Need opinions on digital

[Melenium]

I\'m looking to buy a digital camera in the next week or so for a trip. I want something thats very compact, 3x zoom, preferably 5mp, best quality possible, and about $500. I know I can\'t have both small and super-uber-amazing-quality (or features). Really I\'d like something that has manual focus, shutter and appature controls as well, but it seems that its not an option in this range (so I\'ll save up for a digital SLR way down the road). A good lense is very important to me to prevent things like chormatic abberation (ie purple/red fringing) which can\'t be corrected easily or at all. Kodaks have this bad, and to some extent so does the Canon below. I want to stay away from Sony simply because I find their stuff really over priced and proprietary (the memorystick is the betamax all over again).

Given this, I\'ve narrowed it down to:
Canon Elph SD300 which is 4mp -> $499
-small, solid, fast, really nice screen, great menu system, some chormatic abberaiotn, only 4mp

Nikon CoolPix 5200 which is 5mp -> $439
-not so small, reasonably solid, slow, small screen, very good lenses, 2yr warranty

Pentax Optio S5i 5mp -> $529
-small, very solid feeling, fast, nice screen, really crappy for video, but can\'t find reviews on it

Both Nikon and Canon I\'ve heard fairly good things about, but the Pentax seems a little less known. I\'d welcome peoples opinions on these (or if you can suggest others, that\'d be great too). Things I\'d love to hear about are problems, battery life and speed/ease of use in real life scenarios (reviews seldom take this sort of stuff into account).

[majic]

one word: CANON

i have the G2 and my dad has the S400 .. NOTHING but great cameras.. OUTSTANDING 4mp images and very easy to use (point and click) with a few more pro options on the G2.. try www.dpreview.com for a boatload of reviews on cameras.. happy shooting :D

[TheProfessor]

I have the Canon SD10 Digital Elph.....very tiny, 4MP. For a tiny camera, it\'s pretty loaded with features. The only drawbacks of such a small chasis are that there is no optical zoom, only 6X digital (after 2X the picture quality really starts to drop off), no optical viewfinder (has never been a problem), and for some reason Canon does not give a good battery status bar, it only warns you when the battery is low, but doesn\'t tell you how much time is left.

Even still, those are just minor issues. If I were you, I would go for a Canon.

[billyfo]

all three are good choice, for sure many will go to Canon.

I still using the old 2.1M Sony, although not clear compare to other 4 or 5M models, but also a good one. only drawback is you can only use Sony accessories for memory stick reading.

[super_vixen]

look into the Canon A95...its 5mp, 3x zoom and when I was last at Henry\'s it was $499.

Excellent camera that I just bought for my boyfriend to replace his Canon S200 Elph.

[Melenium]

Originally posted by super_vixen


look into the Canon A95...its 5mp, 3x zoom and when I was last at Henry\'s it was $499.

Excellent camera that I just bought for my boyfriend to replace his Canon S200 Elph.


I did take a peek at the A95, but quite honestly the SD300 really blows it out of the water. Granted its only 4mp, but it has the exact same limitations and issues as the A95, but a much smaller form factor (alas it also doesn\'t have the external screen). This is the big problem with the Canon cameras: Scroll down to Color fringing, Burnt out highlights (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd300/page5.asp), and both the A95 and the SD300 suffer from it. If it didn\'t have this problem then there is absoluetly no question that the Canon is the winner. But if you click on the full size versions of the images that demonstrate it you\'ll see how bad it is. The entire side of the tree has a purple tinge to it, and in the burnt highlights, the leaves are all blurry and purple :(

Nikon seems to have no issue at all with it, and as for the Pentax, still can\'t find a review on it :sarc

[majic]

it\'s totally up to you but you WILL find problems with each camera.. too heavy.. crappy pix.. not enough resolution.. too much $$

having said that.. the fringing happens in very BRIGHT/overexposed shots.. well with a cam like that (A95/SD300) you\'re not a PRO photographer so you won\'t be taking pix like that THAT OFTEN (sorry maybe you are :p but then u wouldn\'t be asking q\'s and gotten a DSLR ;)

with the flaring.. once again. happens in high contrast situations.. i think that those 2 are kind of \'extremes\' that you won\'t be shooting that much/often.. i dunno i\'m not pro at photography but i think it\'s a small tradeoff.. the beauty of digital.. take 10 pix of teh same thing.. vary settings and bam.. one is bound to look terrific and make you look like a pro :D

[Melenium]

Originally posted by majic


it\'s totally up to you but you WILL find problems with each camera.. too heavy.. crappy pix.. not enough resolution.. too much $$


Of course.. that, and I\'m a picky bastard :p. Price is a limiting factor, not really a flaw. Resolution is tied to price. Heavy is actually good my friend. It helps to stabilize the camera a bit in low light situations so you get less blur, and in general it helps as well.



