Looking for A New Camera

[Davis Knowlton]

Apologies, as I know this has been done many times before, but I'm asking again as the market changes so frequently. I'm looking for a small, look and shoot camera, with a zoom if possible. Nothing fancy, just to take some shots around here, and then transfer to the computer to send to folks. I've had good luck with Canon before. Seems whenever I want to shoot something, the wife has either left the camera at home, or it's low battery, or something. Any recent purchases you thought were exceptionally good? No camera phones, please. Price not really a deal, as long as I get what I'm paying for. Small, simple to operate, clear shots. Thanks.

[Blue water dreaming]

G'day Davis. I have an SLR (Nikon) for times when I am deliberately going to spend time taking arty shots. For the point and shoot I use an Olympus XZ-1. It has a 4x optical zoom and an excellent quality lens which lets in lots of light. It is 10meg so you can zoom in close to pick the bits out of wide shots when you are editing your shots on the computer. I picked up mine in Japan for about $450. In truth, with the exception of zoom (when in AE mode) the Nikon provides no better quality than the Olympus.

Meanwhile, I am looking also. Anyone have any experience with the GoPro HD video cam. I want one for the coming trip across the Pacific and while the adverts look good, I would appreciate hearing from practical users.

[Thetyim]

Stick with a Canon then you can't go wrong

[Fondles]

Stick with a Canon then you can't go wrong

And the best point and shoot on the market today is the Canon S95.

Canon PowerShot S95 Review - Digital Compact Cameras

[Norton]

Any recent purchases you thought were exceptionally good?

Being the worst photographer in the world, seems I can't take a bad pic with the one I bought last year. Probably a new model with more pixels per fortnight available now.

Panasonic DMC-TZ2

Old review.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ2 review - Digital Camera - Trusted Reviews

[dirtydog]

Canon gets my vote, don't worry about if the camera is 10meg or 50 meg, without a good lense its a camera that can take photos with a crap lense, my 4meg camera takes better clearer pics than my 10 meg, german lenses = dam,n good quality, thats if you buy anything other than canon, but canon are pretty good at lenses and the lense is the most important thing, get a good one.

[Davis Knowlton]

Thanks all; that Canon S95 is looking pretty good!

[S Landreth]

A camera I purchased before visiting Hawaii last year. Great little camera Olympus Tough TG-810 (shoots underwater, video, shock proof, yada yada yada)

[Looper]

Canon S100 Powershot



Full manual control including focusing in a shirt pocket camera

Large 1/1.7" sensor for high quality images

F2.0 aperture for great low light night time shots

Digic 5 processor

Can't go past this camera for only about $350 on ebay

Useful 24mm(superwide)-120mm (5x) equivalent zoom

[Fondles]

I know "no phones" was mentioned but the Nokia 808 Pure View is supposed to take awesome pics, as it should with a 48 megapoodle camera on it.

Nokia 808 PureView has 41-megapixel camera in official pics | CNET UK

But if I was in the market for a new camera (I have the Panasonic DMC-FT2 water proof jobbie and its awesome) I would definitely be looking at the Canon S95.

[slackula]

Mr Earl did a thread a bit back with pics from his nifty little new Samsung. I was with him when he was shooting and it is a very nice little piece of kit.

Here's his thread on the camera:

https://teakdoor.com/the-multimedia-f...msung-ex1.html (Samsung EX1)

Here's some pics he took with it:

https://teakdoor.com/phuket-forum/112...lture-day.html (Kathu Culture Day)

As a point-and-shoot it seemed to do quite well, I think it is probably rumbling around on the back of his motorbike in Chile or Argentina or something at the moment so perhaps in a few months he'll report back on how well it travels!

[Looper]

^very nice camera but not as pocketable as the S100 and a bit heavier and also has a stick on lens cap instead of an automatic retractable lens cover. The fold out screen is nice though.

S100 also has the new CMOS sensor and the Digic 5 software is better at reducing purple fringing and other aberrations visible on the S95. Has GPS too over the S95 although I would not use GPS.

[Bangyai]

If you want to get the best camera for the amount you want to spend check out the online reviews available at several sites.

Digital Photography Review

Digital Camera Reviews - Best Digital Camera Ratings and Camera Reviews

Digital Cameras - Over 500 digital cameras reviews!

Steves Digicams - Digital Camera Reviews, Camera News, and Photography Information

There are several good makes and to get the best information it makes sense to look at what people who review cameras for a living have to say.

Personaly, only going by what I've read , Panasonic make some very good cameras of the type you are looking for. Certainly give Canon a run for the money.

[nigelandjan]

Yup agree with BY I to have a Canon Ixus for in the pocket , but a Panasonic GX1 for the bag ,, really pleased with the Panasonic / Leica lens .

HOWEVER for your pocket camera have a look at this baby with a Leica lens on board .

[hazz]

I would suggest cannon too. Another reason to consider is that their camera's are extendable. Cirtain modles will on startup look for software installed on the SD card and use it if its there.

So these gents have created som extensions to the cannon called chdk

and a gallery of what it allows you to do
Samples - CHDK Wiki
Samples: HDR - CHDK Wiki
Samples: High-Speed Shutter & Flash-Sync - CHDK Wiki

[nigelandjan]

^ oops sorry

[Dillinger]

Those retractable lenses can go wrong

My own fault i guess for buying one from a company famous for its fukkin calculators

How many Thai baht is the Canon s95 ?

[The Big Fella]

I have been a Nikon man for a while but was gifted a Panasonic Lumix a few months ago. it is waterproof to 12 meters, shock proof, has GPS and an altimeter it has a Lieca lens and takes HD movies as well. It takes fantastic shots and is the ideal camera for carrying around with you as it is about as bullet proof as you can get. Very happy snapper now.
It was perfect for Songkran this year

[hazz]

That sounds impressive, personally I like the idea of gps data embedded in photos. But don't be shy, what's the model number

[The Big Fella]

Its a Panasonic DMC - TS3 As said it appears to be bullet proof and takes fantastic shots and movies. The underwater shots are excellent.

[taxexile]

i bought a nikon coolpix P7100 a few months ago.

its not too big, a bit too big for a shirt pocket though, but fully featured, infinitely adjustable using buttons and wheels rather than menus, and has fully automatic settings too.

if you like to have full control at times, then this camera is worth a look.

[hazz]

^^Sweet, got a compass too. The bomb proof bits attractive, personally it's abuse rather thn wearing out that's killed my old digital cameras.

[Norton]

The bomb proof bits attractive

Planning a trip to Yala, are you?

[taxexile]

has GPS and an altimeter

theyll drain your battery in 10 minutes, turn them off when you dont need them.

[Davis Knowlton]

Looper. Was just about sold on the Canon s100, then looked at the horrible reviews on Amazon. Every bad review, and there were tons, commented on a lens flaw where the lens fails to retract properly. Ditto for S95. Any thoughts?