Hi everyone,
I'd need your help for a choice. I'd like to present my wife with a compact digital camera of good quality, but I have almost no clue of this market segment, as I've always been interested in DSLRs only. Is there someone willing to share some good advice for a compact camera in a price range, say, from 200 to 400 $?
Thanks in advance,
Paolo
Posted by Carol Hyman on August 12, 2008 at 12:42 PM
Hi Paolo,
Seems to be that I was reading a review very recently of the PowerShot G9 and the writer was raving about the camera. It may have been here at NPN. I think the writer said the camera was about 500 US.
And, since I'm a Nikon shooter, have you looked at the more recent Nikon offerings?
Let us know what you get. I too would like to have a good very lightweight P&S to carry with me.
Carol
Posted by David Bostedo on August 12, 2008 at 12:58 PM
Best advice in that segment Paolo is to decide what features you want and just simply pick one. They're all pretty much the same image quality and useability wise. A few things that might differentiate one from the other for you or your wife (and I'm assuming you don't want something like the Sigma DP-1, or the Ricoh's) :
1) What length lens/how much zoom?
2) Is RAW format available (only a handful have it)?
3) Do you want full manual mode (most don't have it)?
4) Do you want real image stabilization? (a lot simply claim that high ISO's of 800 or 1600 are stabilization, or anti-shake)
5) Do you need a viewfinder? (Most people, myself included, don't in cameras this size)
5) What size? (the G9 is terrific by all accounts, and has RAW and manual controls, but it's pretty bulky)
I know people (non-photographers mainly) who have Olympus's, Canon's, Panasonic's, Sony's, Nikon's, and Kodak's - and I've messed around with all of them - and they are all good. Some are a little more intuitive, some people like touch screens, some have longer or wider lenses. They were all similar to use.
Of course, they're all pretty slow, and all pretty noisy, but that's just what P&S's are right now.
I'd suggest going to this page on DPReview and selecting the features you want and see what's available. Then go to a store where they have a good selection and handle them for a few minutes and just pick.
Posted by Basil Greber on August 12, 2008 at 1:21 PM
Well, take this slightly perverted tip from a Nikon user: Don't even bother looking at Nikons!
To me, it seems that the Canon G9 is an excellent offering. Panasonic might also have a bunch of interesting cameras, but maybe a bit higher priced.
Basil
Posted by Jim Sabiston on August 12, 2008 at 3:08 PM
If your wife has any interest in advancing her camera abilities, the Canon G9 has an awful lot to offer. It does the point 'n shoot thing really well and I've used it for saleable images when my dslr wasn't handy. RAW capability makes all the difference.
I wouldn't call it bulky so much as surprisingly 'dense' (ie:heavy for it's size), although it is bigger than some of the more common point 'n shoots like the well known Canon Elf line.
The G9 can handle the low end and reasonably high end - which means you can 'borrow' it when she isn't looking.
Posted by John Mumaw on August 12, 2008 at 3:57 PM
Looks like the folks recommending the G9 haven't bothered to look at your price parameters.
I would recommend the same camera I bought my wife (a snapshooter, btw)...the Canon A650 IS.
I especially like the image stabilization and that flip 'n' twist LCD screen. That feature is excellent for shooting candids, overhead shots, closeup/macro images and is a great way to protect the screen.
You can view some recent image sample from the Canadian Rockies here
If you can wait another couple of weeks, Canon should be rolling out a new line of point 'n' shoot cameras with better features (larger screens, better processing engine, etc.).
Posted by John W. Wall on August 12, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Check out the Panasonic TZ5 ($300). My wife, for one, has no use for RAW and usually doesn't even use the highest JPG setting. She and a friend of hers (both non-photographer artists) got earlier iterations of the TZ5 and they love 'em. I'm thinking about getting the TZ5 for myself as a pocket camera.
Posted by David Chauvin on August 13, 2008 at 9:52 AM
I own this camera and it is great as long as you keep the iso down. If they didn't try to pack so many mega pixels on such a small sensor, it would be just about perfect IMHO
Note,,,,,it's been replaced by the GX200 (sadly it has MORE mega pixels), but the controls are identical.
Posted by Roger Rouch on August 13, 2008 at 6:08 PM
I have the G9 and really like it. I think it's running about $450 and you'd probably want a few little add-ons like the filter adapter. The Ricoh looks to be more? I don't know much about some of the other options out there, but the Canon G7 is pretty similar to the G9 and you could probably pick one up used in your price range? If I recall it has a couple of less mega pixels and won't shoot RAW, but seems to be well liked.
