Posted by Kevin Popp on October 4, 2009 at 10:31 PM
So I'm going on a cruise to a few parts of mexico. I'm taking m d90, with my 18-105 vr and 70-300 non vr. i'm thinking of getting a point and shoot to have for when I dont feel like busting out my big dslr. I really want something thats really good, and quick and easy to use. I've heard good things about the g10, but I'm use to Nikon products. I dont want something real bulky like the p90 though. Any suggestions?
Posted by Buck Ward on October 4, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Hi Kevin
The brand of DSLR you use should have no bearing on the brand of point n shoot you choose. You need to decide what kind of point n shoot camera you need and then try to get the best one of that type. You can get a superzoom, an ultra-compact, a low-cost compact, or a full-control type camera. Almost all point n shoot digicams are considerably smaller than a typical DSLR, even the superzooms.
I always have an ultra-compact in my pocket. My current one is the size of a credit card, but thicker. (Canon SD780). For snap shots, I like my wife's sub-$200 compact. (Canon A720) It does a great job and has 6x zoom.
www.dpreview.com is a good source of information.
Posted by Luke Ormand on October 4, 2009 at 11:01 PM
There was a thread similar to this just the other day
The canon g9, g10, g11 are all great camera's, depends how much $ you're willing to go.
But it's like Buck said you need to identify what you want in a pocket camera and then buy the best one there is in that range.
Just a thought...I don't know what brands offer them, Olympus and Canon I think, probably others...you may want to consider one of the water resistant/waterproof cameras. Gives peace of mind around water and also can take some cool shots inches under the surface.
JR
Posted by Roger Rouch on October 5, 2009 at 9:04 AM
I've got my eyes open to replace my G9 one of these days. It's seems like the pocket sized cameras are advancing pretty quickly. I think I would be wanting one of the larger sensors on any camera I might get. And possibly interchangeable lenses. Maybe something like the Panasonic Lumix GF1 or maybe the Olympus EP-1
Posted by Kevin Popp on October 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM
I was looking at the other thread and the guy was saying that something he was looking for in his p&s was that it was able to shoot in raw. What exactly would be the advantage to this? Anytime I've ever shot in raw My computers will not allow me to view the pics. Something I'm doing wrong? The S7C that I have(p&s) allows raw and some manual settings.
Posted by Kevin Popp on October 5, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I was looking at the other thread and the guy was saying that something he was looking for in his p&s was that it was able to shoot in raw. What exactly would be the advantage to this? Anytime I've ever shot in raw My computers will not allow me to view the pics. Something I'm doing wrong? The S7C that I have(p&s) allows raw and some manual settings.
Posted by David Bostedo on October 5, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Kevin - Raw format is not really an image as much as a raw data dump from the sensor (hence the name). It needs to converted to a regular format like PSD, TIFF, or JPG before you can view it. This is done with a raw development program like PS ACR, Lightroom, Apple Aperture, Capture One, etc.
The advantages and disadvantages have been discussed in several threads if you search, or just use google. (Luminous Landscape and Cambridge in Colour are great sources too).
...can take some cool shots inches under the surface.
Actually John, my waterproof P&S can go down to 15 feet, and survive drops of several feet onto concrete. I've tossed it around pretty good, snorkeled with it fairly deep, and I throw it around the pool without much care. I think it's well worth it following that path to get one of the tougher P&Ss...
Posted by Jim DeWitt on October 5, 2009 at 1:30 PM
I'm an avid fly fisherman, in addition to all my other vices. The thing about fly fishing is you get wet. I'm not about to carry my good equipment. Yet when I saw a Long-billed Curlew in southeastern Alaska I had nothing to document the sighting (it was the second sighting of the species in Alaska). I don't want that to happen again. After a lot of shopping, I settled on a waterproof camera, with 10mp, image stabilization, 28-102mm zoom Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 (who dreams up these names). It's not perfect, and you won't sell many photos you take with it, but it's small, durable, flexible and waterproof. Decent battery life, very good IS. If you shop around you can find it for about $220.
Posted by Austin Booth on October 5, 2009 at 2:38 PM
I was looking at the other thread and the guy was saying that something he was looking for in his p&s was that it was able to shoot in raw. What exactly would be the advantage to this? Anytime I've ever shot in raw My computers will not allow me to view the pics. Something I'm doing wrong? The S7C that I have(p&s) allows raw and some manual settings.
Thats odd because that camera is not supposed to shoot raw files. I know there is a diagnostic mode for Nikon cameras p&s cameras which enables raw shooting that some people have used a hack to enable. I wonder if it somehow was enabled on your camera by mistake in the factory. If thats the case you may need a program to convert the raw files to DNG format which I have to do with my hacked Canon camera. I'm going to assume the reason you can't view raw files on your computer is because that camera is not supposed to shoot raw files and is doing so by mistake and you may have to convert them to DNG first.
