I have just sold the old Sony DSC F707, which I loved but have no use for, so we are looking for another Point & Shoot. I will keep the Sony DSC T7 as I am happy enough with it, although the battery life is pretty poor. but Sands wants something that she can carry around with her all the time, has a viwfinder idealy as she is not a fan of just using the LCD, and has a pretty good zoom capability.
I remember that Darren got some good suggestions when he was looking so I was wondering what you had bought recently?
My natural inclinations was the Nikon Coolpix P5100, but I think this would be too big for Sands, so unless she decideds she wants the Sony DSC T7 I doubt I will be getting that.
The Canon Powershot A570 IS looks pretty good, but the grip may make it a bit big.
What are you using, or what would you suggest?
Not sure if this’ll help, but I just bought myself the semi-serious Sony Cybershot DSC-H9 to upgrade from my recently lost Nikon Coolpix S1. The point being that I am due for an upgrade to my mobile phone soon and am impressed with the quality of the 5 Megapixel camera on the Sony Ericsson K850i, which I think will fill in nicely as a less formal point and shoot.
Just seems make sense (for me at least) to do it this way, but as with all things technological… it’s all about what the individual needs to get from the experience.
I’m thinking the same. My Nikon 7900 is a little long in the tooth, and I’m still delighted with my D40 but too big to carry all the time.
I am leaning towards either the Nikon S520, or S600 which come out beginning of next month. Why? Both have OPTICAL image stabilisation as supposed to electronic.
Some of the new Canons look nice, the SD1100 IS is properly pocketable. I have also looked at the Panasonics as the OIS stabilisation is supposed to work really well.
Basically I want something that will take good “flickr-quality” snaps and slips into a shirt pocket, supports SDHC, goes to extreme ISOs for low light “party” snaps, has a tough metal body, and a reasonable zoom.
Let me know what you are thinking…
The P5100 is tempting due to manual modes, flash hotshoe, but it is bulky and apparently really slow.
@Andy – a good quality camera phone would be nice, but I can’t see it happening. If Apple do a 3G iPhone Sands will get my current iPhone which has a crap camera so that not an option, and I doubt the one on any new iPhone will be good enough. If they don’t bring out a 3G iPhone then Sands still gets mine and I will get something else, so maybe that is an option but I haven’t even looked into what I would get at this stage.
@John – I am in the same position, size is more important than anything else, and as it will be more for ensuring that Sands always has a camera in her bag for the AL blog it doesn’t need to be that advanced. My temptation as always is to ‘go with the latest’ but in reality all I need to do is pick up one that looks ok when I go to Dubai next month.
I am not sure this purchase warrants that much research, so any recommendations gratefully received as ever.
I’ve owned 2 Canon Point and Shoots from the Digital ELPH line that I have been very happy with. Of course, this was awhile ago, the latest being the S300, but still ahead of it’s time at the time. I would not hesitate to go with another one of these.
I’m pretty sure that the camera I bought for my Dad at Christmas was the Canon Powershot A570 IS. I really liked the spec and all that it had missing to make me buy one for myself was RAW mode. It’s definitely bigger than your Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T7 (which is the same sort of form factor as my own Canon Ixus 40), but it’s not even close to your Sony DSC-F707 in size. I’m not familiar with the Nikon Coolpix P5100, but it looks as if it’s pretty much the same size as the A570. I’ll try to remember to get an illustrative photo of it for you when I’m over at the weekend – a real life comparative example.
I also bought a camera for one of my nieces for her Christmas (ended up with a lower spec model from the same range). I remember driving myself nuts trying to decide which cameras to go for!
One thing I’d be wary of with the Nikon is it’s higher resolution sensor. It’ s got 12.1MP versus the Canon’s 7.1MP. The higher MP count on Canon’s more expensive PowerShot G9 (which is, in every other way bar one, a most desirable camera) is the source of much higher image noise when you raise the ISO to 200ASA and above. I’d like reassurance that the Nikon doesn’t suffer the same problem before going for that.
