So I left my old camera on the train, and it looks like it’s not coming back to me. Boo hoo. But, vacation is coming up (Ljubljana) so it’s new camera time!
I’ve been a fan of the Canon Powershot line, so I was thinking of getting this as a compact point-and-shoot, or something like this as something a little higher end, but I’m really not too attached to either option if there’s something new and exciting I haven’t heard of.
Does anyone have any strong opinions on current cameras?
Nothing lasts for ever but my experience is Cannon P&S cameras tend to go bad. I have two that broke and my mother has three that broke. Fine if you only intend to use them a couple of years, but just saying…
I’m personally partial to the superzoom models, so I’ll let other comment on the specific pocket models you’re looking at.
We have a Canon PowerShot; I can’t recall the exact model, but it’s more similar to the Elph you linked to that the SX150. I think we paid less than $150 for it back in March.
It takes amazingly good pictures condsidering its cost. It’s certainly not going to compare with an SLR, but for a point and shoot I am thoroughly satisfied.
On preview, the last Canon P&S we had lasted us probably 5 years before the zoom failed, FWIW.
How much do you want to spend?
What are you going to use it for?
Do you need powerful zoom? Do you do a lot of close up shots?
Is low light shooting a requirement?
Or do you just want an all purpose p&s for around $200?
The NYT calls the Sony DSC-RX100 “the best pocket camera ever made”
And I’m not sure but I think Kodak has manufactured it’s last camera. If that isn’t true the EasyShots aren’t bad at all.
Some Canon’s have a highly regarded German lens.
What pisses me off is that they’re all made of plastic now.
I just got The Kid a Canon A3400 IS, with memory card for less than 150. Video looks good. Haven’t installed the software yet. Got it in bright red–easier to find.
It really depends on what you are looking for in a camera. It’s tough to find a bad model right now. If you want a simple point and shoot something like the Canon ELPH 110 is a good choice. Bigger zoom lenses like in the SX150 can be great outdoors but indoors/low light they are generally poor performers. For snapshots of people a smaller zoom lens is actually better in practice.
Cameras like the Sony mentioned above, or the Canon S100, G1 X, the Panasonic LX-7, or Fuji X10 will take much higher quality images, but only if you put some effort into it and are taking something more artistic. It’ll cost significantly more as well.
That’s funny because my girlfriend and I have had great success with canon powershots. I treat mine well, but she really beats up hers and they’ve lasted forever.
I especially like the little P&S ones. Easy to carry and use, and seemingly really sturdy.
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Do you need powerful zoom? Do you do a lot of close up shots?
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That’s actually the one thing I was dissatisfied with with my old camera – insufficient zoom. Everything else was fine. Both models I was looking at have greater zoom ability than my old one (5x and 12x vs 3x on my old one). The main thing I’m debating between the two is whether to get the one that is just like my old one, but with a little more zoom, or one that’s a little bit bulkier, but with a lot more zoom.
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For snapshots of people a smaller zoom lens is actually better in practice.
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That’s actually very interesting. I’m usually more of a landscape type photographer, but I wasn’t thinking about possible downsides to more zoom.
Bigger zoom lenses (especially on the low end of the quality spectrum) eat up a lot of light. The SX150 (and now the 160) are decent cameras, but they are the lowest end big zoom models in Canon’s lineup. If you want a bigger zoom but still retain low light performance you might look at something like the Panasonic FZ200 which manages to keep f/2.8 over its 25mm - 600mm lens. But that will be physically much larger and cost considerably more.
I have a Canon SD800 that has served me well for almost 4 years. It’s beginning to have problems and I’m looking for a new camera to complement my others. The form factor (small enough to stick in a pocket) is a huge feature that allows me to carry easily when hiking/skiing/biking so I’m not going to give that up. If that is important to you, there are still models that will give you more zoom but at some cost to low light performance and image quality.
The Canon S100. I have the S95 and it does stills, video, macro, zoom, etc. It’s more money than the ones you’re looking at, but it’s an excellent camera with most of the capabilities of an SLR, including RAW format shooting.
When I bought my last camers it was really a struggle betweent the S95 and the Panasonic LX5. I chose the LX5 because of it’s flexibility (you can add filters and lenses and viewfinders) but both are great cameras.
I recently bought a canon sx30 and am really happy with it so far. Around $400.
Looking at the reviews for the S100, they’re not as good as for the S95. The newer model is having some lens error problems, although it’s not the majority opinion.
I saw an ad for a Panasonic DMC-SZ1 for $97.
If you are taking it on trip, then I’d get an extra battery.
It isn’t the best compact camera on the market, but at that price it is hard to beat.
I’ve had excellent luck with Nikon Coolpix models. I’ve owned three of them, kept them for years, and only replaced them when I wanted upgraded specs.