Need a new camera. Any advice?

[ImNoSuperMan]

I m in the market for a new digital camera(for home use only. nothing pro). My budget is 300-350$ at best(or less if possible). Since it`ll be used only for regular stuff, I guess anything over 4 Megapixel should be good enough. It needs to be extremely compact and handy.

My brother has a Sony DSC-T33(Cyber-shot, 5MP,3x zoom). I love it coz it`s really slim and compact and the photos are really good. I`d like to have something similar.

So does any one has any advice on which model should I look for?

 

[davegoody]

Spend a little more . . . .

If your budget can stretch that little bit more, consider the Canon EOS 350d (REBEL XT over there !) - the quality is so very much better than the prosumer compacts and it is still quite compact.

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

If your budget can stretch that little bit more, consider the Canon EOS 350d (REBEL XT over there !) - the quality is so very much better than the prosumer compacts and it is still quite compact.

Whoaah. That looks huge compared to the sony. I dont need a prosumer model. Just need it for use on vacation, family events only. Upgrading from regular film cameras anything will seem great quality to me.

BTW, by compact I mean something pocketable.

 

[netdog]

Take a look at the Panasonics. They are Leicas with a Panasonic badge, and run about half the price for the very same camera. They make an 8MP in about your price range that has a really good lens on it.

 

[Chundles]

Take a look at the Panasonics. They are Leicas with a Panasonic badge, and run about half the price for the very same camera. They make an 8MP in about your price range that has a really good lens on it.

I own a Panasonic TZ1. It has a Leica lens, image stabilisation, 10x optical zoom and 5MP sensor.

I love it, it's a great camera.

 

[PlaceofDis]

the Canon Elph series will give you a very small size. my sister has the SD400 and its small, if not tiny. can slip into pockets/purses without a problem. on the whole, the SD series are all compact cameras each with its own balance of features. personally i like the SD600 myself and am considering that purchase soon. compact, easy to use, point and shoot. small, but has 6MP and a decent enough zoom for now (considering the size of it).

 

[gauchogolfer]

I'm planning on buying a compact camera on my trip to Tokyo next month, so I've been looking around a bit as well. dpreview.com is a good source for information, though it can be a bit slanted in coverage towards higher-end models than your budget/size constraints allow.

In addition to the Panasonics that Chundles mentioned, which have nice reviews (the newest one is the FX-01), I'd say to take a look at Casios. The S600 and Z850 both have gotten nice reviews for their still images, and take .mp4 movies as well. I think they are priced about right for you.

 

[netdog]

I own a Panasonic TZ1. It has a Leica lens, image stabilisation, 10x optical zoom and 5MP sensor.

I love it, it's a great camera.

You see that? Follow the way of The Chundles and you can't possibly go wrong. After all, he lives far south of the equator, and yet he can go swimming today.

 

[aswitcher]

I m in the market for a new digital camera(for home use only. nothing pro). My budget is 300-350$ at best(or less if possible). Since it`ll be used only for regular stuff, I guess anything over 4 Megapixel should be good enough. It needs to be extremely compact and handy.

My brother has a Sony DSC-T33(Cyber-shot, 5MP,3x zoom). I love it coz it`s really slim and compact and the photos are really good. I`d like to have something similar.

So does any one has any advice on which model should I look for?

http://www.steves-digicams.com

http://www.dpreview.com

Use Steves our reviews http://www.steves-digicams.com/cameras_dig5.html to hunt down models in a variety of megapixelsizes. Then check out the reviews on his pages and dpreview.

Also check out his top cameras form each catergoryto see what he rates as the best out their. http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

"5 Megapixel

Canon Powershot A530

Kodak Easyshare V570

Fujifilm Finepix A500

Sony Cybershot W5

Olympus D-595

Kodak Easyshare C533

Canon Powershot SD400

Nikon Coolpix 5600

Panasonic DMC-LZ3"


Ultra Compact - Pocketable

Canon Powershot SD600

Sony Cybershot T5

Casio Exilim EX-S600

Nikon Coolpix S5

Canon Powershot SD700 IS

Casio Exilim EX-Z1000

Sony Cybershot W50"

I can recommend Canon for some nice compact and well featured cameras.

 

[Chundles]

You see that? Follow the way of The Chundles and you can't possibly go wrong. After all, he lives far south of the equator, and yet he can go swimming today.