For your convenience, here are the user reviews at Amazon for the Nikon and the Canon. They’re roughly comparable, but may help you decide one way or another.
Well now I want them both!!! Maybe that is the answer – sell the T7 as well?????
Hmmm. Canon US just posted a press release about three new Digital Elphs which will be released in just a few weeks. These are the same sort of shirt-pocket form factor as your remaining Sony. No mention of any European release, but I’m sure they will follow, under the Digital Ixus brand. Maybe these are something you should look at given your comments about Sands’ requirements?
And just to add to your dilemma, I noticed that Amazon UK are currently doing the Canon A570 for £112.70 against £178.80 for the Nikon P5100 (see the links in my earlier post). That’s the UK price with free shipping – I don’t know what shipping to the south of Spain would be. (It also happens to be a pretty significant saving on what I paid for the one I bought for my father at Christmas!!)
__
Am I the only one who has wondered why nobody has come out with a Digital Dwarph range to compete with Canon’s (US) Digital Elph range? 🙂
Argh – choices!!!
I can get my parents to bring stuff back from the US in May, and I am in the UK in April so could have something delivered there. The logistics aren’t the problem, making my mind up will be!!!!!
Those Canons do look nice …….. damn you!!!!!!
I thought that might be your reaction… 😈 😆
Just showing them to Sands!!!
I would definitely get them from the states. Amazon US has the Canon A570 for $136 or roughly £67! (£138 for the Nikon.)
(Digital Dwarph. 😀 )
Sorry – my mistake. I just called my parents and it seems it was the Canon PowerShot A720 IS that I bought for my father. Click the [Product Tour] button/link to get a nice presentation about the beastie. By comparison, it’s currently £128 from Amazon UK (though from an Amazon trading partner and not directly from Amazon themselves).
Here’s the official (US) specs page for the A570 IS. Click the [Choose the Right Product] link top right and then click the [Product Comparison] link to see the the two cameras “side by side”…
The TWIP guys are raving about the Canon G9 which has a full sized sensor. I believe it is the only P&S to have that. It also shoots RAW. Sounds good to me.
Mega-pixels is not a really important issue. It is how the camera handles them.
I have a Samsung NV10 which has no viewfinder 🙁 but it has a brilliant lens 🙂 . I’m sure it’s been superceded by now
I spoke to Mac yesterday. He is in Las Vagas and was just heading off to the Apple store, and was then thinking of checking out the G9.
I reckon we could be getting a persoanl hands on view anytime soon!!!
small post apologies
But basically after my post last year I opted for lumix dmc fx10.
Picture quality is excellent. Does all I need for a pos camera.
One negative. It is quite slow importing into iPhoto. Workaround is to use preview. Bfn.
[quote comment=””]I spoke to Mac yesterday. He is in Las Vagas and was just heading off to the Apple store, and was then thinking of checking out the G9.
I reckon we could be getting a persoanl hands on view anytime soon!!![/quote]
> The TWIP guys are raving about the Canon G9 which has a full sized sensor.
Sorry, but you/they are mistaken. The PowerShot G9 does not have a full-size sensor. According to Canon (click the Specifications tab) the sensor is a “12.1 Megapixel, 1/1.7 inch type Charge Coupled Device (CCD)”. While that’s physically the next size up from, say, the PowerShot A570 IS (1/2.5 inch), it’s apparently only about 5% of a “full size” sensor. See this article at Wikipedia for a comparison of the various sensor sizes.
> I believe it is the only P&S to have that. It also shoots RAW. Sounds good to me.
In most respects, it is indeed a marvellous camera. (My first significant digital camera was the PowerShot G2. Canon dropped RAW support in the G7 and only restored it to the range with the release of the G9.)
> Mega-pixels is not a really important issue. It is how the camera handles them.
Absolutely. Search around the web and you’ll find that at a low ASA (below 200 ASA, I believe) it’s a dream camera. However, once you start going to 200 and above, image noise becomes excessively intrusive. Acceptable, perhaps, on a cheaper compact camera, but not one which is sold at a premium price – IMO. In short, with this model, it seems that the marketing department won with the simple more-megapixels-is-more-attractive mantra. And as a result, they’ve squeezed too much into the available space. The noise would have been lower with a lower megapixel count in the same available space.
