Help a SmugMugger choose a new P & S

Andy

Received in the helpmail today..

Anonymous wrote:

I am not sure if you can help me with this. However, I am in need of a new digital camera. We have a Nikon Coolpix which was rated well but does very poorly with the built-in flash. The pictures seem very dark. I am thinking of purchasing a Canon SD550 Powershot. Can you recommend or suggest something. My main concern being flash speed and lighter pictures. I have changed the menu setting for night shooting, party setting etc to find the perfect lighting, but does not help much. As you can see from pictures on the site, they are of poor lighting. Unless shot outside.

Thank you.

OK guys, let's hear your recommendations :ear

flyingpylon

Here's my two cents...

The tiny flashes found on point & shoot cameras aren't going to cut it in most situations anyway, so switching from Nikon to Canon probably isn't going to help much.

I have the Canon SD450 and it's pretty good for the reason I bought it: I wanted a very small camera that I could slip into a pocket or in my wife's purse. But for "serious" photography, I hang my Nikon D70 with SB-800 flash around my neck (and yes I realize the D70 is not even serious enough for some people). Even then, because I take night photos at race tracks, I find that my results are often less than satisfactory. What I really need is one of those big honkin' Norman flash units that the "pros" have, but that will have to come later.

My point is simply that different kinds of equipment are meant to do different things. Point & shoot cameras all have a very limited flash range, so if you want the lower cost and portability of a point & shoot, then you have to accept the limitations that come with it.

Angelo

I've had good experiences with the Minolta dImage series of P&S cameras.

NHBubba

I keep recommending the higher end Canon A-series like the A5x0 and A6x0 models to friends and family looking for a small, affordable P&S. In fact I'm looking to pick an A610 up for myself as a knock around camera sometime this spring. The A-series are nice because I think they offer excellent image quality, the flexibility of lots of manual controls, and an available threaded lens adapter for experimenting w/ filters. Add to that the extensive 1st and 3rd party accessory market. (I myself will be highly interested in one of those Canon water-tight cases to bring the camera kayaking.)

If you're concerned about flash speed-and I am too-I'd avoid the A510 and A520. Word has it they lost quite a bit of flash recycle speed when they went to a 2-AA cell system over the old 4-cell system. Fortunately the A610/A620 still take 4 cells.

binghott

flyingpylon wrote:

I have the Canon SD450 and it's pretty good for the reason I bought it: I wanted a very small camera that I could slip into a pocket. . .

i got a sd450 also, it's a solid mini camera, with surprisingly good quality, and a jumbo 2.5" display. i've also been very satisfied with the video quality. if you strictly want a point and shoot, i'd strongly recommend this camera. (just to be fair, i will admit i may be a little biased: my family has five members, but we have eight canon cameras.) i do still love my sd450, it's just nice to always have a camera on me so i can capture my friends being silly.