It's mid-winter, 9:20pm and I could go swimming now - except that sharks feed at night...

 

[aswitcher]

It's mid-winter, 9:20pm and I could go swimming now - except that sharks feed at night...

Yeah I hear its 20 degree C - warmer than the air.

 

[Chundles]

Yeah I hear its 20 degree C - warmer than the air.

Yep, 20°C in the drink right now, 14°C out of the water.

These photos were taken, hand-held, on "Normal Photo" settings, from the same position with my TZ1.

 

[Abstract]

If your budget can stretch that little bit more, consider the Canon EOS 350d (REBEL XT over there !) - the quality is so very much better than the prosumer compacts and it is still quite compact.

Are we going to offer advice that matches what the thread starter wants, or just tell people to buy something we already own ourselves, even if it doesn't sound remotely close to what he wants? Sorry, but the "I know you wanted a small camera, but I'm going to recommend you get a DSLR because I have one and it takes better photos" type of advice is getting a bit tired. And annoying.

Why not just recommend everyone get a Ferrari whenever someone starts a car advice thread, even if they want a small car or SUV? Surely a Ferrari is great.

My brother has a Sony DSC-T33(Cyber-shot, 5MP,3x zoom). I love it coz it`s really slim and compact and the photos are really good. I`d like to have something similar.

So does any one has any advice on which model should I look for?

I'd recommend the Sony DSC-T33 Cybershot, 5 MP, 3x zoom camera.

Panasonic Lumix cameras are great too. Lots of features. I have a Canon, but other companies seem to make much smaller, thinner cameras. Maybe try the Nikon S6 (or S5 since it's cheaper) and newer Olympus (MJU 700) and Fuji models (I think the Z3??) as well.

 

[ChrisA]

Upgrading from regular film cameras anything will seem great quality to me..

No, not the case. In terms of pure image quality film still wins by a large margin. What you gain with digital is the instant turn around that comes from not having to have the film processed.

A large DSLR like the Canon 350D or Nikon D50 can come closer to the quality of film but none of the small point and shoot digicams come close.

That said it is nice to have a small pocketable camera. I'd go with any of the big camera makers, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and buy which ever model fits your budget.

Things to look for are

1) Shutter lag. (very anoying if more then a few miliseconds
2) Controls on buttons and knobs rather then hidden in the menu system. This is really a matter of degree as all camera put funtions in the menu
3) Quality of the lens, It's the lens that takes the picture.

 

[Lincoln]

What you want to do with the photos vs. size of camera vs. how much you can afford?

Canon's Ixus series (e.g. 55 or 60) are very fast and responsive - My mum has got one of these (Ixus 50) and she worked how to use it and loves it. It has no lag at all.

Sony are a bit smaller but aren't as fast as the Ixus series. The "T" series are quite pricey though the N and W series are a bit thicker but cheaper. The only issue with sony is the memory stick prices + all the different types that there are now (Canon's use SD cards). I used to use Sony cameras but find the Canons better featured.

I also use Digital SLRs for serious photography, these are not compact by any stretch of the imagination and will be getting a Powershot S3 IS later as something that can be with me most of the time.

NOTE: The Canon model numbers are the UK equivalents Ixus 55 = SD450, Ixus 60 = SD600. The SD630 is the SD600 with a 3" rear display instead of a 2.5" display.

I recommend that if you can, go to a shop and handle these cameras to see which is most intuitive to you and what "feels" best in the hand. The worst camera to buy is the one you don't use.

I know that it has been suggested before but reading the review sites is a good way to narrow down the choices. If you get down to a few models and have trouble deciding feel free to ask questions as you can gaurantee that there will be users on these forums that have the cameras you are asking about.

 

[AJ Muni]

vikas soni, I was in your EXACT SHOES about 3 weeks ago and came here looking for advice. I ended up buying the Sony DSC-W50. Its only 3 mm thicker than the DSC-T33, and it only costs $249.99. It's a 6MP camera and has a nice 2.5" lcd screen. I also bought the 1GB memory stick and my total was around $305. I couldnt be happier. I read a good article the other day how you shouldnt buy a camera based on its megapixels if you just take recreational pics (like i do). The only reason I didnt get the DSC-T33 was because it was discontinued at best buy, and the next one up on the T series was the DSC-T9 and thats too much for me ($399). Hope I helped!

