Looking to buy a point and shoot camera...

erinGraphics

I have a Canon D60 and love it, however I would love a really good small point and shoot camera that I can carry with me everywhere I go. Resolution and really great pictures are important to me. I'm willing to spend money on a really good quality camera.

Has anyone heard anything about the Cyber-shot® DSC-M1 Digital CameraspacerDSC-M1? I think that it would also be a great feature to have high quality video feature as well, but I don't know if I'm will to give up the megapixels for it. Any suggestions? I like the size of the sonys but should I only be looking at a Nikon or Canon because they produce solely great photography equipment?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

CtPhotoGirl

erinGraphics wrote:

I have a Canon D60 and love it, however I would love a really good small point and shoot camera that I can carry with me everywhere I go. Resolution and really great pictures are important to me. I'm willing to spend money on a really good quality camera.

Has anyone heard anything about the Cyber-shot® DSC-M1 Digital CameraspacerDSC-M1? I think that it would also be a great feature to have high quality video feature as well, but I don't know if I'm will to give up the megapixels for it. Any suggestions? I like the size of the sonys but should I only be looking at a Nikon or Canon because they produce solely great photography equipment?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

AS far as a point and shoot camera goes sony i really belive are great cameras, the display is true, and doesnt take a long time to "show the acutal" photograph.
Good luck.
Sarah

digismile

If you like Canon, I would suggest taking a look at the G6. My first step into digital was a G2 and I am extremely happy with the quality. My wife still uses the G2 for trips, etc.

The G6 is 7.1 Mp and is even smaller than my G2. I've always liked the control layout of Canon cameras, so you'd find a certain familiarity using this camera compared to your D60.

Regards,
Brad

NHBubba

Personally I wouldn't get too caught up in the video features of P&S cameras. I've yet to see one that shot impressive video. Just as video cameras usually shoot fairly poor stills. In reality if you want to shoot decent video, you need a video camera.

I came up the opposite way: I started w/ a P&S and later upgraded to a digital SLR. My P&S was the Canon G3. What a fantastic little camera! When I bought my DRebel I considered selling the G3. I eventually decided I couldn't get what I thought it was worth and decided to keep it. I now keep it in the truck and use it for random snapshots and those instances where I need a small, easy to use camera. I invariably end up in situations where I want to take a picture, but neglected to bring my SLR.

That said, the G3 is really overkill for such an application. And I bet any of the G-series would be for you as well. I'd look to save a few bucks and go w/ a lower price-point camera. I think the A-series shows promise for this as it still has all the manual features. I don't know the Sony line very well, but many of their cheaper cameras lack manual exposure controls. That'd drive me nuts! After that my criteria would be size: the smaller the better. My GF's mother has this cute little Casio that will fit into a shirt pocket. She has it w/ her all the time and invariably gets interesting snapshots simply because she's got the camera w/ her at the right time. Unfortunately the Casio lacks full manual controls.

Lastly I get hesitant about Sony because most of their cameras require you to use the funky Memory Stick flash cards. These are usually a few bucks more per MB and are not compadible w/ your existing camera, meaning you can't re-use old flash cards in your P&S. I might try to stick to something that took CF so that you could share cards.

ubergeek

Size vs. Quality
There is generally a tradeoff between camera size and image quality, so you may want to consider where on the portability/quality curve you want to be. One thing to note about all compact digital cameras, however, is that none of them will come close to matching the quality that your D60 is capable of. Noise in particular may present a challenge: Between ISO 50 and 100, noise is typically well controlled; it's usually manageable at ISO 200; and at ISO 400 or higher (on those models that offer it) it's generally out of control. The effect is multiplied on cameras with more than about 4 megapixels (and 3 megapixels is generally better from a noise perspective). So if you think you want high resolution, check out the noise characteristics of those 5+ megapixel cameras and see if it's acceptable to you.

Once you decide how much weight you're willing to carry around in exchange for the ability to take pictures whenever and wherever it suits you, we can probably help steer you toward your ideal.

Cheers,
Jeremy

luckyrwe

I want a small camera too, I am looking at the S400. The 500 series is too large.

Mitchell

I've been impressed with the Fuji A340. I bought one for my son to use so he wouldn't keep harrassing me for my D70. The pictures from this highly rated camera are great. It is small and very easy to use. Doesn't replace a DSLR, but it is a lot easier and more discrete to carry around.


mitch

George.

if it helps... i just purchased a canon ixus (ixy) 50 last month. and it works great. the photos are really sharp printableup to a3. im only a beginner with photography but am really enjoying using it.

colourbox

Some things to think about. Do you want it to fit in your pocket? Do you want manual controls? Do you want RAW capability?

I wanted all three. The G series was too big for pockets. The A series only does JPEGs (great cameras though). A while ago I ended up with a 5MP Canon Powershot s60 which I'm happy with though it's not the smallest camera around. The full manual option and the RAW capability have helped me out here and there, and it's got enough resolution for enlargements. Battery lasts a long time and it uses good ol' affordable Compact Flash cards. Makes terrible movies.

Only problem with it is it showed me that I also need a digital SLR!! (hard to get lens speed and narrow depth of field in a point and shoot)

luckyrwe

I ended up getting a 7.2MP Casio for $399. It does 30fps video and the images look great. Not the 1DII but great for the pocket.