicated for us to use", it has the ability to be set on auto full time and perform just like a pocket cam. but, you will get far superior shots. the smaller of the lenses has a great zoom, and switching to the high power takes all of 20 seconds.

read about the d40 here- again same site and he is a pro that even has a copy of the users manual with his own personal settings: Nikon D40

as for prices amazon is usually the best:

single lens kit: Amazon.com: Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens: Electronics

2 lens kit with dvd- which i would choose. YES i own this camera i can vouch. however i bought my stuff seperately for a good chunk more : Amazon.com: Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX and 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens with 2 Nikon School DVD: Electronics


so in short you are getting a WHOLE lot more camera that can still be used in auto mode if you wish. you can add on tons of lenses, external flashes etc. etc if you want. you have the option to really learn how to use a camera manually if you want to as well. BUT, you can still use it as a point and shoot. most women prefer to point and click though. the extra features i'm talking i guess are guy things.

if you still have to get a point and click. no to sony and olympus. yes to- canon, nikon, fuji and maybe panasonic if it has the leica lens. speaking of leica thats a big yes too but, their point and shoots are very expensive in comparison. by the way the nikon d40 SLR i highly recommend is a very small and lightweight SLR, easy enough for anyone to carry in case you may think it is too big. read the above review.

sorry for the long reply. sorry in advance for any typos- i'm watching my 9ers get hammered... again.

 

[gabshere]

if a pocket camera is what your after also look at these
nikon L12 ( newer models L14 & L15) they have a few more add ons but the L12 is a good point & shoot & great indoors

the fuji fd40fd or f50fd are also great point & shoots and great indoors

these cameras will eat up most any camera (from automatic) indoors (lowlight) but they are average outdoors they also take great little video clips @ 640

 

[adavis720]

the fuji fd40fd or f50fd are also great point & shoots and great indoors

these cameras will eat up most any camera (from automatic) indoors (lowlight) but they are average outdoors they also take great little video clips @ 640

Agreed on Fuji - I have an f30, certainly one of the very best compact P&S. ISO 3200, 3x zoom, 6.3 mp, very fast shutter and compatible with high speed memory cards. Most people agree that if you are going to be doing a lot of indoor shooting, Fujis are the way to go.

When I went shopping I was looking for the fastest camera I could find in a small package. This is almost as fast as DSLR's and it has several high speed shooting modes like continuous, best 3, etc.

I also like that you can put it in fully manual mode.

Fujifilm FinePix F30 Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Steves Digicams - Fujifilm FinePix F30 - User Review

My only complaint is the lack of a viewfinder, it is LCD only. And it is really not surprising since the f30 might even fall into the sub-compact range. But in some situations (like in the dark at a school play or dance recital for instance) it would be nice to not have to light up the LCD.

 

[hbk409]

we do a wide range of shooting, indoor & outdoor. so I would need an all purpose camera the canon we didnt have any real complaints except for the zoom.

that nikon d40 i think might be too big shes looking for something smaller so that it would be easier to take with her. that was the great thing with the elph, it was a camera she could keep in her pocketbook if we went to dinner with friends our family or somewhere we never been and wanted to take a couple pictures it was there. with that camera(the nikon) I just dont see us getting the same use out of it.

 

[mperdue]

I second whiteyanderson's recommendations on this. The D40 is a great camera for the price and will give you features to grow into. As your abilities grow you can add other lenses and learn new tricks. Down the road, if you should happen to outgrow the D40, you can keep your investment in glass by moving to a more capable Nikon body.

While she might be looking for something smaller (my wife was) she may find that the improvement in image quality is worth the extra size (my wife did.) Lowepro makes a very nice camera bag that attaches to your belt like a fanny pack - it works great.

FWIW, I make a living doing freelance photography and writing. I have a more advanced camera and lenses than the D40 but I started with a D70 and really liked it. The D70 is now my wife's camera.

Mario

 

[hbk409]

if you still have to get a point and click. no to sony and olympus. yes to- canon, nikon, fuji and maybe panasonic if it has the leica lens. speaking of leica thats a big yes too but, their point and shoots are very expensive in comparison.