Another vote for the Panasonic TZ line. My wife has had two and currently has the TZ5. 10x optical zoom which is fantastic, versatile and a lot of fun; image stabilization, excellent LCD, very compact, very economical. Picture quality is very good, as is battery life.
Ehi, thank you all for your precious advices. I left yesterday for a quick tour in the Alps right after posting this message, and now I've just came back and found your many responses.
Really useful tips, particularly about the necessity of choosing what features are really important. Well, the ideal camera for my wife I guess should be easy to use, with an overall good image quality (which means good prints at a size of 8x12), and with some nice creative capability such as a zoom range including some wide angle and a bit more tele capabilities than the standard 3x.
I don't think RAW is a feature my wife wants. She loves to take nice pictures, but a large part of the joy in taking pictures for her is waiting for the prints from the lab and then see "how they came out"
So said, I stumbled upon the Panasonic Lumix LZ8. Nice Leica-made zoom from moderate wide to moderate tele (32-160 mm 35 mm equivalent), 8 Mpxls which means I guess not horrible noise issues, double image stabilizing system, very vearsatile from fully automatic to fully manual exposure, and tons of more features for 199 € (+/- 300$).
Do you think of it as a good choice for someone who wants to shift digital and get immediate good results, but who could also be interested in the future to learn more about photography?
Thanks again for your precious support.
Paolo
Posted by Steve Sieren on August 14, 2008 at 1:13 AM
I just got a G9. I barely know how to work it yet but I can set it to RAW and use it on manual. It has a ring that you can turn instantly to change the shutter for quick bracket. I think it worth paying a little over $400. I just carried it on an 18 mile round trip up to 12,000ft w/ my 5D and an old olympus OM2 35mm tripod and all so I got good snapshots on the way up in raw! I love that.
Steve
Here is a handheld snapshot taken w/ it Saturday.
http://sieren.smugmug.com/gallery/3558014_LLGLL#351563557_gkSbf-A-LB
It's just a jpeg too. Didn't have a chance to set to raw yet.
Posted by John Mumaw on August 14, 2008 at 9:28 AM
Do you think of it as a good choice for someone who wants to shift digital and get immediate good results, but who could also be interested in the future to learn more about photography?
I don't think so. One of the reasons that I recommended the Canon A650 is that it still has an optical viewfinder, which is getting harder to find in compact digitalcameras. Relying on the LCD screen for previewing a shot only works well in optimum conditions.
According to this LZ8 review, image quality was 'average' and shutter lag/general timing is slow. Panasonic cameras also have a reputation for producing noisy images which the camera tries to tame with very aggressive noise reduction, at the cost of image quality. Most reviews I've seen of Panasonic compact digital cameras recommend using RAW (if the camera has that feature) in order to override the camera's own JPG processing.
When I was shopping for a compact camera for myself a few months ago, I really had high hopes for the Panasonic line, but consistently poor reviews on all of them kept me away. I finally settled for a Canon G6, which has fewer pixels than the G9 for much cleaner images, RAW capture and that superb tilt 'n' swivel LCD screen.
Posted by Bill Reichert on August 15, 2008 at 10:39 AM
If your wife plans to take pictures indoors, noise WILL be an issue. Outdoors Lumix cameras are very good, producing excellent results. I use a Lumix LX 1 outdoors and get great results. Indoors the results are very disappointing.
The camera is 8.2 mp. Panasonic has a flawed engine even in the newer cameras. Hope this helps. Bill
Posted by Bruce Palla on August 15, 2008 at 11:21 AM
We use a Panasonic TZ3 as the office field camera(architects) and a couple of items I've found are:
The main command buttons are too close to the "grip" area and my thumb is constantly trying to change settings based on accidental contact,necessitating stop,change,fix,return.
Indoor use as Bill said is less than desirable. I wasn't involved in the purchase decision and now spend more time in processing or actually taking my D200 out to job sites after poor images have been shot. Good Luck, BP
Discussion
14 repliesI'd need your help for a choice. I'd like to present my wife with a compact digital camera of good quality, but I have almost no clue of this market segment, as I've always been interested in DSLRs only. Is there someone willing to share some good advice for a compact camera in a price range, say, from 200 to 400 $?
Thanks in advance,
Paolo
Seems to be that I was reading a review very recently of the PowerShot G9 and the writer was raving about the camera. It may have been here at NPN. I think the writer said the camera was about 500 US.
And, since I'm a Nikon shooter, have you looked at the more recent Nikon offerings?
Let us know what you get. I too would like to have a good very lightweight P&S to carry with me.
Carol
1) What length lens/how much zoom?
