JD45 Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I'm going to buy a small point and shoot digital camera so I'll always have one with me in the outdoors and at matches. I've looked at several in the 100-175 dollar price range. I really want it to have a viewfinder. And that is the main hurdle. Not many have that feature. One Pentax did have a viewfinder though. Here is what I think I need: At least 3X optical zoom Decent battery life The least lag possible when turned on Macro Manual focus(a must) Ability to shoot a short low quality video would be nice But most of all, it has to be durable. This camera will go everywhere with me. I only need 4-5Mp. Good glass is more important to me than mega pixels. Picking an D-SLR would be easy for me, but there are so many P&S models I don't have a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Kodak V603 or any of their small line of pocket cameras would do nicely. I have one, and it is quick, powerful, small enough to go in a pocket, plenty of features, as well as the ability to take small (or large) videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronEqualizer Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Just bought one myself and I asked a guy at work who does professional photography on the side what is a real good but cheap digitial camera out now and he advised me on the Fuji A400 or A500. 400 has been on sale for around $80 but most places around here have been sold out because of Christmas shopping but I did manage to get a A500 about $120 from best buy online. I also purchased a JVC model 37 something or other with a 30gb hardrive and 32X optical zoom camcorder on his advice. Both seem very nice, small and easy to use. I have yet to do more than look at them since they are both gifts for my wife. yeah. for my wife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Bell Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I'm going to buy a small point and shoot digital camera so I'll always have one with me in the outdoors and at matches. I've looked at several in the 100-175 dollar price range. I really want it to have a viewfinder. And that is the main hurdle. Not many have that feature. One Pentax did have a viewfinder though. Here is what I think I need: At least 3X optical zoom Decent battery life The least lag possible when turned on Macro Manual focus(a must) Ability to shoot a short low quality video would be nice But most of all, it has to be durable. This camera will go everywhere with me. I only need 4-5Mp. Good glass is more important to me than mega pixels. Picking an D-SLR would be easy for me, but there are so many P&S models I don't have a clue. I think you're going to have trouble finding what you want, mostly because you have a couple of preferences, one "a must" that are not common in point and shoot digitials. I have a Casio Exilim that serves as my carry anywhere camera. It uses SD chips, as does my Nikon D-50. The Casio has s 3x optical zoom. The digital zoom, I forget how high it goes, is of little added value. It does nothing that you can't do better after the fact with a computer and photo software. It has good battery life, takes a reasonable number of pictures with a 256 meg card and a ton of them on a gig sized card. Mine's a 3.2 megapixel model, high enough for anything I'm likely to do with a small point and shoot camera. It has a range finder and a decent sized, for a small camera, digital screen. I use the screen for all but low light conditions because it gives allows me to frame shots the way the camera sees them without worrying about paralax. It will take shots reasonably close, but not macro and it does not have manual focus. If I want those features, I carry the D-50 which I chose over the slightly higher density Canon offerings because it came with a better quality lens. Just about any of the small cameras will probably do just about as well as a "carry" camera. I'll be surprised if you get all the features you mention, but will also be surprised if you don't find that, in a small camera, you don't need them all. The one thing you do need to remember, though, is that taking good shots with a small camera is very much like perfecting your trigger squeeze, only more so. You have to be steady and squeeze the shutter release. Failing that, you won't miss your target, but you probably will blur the daylights out of it. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 (edited) I own two Canon's a A540 and a A710IS. They both rock. They have more options, controls, manual overrides, focus zones, and doodads then you can imagine. The A540 is in your price and spec range, the A710IS is pricier but my wife wanted the image stabilization. I've tried a few cameras mostly by buying them, playing with them, and returning them if I didn't like them (oh Circuit City how I love your full refunds). I think that bang for the dollar you can't beat the canon line. A540 spec page. Also a decent review of the thing: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/a540.html. Multiple pages of pictures and features shown at work. Edited December 23, 2006 by Vlad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Even though I prefer Nikon's, I would have to say for DSLR get Nikon, for point & shoot get Canon. Check http://www.dpreview.com for detail reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted December 24, 2006 Author Share Posted December 24, 2006 Thanks. So, manual focus is going to be hard to find? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
open17 Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Check out the Canon A430. Viewfinder, AA batteries, SD card. Stills and video with sound. 4.0MP. Only downside I've found is the reset time is a little slow in standard mode. Not the latest/greatest/smallest/sexiest, but a good solid camera for around $150 or less. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul B Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 The absolute best point and shoot is the Canon S3IS. With that said you might want to consider shape more than type. The shape of the S3IS is like that of a 35mm SLR and would not pack or fit easily in a bag with other types of equipment. Consider the flattest rectangular camera you can buy to your specs and try to get one that has a built in lense cover. I also have a Canon S50 and it has all the attributes you mentioned with a lense cover, but it feels like a brick. It needs to be flatter. By the way both the Canon cameras above can take movies - the S3IS takes really good ones 640x480 and can take a 4 gig SD card, but its shape would make it harder to pack and handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Take a look at the Pentax Optio W cameras. I have a W10, it does offer manual focus, video capability, but the main reason I got it, is, it's waterproof. Only for 5 feet for 30 minutes. But, I wanted it in case of rain, which it handles quite nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmruger Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 My wife and I bought a Canon Sd450 last spring. It has been by far the best point and shoot camera I have ever owned. I am kind of a camera junkie this is the 4th point and shoot digicam I have owned. It has a viewfinder and takes amazing movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Manual focus on a point & shoot is almost completely useless. It's really hard to determine if you are in focus or not since the optical viewfinder is useless. The LCD image is only marginal for focusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eager Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 Interesting, since the daughter wants a digi camera and wife wants digi video cam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted December 25, 2006 Author Share Posted December 25, 2006 That makes sense, Scooter. I'm used to a film SLR and didn't think about that. If you can't focus through the viewfinder, and the LCD sucks too, manual focus would be useless. That just made picking a camera easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shooterbenedetto Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 I have 2 digital cameras and it all takes AA BATTERIES IT SUCKS.... BUY ONE AND MAKE SURE IT IS RECHARGABLE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Just buy rechargeable NiMH batteries. There are advantages of using AA. If you have a camera that takes a dedicated battery, if that goes dead, you are done. I've been thinking about buying the vertical grip attachment for my Nikon D200 just to have the possibility of using 6 AA batteries in case the dedicated batteries are dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Uhhhhh.... I use AA rechargeable batteries on my S3 with great results... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD45 Posted December 30, 2006 Author Share Posted December 30, 2006 I ended up buying a Canon A540. It has just about everything I need in a compact digital. The only thing that really needs improvement is the battery door. It's seems somewhat flimsy. You can actually see the optical zoom through the viewfinder in this camera. And yes, it will take decent quality videos(30fps) of you shooting a stage or dryfiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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