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Author Topic: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice  (Read 3786 times)

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Offline thegreatgumbino

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ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« on: May 20, 2012, 03:36:57 PM »
Hey folks-

Looking for some input from folks in the know.  My wife wants a new point & shoot camera for her birthday and I don't follow cameras at all (nor does she really).  Honestly, I don't have the time to spend researching what's current & worthy.  Looking for something small that can fit in a pocket/purse that has good no flash color representation (she hates flash washout).  Not really specific on any features other than "a good quality camera that takes excellent pictures".  All of the features now a days are way beyond what they were the last time we bought a Canon P&S in 2006, so it's all gravy.  Price range would be upto $300, with less being fantastic, but if the bee's knee's camera is $350 that's good too.  Thanks for any and all help.

Matt
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Offline OOK

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2012, 09:29:26 PM »
I like the panasonic PS's...  the ZS-20 or ZS-15 should fit your bill nicely...
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Offline phanophish

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advi
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2012, 11:59:01 PM »
I'll drop my recommendation for the Nikon P300.  Great in low light, superb video, only trade off is limited zoom.  I love mine
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Offline Brian Skalinder

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2012, 12:33:29 AM »
Basically your choices come down to:

  • Super-zoom optical range (e.g. 10x), but not so good in low light, or
  • Moderate zoom range (e.g. 4x), but much better in low light
For the former, the Panasonic ZS series are quite good; for the latter, Nikon P300 or Canon S95 are both outstanding.
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Offline jlykos

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2012, 03:23:16 AM »
Canon S100 or the Panasonic DMC-LX5.  Canon is slightly smaller; Panasonic has slightly better picture quality.  You really can't go wrong with either one.
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Offline ashevillain

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2012, 07:09:24 AM »
This is a really awesome tool if you want to compare specs of different cameras side by side:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras

Offline phanophish

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2012, 11:19:23 AM »
Basically your choices come down to:

  • Super-zoom optical range (e.g. 10x), but not so good in low light, or
  • Moderate zoom range (e.g. 4x), but much better in low light
For the former, the Panasonic ZS series are quite good; for the latter, Nikon P300 or Canon S95 are both outstanding.

To add to this.  I also have a Panasonic DMC-ZS7.  Really like both cameras, but I find myself reaching for the Nikon P300 because of the faster lens/better low light sensor performance much more often than the Panasonic.  I just don't do that much that needs the superzoom and when I would like it (at venues in the back) the loss of low light sensitivity negates the superzoom benefits.  I can only really see them being useful outdoors in good light (think vacation outdoors or daylight festival).  For normal stuff, (shooting the kiddo indoors, bands as small clubs, family snapshots) I like the control of depth of field and better light sensitivity of the P300.

Here's an example.  Shot of my daughter playing dress up from a few months ago.  Total cheesy kid pic, but it was shot in a dark living room, with just a single light fixture turned on in the kitchen, shallow DOF from the 1.8 aperture, and the sensor hit White Balance & ISO noise pretty well for a P&S...
 

DP Review also have really good in depth reviews of most cameras. So be sure to check them out....
« Last Edit: May 21, 2012, 11:23:43 AM by phanophish »
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Audio: MBHO 603/KA200N or AKG C2000B>Edirol R44
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/phanophish

Photo:  Nikon D300, D200, 35mm f/1.8,  50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, Nikon 17-55 f/2.8, Sigma 18-50/2.8 Macro, 18-70 f/4.5-5.6, 24-120 f/3.5-5.6 VR, Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8VR, SB-800

Jake: What's this?
Elwood: What?
Jake: This car. This stupid car. Where's the Cadillac? The Caddy? Where's the Caddy?
Elwood: The what?
Jake: The Cadillac we used to have. The Blues Mobile!
Elwood: I traded it.
Jake: You traded the Blues Mobile for this?
Elwood: No. For a microphone.
Jake: A microphone? Okay I can see that.

Offline thegreatgumbino

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Re: ISO Point & Shoot Buying Advice
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2012, 07:45:09 PM »
She went with the Panasonic Lumix LX5.  The low light shots are amazing!  Thanks for the help folks.
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