having said that.. the fringing happens in very BRIGHT/overexposed shots.. well with a cam like that (A95/SD300) you\'re not a PRO photographer so you won\'t be taking pix like that THAT OFTEN (sorry maybe you are :p but then u wouldn\'t be asking q\'s and gotten a DSLR ;)


Lol.. Beginning of this year I bought a Canon Rebel Ti SLR for a trip I went on. Amazing camera all around. Felt great to hold and use, increadible focus (speed, sound, accuracy, points), very fast, versatile, great lens.. everything was fantastic about it, except the metering. I\'m not a pro, no, but I\'m by no means an amature either. I know how to take decent pictures, but the metering on the SLR resulted in images too dark/contrasty for my tastes. Everything else about the pictures was fantastic. Anyway, now I want something thats much more portable for another trip I\'m going on (I don\'t want an extra camera bag, let alone an SLR bag), so I have to make some sacrifices, yes. I\'m asking Q\'s mainly about stuff thats not covered in reviews-- things you really only get to know after using the camera for a while.. and also about peoples opinions since these all have their flaws and I\'d just like to see what others think :)



with the flaring.. once again. happens in high contrast situations.. i think that those 2 are kind of \'extremes\' that you won\'t be shooting that much/often.. i dunno i\'m not pro at photography but i think it\'s a small tradeoff.. the beauty of digital.. take 10 pix of teh same thing.. vary settings and bam.. one is bound to look terrific and make you look like a pro :D

yeah, it does happen in certain situations, but more often than you\'d think. Flaring (as in lens flares) I\'m not worried at all about-- they only occur in certain situations and if you know what you\'re doing you can just recompose the scene. Also they\'re not just a limitation of the digital cameras. The purple fringing however is a problem with the lens design. Its actually the reason that good (or big) telescopes use mirrors instead of lenses. The fact is that it can occur in all bright situations, and depending on the camera design, it can make it really visible. Case in point is the Canon vs the Nikon. Nikon doesn\'t have a problem with it, but the Canon does. On the flip side, the Nikon is slow all the time and bigger :p

Anyone ever used a Pentax and care to join in? :D

Having said that, I hope I haven\'t scared anyone away.. :)

[dredd2099]

wanna rent my G3 for the trip?
smaller than a rebel but its no pocket cam either

:p

[S.F.W.]

Look into the Canon Pwershot S50, a couple years old(the new S60, and S70 are out but pricey), it\'s 5MP, 3X zoom. Costco is selling it now for $499
check out this review:http://reviews.cnet.com/Canon_PowerShot_S50/4505-6501_7-20893303.html?tag=pdtl-list
I own the camera, and have taken great pics with it.

[Airman Jack]

I don\'t have quite the depth of knowledge that you do, but I\'ve been using the power shot sd400 for the past 7 months and I love it, the stitch assist function is great, and it takes some pretty good pictures, certainly good enough for me!! The biggest selling point for me on a new cannon was the image processing speed, I found it to be higher than all the other comparable cameras when I was purchasing mine.

[Melenium]

Originally posted by Airman Jack


I don\'t have quite the depth of knowledge that you do, but I\'ve been using the power shot sd400 for the past 7 months and I love it, the stitch assist function is great, and it takes some pretty good pictures, certainly good enough for me!! The biggest selling point for me on a new cannon was the image processing speed, I found it to be higher than all the other comparable cameras when I was purchasing mine.

Yeah, the Canon is the direction that I\'m leaning towards too. How do you find the battery life? What about low light situations (like bars and stuff)? And last but not least, do you mean the S400? ;)

Thanks :)

[Airman Jack]

good strong flash, the battery will last to fill up my 256mb card, and yes, I meant the s400 :p I always carry a spare battery though, just in case!

[majic]

Originally posted by Airman Jack

I always carry a spare battery though, just in case!

the spare fits in your case? :p

[Dr Butcher]

If you want a decent 4.0MP point and shoot and don\'t care about it being tiny look at the Canon A85, it\'s on sale this week at Future Shop for $330.

I have the A70 and have nothing but good things to say about the A series. The flash is awesome, and it uses regular AA batteries which you can find anywere in a pinch. Get some 2300 mAh NiMH rechargables and a quick charger and you\'ll be set. I just don\'t know why camera companies can\'t package a decent memory card in with their cameras, they might as well give you nothing instead of the 16MB cards that comes with them..... :sarc

[///M]

Might be a bit over your budget, but have a look at the Sony DSC-P150.
Carl Zeiss lens, 7.2MP. Ultra compact.

I have the P100 which is essentially the same thing, but with a 5mp CCD. Shares the same body and lens.