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Need an affordable point & shoot camera
Kyzen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I know absolutely nothing when it comes to buying cameras, and luckily have never had to buy one for myself in my life, as every camera I've owned has been a gift.
I'm going to Vegas in 2 weeks, and looking to pick up a camera for the trip. My last digital camera was some old 3.1mp HP thing with some fun shooting modes and mediocre focus control that used SD cards - that's all I could tell you about it. It made its way into a pitcher of beer the last time I was in Vegas, so I'm not looking to spend much on this one in case it should have a similar fate.
Can any of you camera-gurus suggest something in the <100, 100-150, and 150-200 price ranges? Or suggest models/brands to avoid when I'm out shopping?
I'd love to do pick something up in the next 2 days or so, so I can spend some time learning how to use it before the trip.
I'm going to Vegas in 2 weeks, and looking to pick up a camera for the trip. My last digital camera was some old 3.1mp HP thing with some fun shooting modes and mediocre focus control that used SD cards - that's all I could tell you about it. It made its way into a pitcher of beer the last time I was in Vegas, so I'm not looking to spend much on this one in case it should have a similar fate.
Can any of you camera-gurus suggest something in the <100, 100-150, and 150-200 price ranges? Or suggest models/brands to avoid when I'm out shopping?
I'd love to do pick something up in the next 2 days or so, so I can spend some time learning how to use it before the trip.
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That being said, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you are only shrinking them for viewing on the web, or printing at 4x6, you can get away with quite a bit of noise before things look bad. Most small point and shoot cameras all have similar problems - corner softness, overall softness, poor contrast, weak flash, red eye, noisy images, lack of manual control, etc... The one exception being a camera range from Fuji, the finepix F series (from the F10 to the F31fd, the f40fd is much noisier), whose low light images are nearly comparable to dSLRs in noise characteristics. You just have to decide which weaknesses you want to live with, and which features you need the most.
Alternatively, I would also recommend this Sony. I have the older version (DSC-W50) and it's been a great little camera.
My advice is to get the most expensive Canon Powershot A line camera that you can easily afford. They're fantastic cameras with a wide range of manual settings for you to learn on, as well as a wide range of automatic settings to cover most situations.
The best part is though, that they're the only point and shoot cameras in the reasonable price range with a really usable ISO 800 setting. That's very, very nice to have if you're shooting at night, or in low light.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Complete camera noob question, but what are ISO speeds for? 800 vs 100? Is faster better?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_5800:1987
Usually you don't really want to shoot above ISO 400, and if you can swing it, using ISO 200 on most point and shoot cameras is advisable. Very rarely will you see noise at ISO 200 due to the sensor being too sensitive though, so you don't really need to use ISO 100 unless you're shooting outdoors and you want to use a slower shutter speed than you otherwise might.
The rule of thumb is typically to use one setting lower than the max your camera supports as your max "safe" setting. However, with point and shoot cameras you'll frequently find that ISO 400 is the highest setting available, and that it also usually looks fine, at least on more recent cameras. Some manufacturers offer an ISO 800 setting, however, the problem is that many cameras simply cannot do ISO 800 properly. The ones that do are frequently made by manufacturers of digital SLR cameras that go up to ISO 1600 or higher, and have the capability to produce a good sensor capable of low noise photos. Canon is definitely one of the best on the market for high ISO point and shoot cameras, and trust me, you're going to want a camera capable of stepping up a notch when it's dark out because the built in flash will always look like shit, and you're never going to pull a clean hit at a low enough shutter speed to properly compensate for the conditions inside a bar or outside at night. Not with a point and shoot camera anyhow.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
1. Card Interface: SD cards are cheap and great, many laptops have SD slots. CF cards are great as well but less computers/laptops seem to have built-in CF slots. I advise to stay away from Sony as they have proprietary "memory sticks" which i hate. ALWAYS ALWAYS buy an extra card (the one coming with your camera doesn't count). The reason i say this is if your card suddenly dies you can resume picture-taking immediately. Instead of a 2gb card, buy 2 1gb cards. Also, you don't NEED to shoot at maximum res. I find anything over 4 Megapixels to be overkill. I use my Rebel XT SLR for anything special.
2. Batteries: Depending on your uses you may or may not want to go with a camera with a special rechargable battery or that takes AAs. Canons A series takes AA batteries which is a plus being that if you're in a pinch or in a foreign country you can always get AA batteries. Though, having the cameras that have custom batteries that re-charge can be nice and way cheaper. I have a Canon SD150 (old but still great) and i have used the re-chargable battery over 100 times easily.
Other than that really most point-and-shoots are great. Go with brand name though, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Kodak.
That's my .02
P.S. I love canon cameras and my SD150 has never had a problem and i've had it for 5+ years. Canon rules!
"Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Yeah just shoot at maximum res because really a 2 GB SD card is dirt cheap anyhow and you're never going to fill it before you get to a computer.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
Pretty damn abysmal.