The other thing that is missing – for me – from the G9 is a flip-out LCD. Again, it was there in my G2 and removed some time after the G3 (which a friend has). If you’ve never used a camera with a flip out LCD you’ll be wondering what I’m wittering about, but if you are familiar with the feature, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
The noise and flippy LCD would be acceptable on a camera half the price, but when I can choose from several DSLR kits for the high-street price (Jessops) of the G9 (or less), you’re not on. Roll out the G10 and let’s see what they offer with that.
Actually, the earlier talk of the cheaper compact cameras such as the PowerShot A series has got me tempted. It seems there’s a burgeoning community of hackers who have enabled RAW mode (and many other features) in many of the Canon compact models. The hack seems to be installed via your SD card and is loaded at boot time (rather than flashing the firmware). As such, it’s removable and won’t invalidate your warranty. I don’t know anyone personally who has tried this, but I am tempted to experiment… Has anyone here tried these hacks? Comments?
You may have just saved me a load of money as I was looking at the G9 just now and getting tempted!!!
I like the idea of the hack though, would be fun to do that and write it up!!!
> I like the idea of the hack though, would be fun to do that and write it up!!!
Hmm. Okay – I’ve had time to read over the FAQ now. The bit I was previously a little vague on has been clarified, and that’s what processing steps are required once you’ve shot the images and you actually want to get them onto your computer and begin processing the images. (Don’t forget – Apple and Adobe have to provide upgrades to iPhoto/Aperture/Lightroom to cater for newly released camera models. How do we do RAW conversions on images that are from cameras that were never intended to be used in RAW mode? Well?)
The answer is documented in this section of the FAQ. Basically, the images are converted to Adobe DNG files first. However, it seems that you have to accept a compromise in that the image conversion is mapped to that of a camera which does produce RAW images – and this can produce some (EXIF) labelling discrepancies.
There also appears to be an extra step required to copy over the EXIF information.
All in all, it seems as if there are several footery steps required to get the images into your program of choice. I’d guess that this could be streamlined with a smidgen of shell or AppleScript, or possibly an Automator action.
However, you don’t need to wait until you get and hack a camera to see if the workflow will work for you. There are sample RAW images here, including several from hacked Canon compacts. I’m currently pulling the one from a PowerShot A570 IS to have a brief tinker with…
Didn’t get the G9. Got the Leica D-Lux 3. It comparable to the canon, but in my mind it has a better lens. It also shoots RAW, and it is surprisingly easy to operate. One thing I haven’t figured out yet, how to stop taking jpg files when shooting RAW. I was shooting some pictures at iso800, and the noise level is quite bearable. One thing I miss is the view finder. Otherwise, really impressed with the camera. I really like the build quality. It’s all aluminum. Today I shot a whole 4gb card and I still had 3/4 of battery left over. I’m really liking it. I will post some picture on my flickr, once I get home.
Forgot to mention this little comparison of G9 and Leica
That comparison says the G9 shoots RAW, are you saying it doesn’t?
No view finder on the Leica, but it does look good. I have to keep reminding myself that this camera isn’t for me!!!!
They both shoot RAW. But I think the Leica has less megapixels, on a pretty much the same sensor. In my opinion this is better.
That is true, but with no view finder not an option for Sands – I checked that again this morning and she is adament that she wanst that feature!
[quote comment=””]That is true, but with no view finder not an option for Sands – I checked that again this morning and she is adament that she wanst that feature![/quote]
She is a smart lady. My last point and shoot without a viewfinder (Olympus 740) was useless when I went on a trip with my tennis friends. The screen just looked BLACK in the sun. I basically just held it up and hoped for the best. I was so frustrated with this that I will never go for a camera without viewfinder again!