 

[ChrisA]

Are we going to offer advice that matches what the thread starter wants, or just tell people to buy something we already own ourselves,.

This always happens on these kinds of threads. Someone will ask "What camera should I get?" and offers no more informations except maybe a price range.

With so little to go on all you can say is "here are some fetures to concider" If there is no speciic use given what do we have to go on? Now if someone were to specifiy a maximum size and weight, and tell us if they value image quality ofver size or not or if they intend to make straight out of the camera prints or to only display on screen or if they are into Photoshop or not. With this amount of info we could give meaningfull advice.

But if you just ask "what camera" then everyone will say "I'm happy with mine. get one like that. And wouldn';t you know it everyone who is seriously into photography either has or wants an SLR.

 

[Abstract]

This always happens on these kinds of threads. Someone will ask "What camera should I get?" and offers no more informations except maybe a price range.

He wants something compact, not pro, and says the Sony DSC-T33 is something he'd like because it's (1) Slim, (2) Compact. That last bit of info alone would have given me an idea, but hey, it's all in how you interpret the info given, I guess.

Seems like enough info to me.

 

[Aperture]

Hi. I had the Sony DSCP200. It is 7MP and has a Zeiss lens. I just got an original Rebel, the Canon 300d. I haven't had a chance to take a lot of pics yet but all of the current photos on my website were taken w/ the DSCP200. KevinSchaefer.net It is a really nice camera and fairly compact.

 

[cgratti]

It's mid-winter, 9:20pm and I could go swimming now - except that sharks feed at night...

Please don't mention WINTER again, it's mid-summer here and I don't want to think about winter and snow....

 

[balamw]

I own a Panasonic TZ1. It has a Leica lens, image stabilisation, 10x optical zoom and 5MP sensor.

I love it, it's a great camera.

While I have been contemplating something smaller like the Canon SD600 or the similarly sized Panasonic FX01, the TZ1 actually caught my eye at the store today. The zoom and the relative small size, but decent grip were big attractions.

Grrr. Now I'm further torn.

B

 

[ImNoSuperMan]

Thanx a lot for all your opinions. I`ve shortlisted Sony w50, Canon Ixus 55, Nikon S5. All three of them seem good enough for me. Right now I m inclining towards Sony as they have a pretty good support in India. The only problem I found with my bro`s Sony T33 is that it`s just a little slow while capturing the pics. So sometimes the image gets a little snowy/blurry if I accidentally move my hand a little while shooting. Any guessses if any of these three cameras might be better than T33 in that regards?

 

[pulsewidth947]

I have a Canon Ixus 400 (I think they called them powershot 400 in the US), and its nice and compact. A bit flimsy though. The slide switch that switches between camera and viewer broke and it took Canon nearly 3 months to fix it... thus missing my graduation pictures. I think its fair to say thats a sore point. I certainly feel strongly enough to never buy a Canon product again

My friends had Pentax Optio S4i which are really really thin and light. Perfect for vacations I feel.

My best advice is go into a store and try those 3 cameras. Look out for shutter lag, and ask the sales person about features and stuff. You don't have to buy it from a local store, you can buy online, but taking 30 minutes to try the cameras can save a lot of heart ache later on.

AS far as blurring is concerned, this is a result of using slower shutter speeds. Theres not a lot you can do to avoid this if there isnt enough light. The only options you have are to either increase the ISO speed (100 > 200, or 200 > 400 etc) or turn on the flash. Both options have their disadvantages: Increasing the ISO increases the noise level (the amount of little random coloured pixels in your picture), and flash only works about 6ft in front (don't quote me on that, it might be 12ft - it's a short distance anyway).

 

[Abstract]

Any guessses if any of these three cameras might be better than T33 in that regards?

Well you can get a camera with built in IS, or just keep your hands still. IT's difficult to take sharp photos at night without flash, but that's a problem with every small camera that I know of.

I own a Canon IXUS 40. It's good, but I'd be willing to go with another company next time because there are so many good small cameras, including ones from Sony. However, I'd get an Olympus 720 SW, but my desires are different, I think.

 

[homerjward]

if you like your brother's camera, and know how to use it, etc. why not get the same model?

edit: just occured to me that it might be out of your price range.