Point and Shoot

Hey there. I was looking to purchase a digital camera and my budget
is $200. I want it to be small enough that I can carry it in my
jacket pocket so that it will be handy for candids. I would like at
least 5 MPx probably 6 or 7. Zoom required (pref. optical), but
obviously I won't have a lot of zoom in a small camera. It should
perform pretty well at low light. The kicker is that I manage to take
bad photos, so I would like a pretty smart camera that will adjust for
lighting conditions, properly focus on what I point it at, and
preferably account for some sort of jiggling by the inept photographer
(me). I also would prefer to not have to deal with AA batteries.

A lot of people complain that these point and shoot models autofocus
too slowly for good candids or that the image quality is just too poor
in standard lighting conditions.

My wife owns a digital camera with mostly manual features. She does
well with it and I don't.

Any recommendations would be helpful...

Cameras that I am considering a

Nikon Coolpix S200 or S500 (does the fancier OIS and ISO 2000 justify
the extra $50 for the S500)
Canon Powershot SD1000
Sony Cybershot DSC-W55 or W80 (again do the OIS and higher ISO justify
the $20 more)

How is the image quality with these cameras? Does the IS really
reduce blurring? Do they focus fast enough for action photos or for
candids? Am I just expecting too much?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

-John

kramer31 wrote:
Hey there. I was looking to purchase a digital camera and my budget
is $200. I want it to be small enough that I can carry it in my
jacket pocket so that it will be handy for candids. I would like at
least 5 MPx probably 6 or 7. Zoom required (pref. optical), but
obviously I won't have a lot of zoom in a small camera. It should
perform pretty well at low light. The kicker is that I manage to take
bad photos, so I would like a pretty smart camera that will adjust for
lighting conditions, properly focus on what I point it at, and
preferably account for some sort of jiggling by the inept photographer
(me). I also would prefer to not have to deal with AA batteries.

It's really hard at sub-$200 to get away from having to deal with AA
batteries, while retaining other important features.

If you can compromise on the battery type, you might look at the Canon
570IS. For low light you probably want IS, and with Canon if you need
more flash you can buy the wireless flash attachement. The 570IS still
has an optical viewfinder as well, which is becoming quite rare in
inexpensive point and shoot models.

A lot of people complain that these point and shoot models autofocus
too slowly for good candids or that the image quality is just too poor
in standard lighting conditions.

Yes, the AF is rather slow on P&S cameras. Not sure what "standard
lighting" is, but the P&S models are not designed for indoor shots in
low light except for the higher end models that can use a flash.

kramer31 wrote:
Hey there. I was looking to purchase a digital camera and my budget
is $200. I want it to be small enough that I can carry it in my
jacket pocket so that it will be handy for candids. I would like at
least 5 MPx probably 6 or 7. Zoom required (pref. optical), but
obviously I won't have a lot of zoom in a small camera. It should
perform pretty well at low light. The kicker is that I manage to take
bad photos, so I would like a pretty smart camera that will adjust for
lighting conditions, properly focus on what I point it at, and
preferably account for some sort of jiggling by the inept photographer
(me). I also would prefer to not have to deal with AA batteries.
[]
How is the image quality with these cameras? Does the IS really
reduce blurring? Do they focus fast enough for action photos or for
candids? Am I just expecting too much?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

-John

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonictz3/

The Panasonic TZ3 is small enough, and has a 28 - 280mm image stabilised
zoom. No AA batteries. However, I think it's more that $200. Yes, the
IS is great when you are at the longer end of the telephoto range, and it
stabilises the image in the viewfinder as well. Today, I would not buy
without IS, if at all possible.

Cheers,
David