I bought the Canon G9 yesterday after hearing all the positive comments from the pros (listen to TWIP?). I am VERY impressed (my collection of point and shoot cameras we keep replacing is embarrassing). This camera is taking outstanding photos and the menu system is wonderful. Having the ISO selection as separate dial on the top makes it easy to change. It does shoot RAW but only in a manual mode (I often like the convenience of shooting in automatic on the small camera. It’s all about convenience with this, right?)
We have a Canon digital SLR which we use also. The flash fits on our new little G9! All around this is a wonderful camera. Highly recommend!
And the pendulum swings back again 🙂
Saying Sands is a smart lady makes you a very smart lady 🙂
For a simple point & shoot for Sands the G9 has too much stuff that she wouldn’t use, however having a more powerful one that would save me taking the D80 to Dubai etc (well I never have because it is too big and wouldn’t get used enough) makes sense – but only if Sands would lend it to me!!!
Thanks for the recommendation.
In defense of Leica’s missing viewfinder, you can set the lcd to different settings compensating for the different viewing angles and sunshine. These actually work very well, and are quite useful, but I agree no replacement of a view finder.
[quote comment=””]In defense of Leica’s missing viewfinder, you can set the lcd to different settings compensating for the different viewing angles and sunshine. These actually work very well, and are quite useful, but I agree no replacement of a view finder.[/quote]
The problem with most P&S viewfinders if they have ’em is that they are not that great. Normally only around 80% of the scene, with parallax issues, somewhat dim and slightly awkward to use. Mostly, they seem like an afterthought, a design box to have ticked.
Some LCD screens are better than others in bright sunlight…this is an interesting one to be following. I am leaning towards a Leica or Panasonic…
@Mac – a classic, in defense errrr no defense 🙂
@John – which Panasonic?
@Debbie – How much information is presented in the viewfinder? I’m thinking that things like the live histogram would be “lost” and you’d probably just get the “traditional” shutter speed and aperture setting. No big deal when you turn the mode selector to green (that’s “auto-everything” mode for you non-Canon shooters) and just want grab shots. But not so good when you’re doing “serious stuff”. You’d either have to do without or jump backwards and forwards between viewfinder and LCD juggling exposure setting and composition…
@Chris – If you’re still considering the Nikon Coolpix 5100, I just noticed that the DPReview site does a detailed comparison of the G9 to the 5100, across several of the pages near the end.
Regarding John’s comments about the deficiencies of typical viewfinders, read the first paragraph on this review of the G9. This reviewer really didn’t like the G9’s viewfinder! It’s the first main section of the page…
I think the Panasonic John is refering to is the sister of the leica. It is cheaper but the picture processing is different. Leica has 3 different picture sizes, 16:9, 3:2, and 4:3. All selectable on the body of the camera. With all settings though the raw files are about 20mb in size which is bigger than my canon 5d. I will try to post some tonight.
I’m waiting for reviews of the TZ5 and FX35 to come along before making a choice…
[quote comment=””]I’m waiting for reviews of the TZ5 and FX35 to come along before making a choice…[/quote]
Ask and it shall appear!
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_TZ5_TZ15/index.shtml
Mighty tempting with that 10x optical zoom…HD 720p video…bright/high angle screen…hmmm…
[quote comment=””][quote comment=””]I’m waiting for reviews of the TZ5 and FX35 to come along before making a choice…[/quote]
Ask and it shall appear!
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_TZ5_TZ15/index.shtml
Mighty tempting with that 10x optical zoom…HD 720p video…bright/high angle screen…hmmm…[/quote]
Doing my head in 🙂 I think I now ‘need’ 3 point and shoot cameras!!!!!
With everyone looking to get a new Point and Shoot, does anyone have an older model that they might want to get rid of? (For aspiring young offspring photographer.)
[quote comment=””]With everyone looking to get a new Point and Shoot, does anyone have an older model that they might want to get rid of? (For aspiring young offspring photographer.)[/quote]
You can make me an offer on the T7 🙂
I like it! Hmm… though you did say poor batter life? 😉
[quote comment=””]I like it! Hmm… though you did say poor battery life? ;)[/quote]
Good not brilliant. I have the extended life battery and the original so between the two I don’t ever get caught out.