(Note: I believe that response time is - or at least used to be - partially related to the size of the SD card. The bigger the storage, the longer the camera takes to access it. But really, any modern camera should be able to write to a 1GB SD card quicker than this POS did).
Sunset in Cuba, taken on my 175, no tripod:
I'm not saying you should shoot below maximum as a NORM., I'm just suggesting it. I never shoot below max on my SLR but on long trips i with my point-and-shoot (before I had my SLR) i used to use the resolution 1 step below max.
That's all.
Thanks DrDizaster for calling me a retard. My resolution suggestion had nothing to do with noise. Also, the only thing I even said in the matter was that you don't NEED to shoot maximum rez. Lets get bent out of shape over it. Again we're talking point-and-shoots here not SLR so it's really a non-issue since if someone was really going to whine about noise on a canon SD camera I would tell them to go get a real camera
"Oh what a day, what a LOVELY DAY!"
Any suggestions/input?
One of the things I consider alot with what camera I purchase is the Optical Zoom. This is especially good if you're doing a lot of sightseeing, or shots from distances. Optical Zoom means the lenses are actually doing the zooming. Digital Zoom means that the software is doing the zooming based on extrapolation.
Optical Zoom > Digital Zoom
In fact, I have Digital Zoom turned off all the time on my Canon Powershot S1 IS, because it's got 10X optical zoom, which I find sufficient. Plus, you can get photo software to do the same thing, so unless you have a really specific reason for wanting more digital zoom, it's not worth having a higher digital zoom.
The two you've selected are both excellent P&S cameras, and I'm sure you'll be happy with either one. If it were me, I'd go for the A550 with accessories, as the extra cost for the A630 is negligable for what you want to use it for.
Hope this helps.
*edit* OH! Also, invest in some rechargeable AA batteries, if you're going with one of these two Canons. I personally prefer Energizer mAH 2500's.
I was thinking after I posted my diatribe up there that some people just use the camera and a docking station which prints the photos off without the use of a computer. Digital Zoom comes in handy there, I suppose.
But otherwise, use Photoshop or whatever software comes with the camera to crop and zoom. Same, and probably better, quality.
Well, there probably is but I can't think what. Maybe for shooting upskirt mpegs from across a busy street for youtube.
It takes great photos and has quite a few options, more than you'll really need for point-and-shoot purposes. Also, it only takes a pair of AAs and they last for friggin' ever (I never use the flash, even in low light the camera takes great photos).
EDIT - Here's my flickr page if you're interested in seeing photos taken with this camera (I'm an amateur, so don't expect art or anything): http://www.flickr.com/photos/nova_collision/
Also, part of this video was filmed with my camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiS_bT6PE-E
All close ups of the targets were shot with my camera. Incidentally, I'm also the 'cameraman' in the video. :P
The A550 is certainly good enough. I had an A520 back when they still made them and I thought it was an amazing camera, so you'll have no problems with the newer A550.
Plus, there are certain accessories that are literal must-buys:
1) An SD card. You want 1 GB or more. SD Cards are dirt cheap anyhow. Get 4 GB if you can afford it.
2) NiMH batteries + charger. They're the current gen rechargeable batteries, they take like an hour to charge and one pair will give you enough shots to fill your card unless you snag a 4 GB card and even then maybe. Look for a sale though, because these can be pricey. You'll save money in the long term though, and if you're travelling, there's nothing like being able to just charge your batteries while you sleep and know they'll be ready the next day, instead of being forced to find a gas station or convenience store to pay ludicrous prices for one pair of AAs.
3) A camera bag. Something small, ideally with a clip, ideally something with some padding. Lowepro is one of the best brands you could buy, but really, a small camera bag for a point and shoot doesn't need to cost more than $15 anyhow. Cheap is fine in this case.
After you've satisfied those three, more or less in that order, you're set. That may or may not be more than $40 worth of stuff to grab, depending on if you can swing a deal or not.
Pro tip: If you see a sale at Futureshop or Best Buy, take the flyer to an independent camera shop and convince them to make you a deal. You'll probably be able to swing a good one if you say you're looking to buy the camera, a bag, the batteries and a memory card all at once, as the latter three are really high margin items.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I''ll be buying SD cards and such on newegg next week.
Now I get to figure out what all this stuff means, and most importantly, how to take good low-light night shots
Luckily if you're shooting landscapes, you can get away with multiple second exposures, assuming there's little to no wind.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
The only exception to this is night shots. You need to have a longer exposure (ie- not the Motion setting, as it's got a very short exposure time) and a steady head for those to work.
Let us know how you get on!
edit: If you don't happen to have a tripod around, you can always fill a grocery or sandwich bag with sand and use it as a beanbag, placing it on a table, chair bench, etc... Also, if you are getting a large tripod to use with a light camera, be sure to get one with a hook so you can mount some extra wieght between the legs. It helps to stabilize the tripod and prevent shaking from light wind.
Currently what I have. Have used and loved it for over a year now. Very simple auto focus and great pictures, plus SD cards are very cheap.