I have the Canon G9, which is pretty dang nice. From talking to friends and reading reviews, the G10 is even much better than the 9. The G10 would be my first choice.
Carol - How important is image quality (including high-ISO)? If it's the over-riding thing, the Sigma DP2 might be the way to go as it has a full foveon DSLR sensor. Otherwise, the Canon G10 and Panasonic LX-3 are the two I've seen lots of favorable reviews of. But they ARE still tiny P&S sensors, and won't excel outside of very well-lit conditions. They do much better than older P&S's though.
Hi Carol, I own a G10 and its performed well under certain conditions. It has great features including RAW etc. What I don't care for is its limit at F8 and it gets kinda grany over ISO 200. Has a nice built in flash and will also take any of the other Canon Flashes which is a plus. The live view option doesn't do much for me in the outdoors but its no harder to see than any of the others. Great camera to carry solidly built. It saves me from taking two full blown SLR's into the field as I use it in case I need a backup to my 5D. (Hopefully I won't need it for that purpose). Overall the goodness out weighs the badness
I've had a number of point and shooters over the years. They are no substitute for a DSLR. I had a 12x superzoom. It was great for carrying around with the grand kids at Disneyworld, but I never did like the electronic viewfinder. I finally gave it away. For a serious walking around camera, I would choose a small SLR, such as a Canon rebel or maybe one of the four-thirds format cameras.
I've had a series of ultra-compacts. They last a couple of years before I wear them out. It's great to always have a camera in my pocket, and I've gotten some great snapshots. I've finally decided that small size it a big consideration - the smaller the better. I'm now in the market for a pocket point-n-shooter - have been for about a month since I broke my last one. There's nothing out there that really knocks my socks off. All the best new ones don't have an optical viewfinder - I don't know If I can get used to that.
Right now my favorite point-n-shooter is my wife's Canon PowerShot A720. It has a 6x zoom and is a capable snap-shooter. Not as small as I would like and not as full featured as some, but a terrific camera for the price. One of it's nice features is it takes AA batteries - smaller cameras use proprietary batteries.
I bought the Panasonic LX3 for my wife several months ago. It's been a great everyday camera for her (non-photographer), and it also has some really incredible features. It's wide angle lens is second to no camera in it's class, but I'll admit that its macro capabilities would have to be described as limited. It's also significantly smaller than the G10 and super zooms. Certainly it would be work consideration.
My G9 works well and my understanding is that the G10 is even better. Note: if G10 works like G9, you will need to compose on the LCD as the viewfinder is off-center a bit.
Carol
I have had the G10 for a few months. Great when you want a backup or a light load. Get a Lowepro Apex 60 AW case, spare battery and off you go. I have Custom 1 & 2 set up for HDR & Pano's. There are 2 issues, max decent ISO of 200 and frequent blown highlights. Shutter lag is better than most. Battery lasts forever and I recently experimented with G10 IS & HDR with decent results. I am a long time brainwashed Nikon Nut, D200, D300 & D700, but Canon have the P&S market by far. I have had 3 Nikon P&S cameras (junk) and used a Canon 720 IS, which is decent but it is not a G10 IS. I like the 28mm equivalent lens over the G9 and the IS seems to work OK. If you want a P&S to capture ANY wildlife, then the Canon SX10 IS is your best bet.
Discussion
8 repliesThe Nikon line including the latest P90 is getting negative reviews.
I've been thinking about the Canon D10 or the SX10 IS.
If anyone has any words of wisdom regarding these cameras or others, I sure would be interested.
The purposes for buying include trips (without all of the gear), macro, and wide-angle.
Thanks,
Carol
I've had a series of ultra-compacts. They last a couple of years before I wear them out. It's great to always have a camera in my pocket, and I've gotten some great snapshots. I've finally decided that small size it a big consideration - the smaller the better. I'm now in the market for a pocket point-n-shooter - have been for about a month since I broke my last one. There's nothing out there that really knocks my socks off. All the best new ones don't have an optical viewfinder - I don't know If I can get used to that.
Right now my favorite point-n-shooter is my wife's Canon PowerShot A720. It has a 6x zoom and is a capable snap-shooter. Not as small as I would like and not as full featured as some, but a terrific camera for the price. One of it's nice features is it takes AA batteries - smaller cameras use proprietary batteries.
shot a few weeks ago---Go RAW--Apature priority, handhaled processed in LR ISO 200
Bill Brennan
I have had the G10 for a few months. Great when you want a backup or a light load. Get a Lowepro Apex 60 AW case, spare battery and off you go. I have Custom 1 & 2 set up for HDR & Pano's. There are 2 issues, max decent ISO of 200 and frequent blown highlights. Shutter lag is better than most. Battery lasts forever and I recently experimented with G10 IS & HDR with decent results. I am a long time brainwashed Nikon Nut, D200, D300 & D700, but Canon have the P&S market by far. I have had 3 Nikon P&S cameras (junk) and used a Canon 720 IS, which is decent but it is not a G10 IS. I like the 28mm equivalent lens over the G9 and the IS seems to work OK. If you want a P&S to capture ANY wildlife, then the Canon SX10 IS is your best bet.