Pick out a camera for me.

[spikerS]

Hai guyz!

I am looking to pick up a decent little point and shoot camera, but I have not kept up at all with them, and have no clue on prices or what is current and good.

A few things I would like, but nothing is a must have.

-good low light pictures. Cameras I have had in the past have all ended up with grainy pictures in low light situations
-good optical zoom
-ease of use
-fairly rugged
-would like to spend less than $300

If anyone can provide me with some good ideas, or where the best prices are, that would be fantastic!

[Mitsu3000gt]

What your asking for are to address by far the largest complaints about point & shoot cameras, but you won't be able to have everything unfortunately.

- All point and shoots, especially the ones under $300, are going to be fairly poor in low light. The sensors are simply so small (10-15 times smaller than a Digital SLR for example) that they cannot perform that well at high ISO's (which is why you see grainy pictures). Adding to this problem is that 99% of P&S camera buyers buy based on marketing strategy, which gives them numerical things to compare (megapixels, zoom, etc) and that is the worst possible way to shop, because most people assume more is better.

- If by good optical zoom you mean lots of zoom, you can get that, but the lens itself will suffer. The longer the zoom, the worse the lens and the slower the lens (the less light it will let in). This will hinder your low light capabilities.

- Every point & shoot has an auto mode, so no need to worry much about ease of use.

- As for ruggedness you can buy "tough" cameras that are water, freeze, and drop proof but they suck at actual picture taking because you are mostly paying for the housing it's in. I would recommend a camera that has a metal body instead, so it'll still hold up to a bit of bumping around.

Less than $300 MOST point & shoot cameras are very similar but what I would recommend for you is the Canon SD4000IS. It was a $379 camera when new, but was recently replaced by the *worse* SD4500IS, so you can pick it up for a good deal. It recently dropped from $239 to $219 overnight @ B&H, and is still around $240 in Canada.

The reasons why I would recommend this camera is that it does the best job of mitigating all the biggest complaints people have with P&S cameras for the price:

-F2.0 lens on the wide end. This means it is letting in WAY more light than the average point and shoot on the wide end. This will let you get faster shutter speeds without having to raise the ISO and get grainy pictures. Very few P&S cameras have lenses this fast, especially for the price. Your flash will be more effective with a F2.0 lens as well.

-28mm on the wide end. This is decently wide, most P&S cameras are not this wide when fully zoomed out.

- 3.8X zoom, it's not super long, but you get a way better/faster lens as a result which will do better in low light.

-10.0 MP sensor. Most P&S cameras these days have 14-16MP sensors which are absolutely awful for noise. 10MP is more than enough, and helps keep noise (grain) down when you need to raise the ISO.

-It's an alloy body, so it will be fairly rugged. It also is designed to be used primarily in auto mode, so no worries with ease of use.

You can still buy it here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/675602-REG/Canon_4251B001_PowerShot_SD4000_IS_Digital.html

or here:

http://www.merklecamera.com/spec_sheet.html?catalog[product_guids][0]=3b436ed6-55ed-413f-ad1d-cf59b225197d

or here:

http://www.henrys.ca/60554-CANON-POWERSHOT-SD4000-IS-BLACK-10MP-3-8X-EYE-FI.aspx

or here:

http://www.mostlydigital.ca/product/H144241


Anyways, don't expect any miracles but IMO that is the best camera by far in your price range right now. In bright light you are unlikely to notice a difference between this camera and any other.

[spikerS]

Thanks Mitsu! appreciated!

However, I am kinda hoping to stop by a vistek or BB or FS tonight to pick one up.

Anyone else have any ideas?

[Davex]

I've had good experience with the G11 and G12. Prosumer camera

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by spikers
Thanks Mitsu! appreciated!

However, I am kinda hoping to stop by a vistek or BB or FS tonight to pick one up.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Your welcome.

B&H has 1-2 day shipping which will still keep you below $300 if that is acceptable to you. Order today and you'll get it by Thursday or Friday at the latest. There still is nothing under $300 better than that cam right now. Total cost all in to your door should be $276.00 for 1-2 day shipping (you will need to pay the GST C.O.D. at the door, which I've included in that $276).

There is nothing at BB and FS under $400 that I can see which would be a competitor for that camera right now.

My GF is looking for a camera and said London Drugs on Heritage still had some SD4000IS for sale for $250 but you would have to call and check as I don't know how well she would know the model numbers.



Originally posted by Davex
I've had good experience with the G11 and G12. Prosumer camera

A G12 is $180 over his budget. Even the S95 is still $100 over his budget. Good cams though, particularly the G12.

[Davex]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Your welcome.

B&H has 1-2 day shipping which will still keep you below $300 if that is acceptable to you. There still is nothing under $300 better than that cam right now. Total cost all in to your door should be $276.00 for 1-2 day shipping (you will need to pay the GST C.O.D. at the door), which I've included in that $276).

There is nothing at BB and FS under $400 that I can see which would be a competitor for that camera right now.

My GF is looking for a camera and said London Drugs still had some SD4000IS for sale for $250 but you would have to call and check as I don't know how well she would know the model numbers.




A G12 is $180 over his budget. Even the S95 is still $100 over his budget. Well if you take into account used prices and are able to find a G11 or a G12 used on Kijiji / Craigslist you would be okay. I know brand new the G12 is pretty pricey and the S series P&S's are pretty pricey also.

[ExtraSlow]

I've had three versions of the Canon powershot Elph lineup, and they are excellent.
Low light performance is better than you might expect, although, as stated, it can't touch a DSLR. Still, for a camera you can fit in your shirt pocket, it's amazing.

[spikerS]

well, i went hunting last night, and ended up getting the SD4500IS. we shall see how it functions for me. Thanks for the info guys!