With a point and shoot camera that supports raw files officially it should not be necessary to convert to DNG format first and you should be able to open raw files with the software that came with the camera or with adobe photoshop and there are many other photo editing programs that support raw files as well.
There are many advantages to shooting raw files. First you can change the white balance settings your camera set for the image later on, with jpeg you are stuck with what you shot it as so if the image is too cool toned or too warm toned there is only so much you can do to correct it. The second major advantage is there is far more leeway in a raw file for mis-exposure. So if you accidently overexposure or underexpose by a stop it is much easier to correct for it with a raw file than with a jpeg file as there is far more image data stored in a raw file, it isn't just pixel data like a jpeg. Of course you don't want to get in the practice of "oh its almost right so I'll just fix the raw file later", you want to get it as best you can in camera but nobody is perfect with exposure every single time so shooting raw can enable you to fix an image which would not be possible if it was shot in jpeg mode.
Posted by Austin Booth on October 5, 2009 at 3:06 PM
I forgot you mentioned you had a DSLR before I wrote that last post...you really should be using raw with that too because of the flexibility of raw. I guess if you are just taking pictures for fun and don't ever do anything with them and never make big prints JPEG is ok. However, anyone who is taking their photography seriously should be shooting raw because of the huge advantages over jpeg, all the pros do. I'm sure you underexpose or overexpose from time to time, everyone does, with raw you may be able to rescue those images. I'm not sure why you can't view raw files. The nikon view software that came with your camera should be able to display and process raw files.
You should have gotten software with your camera that will let you view and convert its RAW files. You can also view them with Picasa or with FastStone Image Viewer. Both are free. I find FastStone to be a better viewer for RAW files than Adobe Bridge. It is a RAW viewer, but not a RAW converter.
If you don't need or want a P&S that shoots in RAW, that opens up a plethora of camera choices for you. since most P&S cameras don't have that feature.
Discussion
13 repliesThe brand of DSLR you use should have no bearing on the brand of point n shoot you choose. You need to decide what kind of point n shoot camera you need and then try to get the best one of that type. You can get a superzoom, an ultra-compact, a low-cost compact, or a full-control type camera. Almost all point n shoot digicams are considerably smaller than a typical DSLR, even the superzooms.
I always have an ultra-compact in my pocket. My current one is the size of a credit card, but thicker. (Canon SD780). For snap shots, I like my wife's sub-$200 compact. (Canon A720) It does a great job and has 6x zoom.
www.dpreview.com is a good source of information.
P&S Thread
But it's like Buck said you need to identify what you want in a pocket camera and then buy the best one there is in that range.
Wim
JR
The advantages and disadvantages have been discussed in several threads if you search, or just use google. (Luminous Landscape and Cambridge in Colour are great sources too).
Actually John, my waterproof P&S can go down to 15 feet, and survive drops of several feet onto concrete. I've tossed it around pretty good, snorkeled with it fairly deep, and I throw it around the pool without much care. I think it's well worth it following that path to get one of the tougher P&Ss...
Thats odd because that camera is not supposed to shoot raw files. I know there is a diagnostic mode for Nikon cameras p&s cameras which enables raw shooting that some people have used a hack to enable. I wonder if it somehow was enabled on your camera by mistake in the factory. If thats the case you may need a program to convert the raw files to DNG format which I have to do with my hacked Canon camera. I'm going to assume the reason you can't view raw files on your computer is because that camera is not supposed to shoot raw files and is doing so by mistake and you may have to convert them to DNG first.
With a point and shoot camera that supports raw files officially it should not be necessary to convert to DNG format first and you should be able to open raw files with the software that came with the camera or with adobe photoshop and there are many other photo editing programs that support raw files as well.
There are many advantages to shooting raw files. First you can change the white balance settings your camera set for the image later on, with jpeg you are stuck with what you shot it as so if the image is too cool toned or too warm toned there is only so much you can do to correct it. The second major advantage is there is far more leeway in a raw file for mis-exposure. So if you accidently overexposure or underexpose by a stop it is much easier to correct for it with a raw file than with a jpeg file as there is far more image data stored in a raw file, it isn't just pixel data like a jpeg. Of course you don't want to get in the practice of "oh its almost right so I'll just fix the raw file later", you want to get it as best you can in camera but nobody is perfect with exposure every single time so shooting raw can enable you to fix an image which would not be possible if it was shot in jpeg mode.
You should have gotten software with your camera that will let you view and convert its RAW files. You can also view them with Picasa or with FastStone Image Viewer. Both are free. I find FastStone to be a better viewer for RAW files than Adobe Bridge. It is a RAW viewer, but not a RAW converter.
If you don't need or want a P&S that shoots in RAW, that opens up a plethora of camera choices for you. since most P&S cameras don't have that feature.