The panasonic I was looking at as a Lumix DC VARIO-ELMAR wide-angle lens, guess thats not as good as the leica? Also I heard the sonys with the Carl Ziess lenses were supposed to be very good, is that not true? and why not to sony and olympus is it quality reasons, build, etc. . I will say I was playing with one sony that had a touch screen that you had to you to access all of the features, change modes, etc., I found i to be the most annoying thing. Thats why I was looking at the other one I like to in my original post.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The nice thing about say, a Canon Powershot S3 IS, is that it is point-and-shoot, has an excellent optical zoom, is easy to use, takes great pictures, AND DOES NOT have the problem of dust that is endemic with many DSLRs. If you want to carry just the camera, and not the camera and a bunch of lenses, something like that is very good. I had the Powershot S1 IS; a 3MP camera, and loved it. It took 5MP quality pictures, and was easy to use.

That said, I myself moved up to the SLR world, and got a Canon Digital Rebel Xti, a 10MP SLR, with the base lens (18 - 55mm); and I am planning on getting the 28 - 135mm IS USM lens and a external flash unit for it. It takes great pictures, but is definitely more work than the "point-and-shoot." Then again, without it I would not have photos like my avatar (taken with a borrowed 70mm - 300mm IS USM lens).

By the way, one of the things that is nice about the Powershot camera is that it uses Canon's impressive image stabilization and ultrasonic motors from its DSLRs to make it almost foolproof.

 

[hbk409]

The nice thing about say, a Canon Powershot S3 IS, is that it is point-and-shoot, has an excellent optical zoom, is easy to use, takes great pictures, AND DOES NOT have the problem of dust that is endemic with many DSLRs. If you want to carry just the camera, and not the camera and a bunch of lenses, something like that is very good. I had the Powershot S1 IS; a 3MP camera, and loved it. It took 5MP quality pictures, and was easy to use.

Thats the thing we loved the powershot elph we had only that it had a 2x zoom, it was a 3mp, but we never made any really big pictures. The biggest we go is 8.5x11, I usally shoot with full resolution and to so the files we be large, but when I blow them I I havent noticed much pixelation.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Thats the thing we loved the powershot elph we had only that it had a 2x zoom, it was a 3mp, but we never made any really big pictures. The biggest we go is 8.5x11, I usally shoot with full resolution and to so the files we be large, but when I blow them I I havent noticed much pixelation.

Look seriously at the Powershot S3 IS; it is not super small, but the 12X zoom gives it real power. And with a big memory card, you can shoot to your heart's content. And I think it is 8MP.

My sister got one this spring and is really happy with it.

 

[whiteyanderson]

yes the d40 is not a whole lot bigger than a fuji s5200 we own. but, i suppose it is what you prefer. if you have a P&S and need to take a "critical" shot like a child or pet, chances are you're going to have shutter freeze. it just depends of course. it isn't going to fit in your shirt pocket. if you have a costco membership they have the d40x there which is the latest version of the d40 and not worth the extra $ but is the same dimension wise to see if she would like it. as far as dust i've never really had an issue with my nikon. it's all coming down to quality vs. sexy IMHO. not that a point and shoot wouldn't serve your needs. it may be fine and i'm just offering an opinion...

i never buy sony- i don't like their propietary marketing schemes. and everything i've ever owned that was sony was overpriced, subpar for the price and broke rather quickly. that's been my personal experience with them. not a huge fan of panasonic but, they do have one camera Fz50 i believe that is the same as the leica v-lux 1. my boss owns the v-lux 1 and it is a decent P&S and the panny is supposed to be it's virtual twin with the leica lens. however it is as big as a DSLR.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

What I like about the Powershot S3 IS is that it also has full manual features; indeed, its controls are almost the same as the Xti; the difference, you have one lens, instead of several.

I suspect for the vast majority, cameras like that are more than adequate.

 

[hbk409]

update

so we got a camera tonight and it was a canon PowerShot SX100 IS Digital Cameras - High-End, Advanced Digital Cameras - Performance and Style, Digital ELPH Cameras - Easy and Fun! A-Series Digital Cameras - Digital Camera - PowerShot SX100 IS - Canon USA Consumer Products
we are going to purchase the rechargeable battery kit & charger and extra set of batteries probably from amazon for $59.37. Amazon.com: Canon CBK4-300 AA Battery and Charger Kit: Electronics if anyone can think of better batteries instead of the NiMH someone on the amazon posted about LSD low-self discharge, never heard of them before.

 

[Lazybird000]

Canon S5 IS is very good ,you can have a look at it :
http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=65822
Here is the review for the camera :
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonS5is/

 

[hbk409]

some pics i took with the new camera