2) Is RAW format available (only a handful have it)?
3) Do you want full manual mode (most don't have it)?
4) Do you want real image stabilization? (a lot simply claim that high ISO's of 800 or 1600 are stabilization, or anti-shake)
5) Do you need a viewfinder? (Most people, myself included, don't in cameras this size)
5) What size? (the G9 is terrific by all accounts, and has RAW and manual controls, but it's pretty bulky)
I know people (non-photographers mainly) who have Olympus's, Canon's, Panasonic's, Sony's, Nikon's, and Kodak's - and I've messed around with all of them - and they are all good. Some are a little more intuitive, some people like touch screens, some have longer or wider lenses. They were all similar to use.
Of course, they're all pretty slow, and all pretty noisy, but that's just what P&S's are right now.
I'd suggest going to this page on DPReview and selecting the features you want and see what's available. Then go to a store where they have a good selection and handle them for a few minutes and just pick.
To me, it seems that the Canon G9 is an excellent offering. Panasonic might also have a bunch of interesting cameras, but maybe a bit higher priced.
Basil
I wouldn't call it bulky so much as surprisingly 'dense' (ie:heavy for it's size), although it is bigger than some of the more common point 'n shoots like the well known Canon Elf line.
The G9 can handle the low end and reasonably high end - which means you can 'borrow' it when she isn't looking.
I would recommend the same camera I bought my wife (a snapshooter, btw)...the Canon A650 IS.
I especially like the image stabilization and that flip 'n' twist LCD screen. That feature is excellent for shooting candids, overhead shots, closeup/macro images and is a great way to protect the screen.
You can view some recent image sample from the Canadian Rockies here
If you can wait another couple of weeks, Canon should be rolling out a new line of point 'n' shoot cameras with better features (larger screens, better processing engine, etc.).
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/ricoh-gx100.shtml
I own this camera and it is great as long as you keep the iso down. If they didn't try to pack so many mega pixels on such a small sensor, it would be just about perfect IMHO
Note,,,,,it's been replaced by the GX200 (sadly it has MORE mega pixels), but the controls are identical.
Really useful tips, particularly about the necessity of choosing what features are really important. Well, the ideal camera for my wife I guess should be easy to use, with an overall good image quality (which means good prints at a size of 8x12), and with some nice creative capability such as a zoom range including some wide angle and a bit more tele capabilities than the standard 3x.
I don't think RAW is a feature my wife wants. She loves to take nice pictures, but a large part of the joy in taking pictures for her is waiting for the prints from the lab and then see "how they came out"
So said, I stumbled upon the Panasonic Lumix LZ8. Nice Leica-made zoom from moderate wide to moderate tele (32-160 mm 35 mm equivalent), 8 Mpxls which means I guess not horrible noise issues, double image stabilizing system, very vearsatile from fully automatic to fully manual exposure, and tons of more features for 199 € (+/- 300$).
Do you think of it as a good choice for someone who wants to shift digital and get immediate good results, but who could also be interested in the future to learn more about photography?
Thanks again for your precious support.
Paolo
Steve
Here is a handheld snapshot taken w/ it Saturday.
http://sieren.smugmug.com/gallery/3558014_LLGLL#351563557_gkSbf-A-LB
It's just a jpeg too. Didn't have a chance to set to raw yet.
I don't think so. One of the reasons that I recommended the Canon A650 is that it still has an optical viewfinder, which is getting harder to find in compact digitalcameras. Relying on the LCD screen for previewing a shot only works well in optimum conditions.
According to this LZ8 review, image quality was 'average' and shutter lag/general timing is slow. Panasonic cameras also have a reputation for producing noisy images which the camera tries to tame with very aggressive noise reduction, at the cost of image quality. Most reviews I've seen of Panasonic compact digital cameras recommend using RAW (if the camera has that feature) in order to override the camera's own JPG processing.
When I was shopping for a compact camera for myself a few months ago, I really had high hopes for the Panasonic line, but consistently poor reviews on all of them kept me away. I finally settled for a Canon G6, which has fewer pixels than the G9 for much cleaner images, RAW capture and that superb tilt 'n' swivel LCD screen.
The camera is 8.2 mp. Panasonic has a flawed engine even in the newer cameras. Hope this helps. Bill
The main command buttons are too close to the "grip" area and my thumb is constantly trying to change settings based on accidental contact,necessitating stop,change,fix,return.
Indoor use as Bill said is less than desirable. I wasn't involved in the purchase decision and now spend more time in processing or actually taking my D200 out to job sites after poor images have been shot. Good Luck, BP