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Canon Point & Shoot?


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I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this post, but I'll give it a try!

 

Don't get me wrong, I love my larger Canon DSLRs. However, when we are going to spend a day at the beach or

heading to Six Flags for the day, I HATE lugging those things around.

 

For Christmas, I'm asking my partner for a plain ole' point and shoot. I want something slim enough to fit in a pocket,

but with photo quality that won't completely disappoint me.

 

Any suggestions?

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I have a digital elph Powershot SD1000. I love it. The photos can be enlarged to 13 by 19 with outstanding results. I was so shocked at the good results, I reshot the scene with my 17-40mm L lens. The L lens was better but not by much. Both lenses captured my backyard snow scene in crisp detail. Some newer models with IS (image stabilization) could be even better. My elph is the size of a deck of cards and goes everwhere with me. Olympus has a model that is waterproof to 33 feet and shock resistant.
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Another for G9 or G10, my reasoning is that the mode dials and layout is similar to the Dslr, and will also accept EX flashes. if you want smaller again an SD880/990, But you don`t need to stick with canon. I bought an olympus for the oldest as they knock things around, the Olympus stylus 1050 sw is shock proof so fairly safe in bag and water proof so takes a lil fear away when going beach

 

HTH :)

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I have bought three Canon Powershot A590s as gifts in the last six months for friends and family.

 

The first one I bought was $180 and the last one was $145. It is an excellent point and shoot. Sensible MP count (8MP),

decent lens with a 4X optical zoom, image stabilization, video option and pretty intuitive controls. It's small, light and the IQ

is very good indeed. I like that it takes AAs and that you can now buy the camera, 2 Gig SD card and rechargeable AAs

with a charger for under $200 - a great buy.

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Last year, I found and bought an older Canon Powershot 500 (Elph) that used compact flash (because I didn't want

to carry around two kinds of memory). It was only about 5MPixel, but was very nice to use as a pocket camera for

places where you didn't want the "lug" of all the gear. It also had a viewfinder which I find more useful than a

"live display". It was such a good idea that my daughter talked me out of it, so now I'm back to my old Rollei 35

and the like. :(<div>00RRKV-86967584.jpg.22c5aeec8839ba553a61a927d66ed7ef.jpg</div>

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The `A` series arn`t too bad, when I wanted a G9 they were not in stock so got an A640 10m, a lil larger but did what I wanted. a small cam for an interstate visit. This shot a hand held in `photostitch` city of perth Oz. does good lil video clips too :)
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The G9/G10 are indeed at the top of compacts these days, but I think they are not pocketable, as the OP requires?

 

My vote would go for one of the current Panasonics, they offer more or less the same as the Elph range, but with the advantage of wide anlge.

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The Canon G9/G10 are great point and shoot and has image quality that is pretty nice. However you do need a fairly large

pocket to put a G9/G10 inside. I tried to put my G9 in my pants pocket at a dinner party and I had a pretty strange looking

bulge. A true pocket point and shoot does not have a lens that sticks out. I used a Sony Cyber Shot T-200 when I spend 8

days vacationing in Japan. That was a fairly compact point and shoot that gave me fairly decent images.

 

You will have to decide where you draw the line in size. Most point and shoot nowadays have pretty good image quality. I

like the waterproof Olympus for the beach and boat trips.

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Thanks, all. These are some helpful suggestions. Where have I been? I've never even heard of the G9/G10. While they do look amazing, I think they are a little larger than what I'm looking for.

 

I really am wanting something that will LITERALLY fit into my pocket. Again, we'll be using this rarely--just for parties, eating out, activities, etc.

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In a more recent review: (<a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/pocket-

battleships.shtml">The Nikon P6000 and Canon G10 Duke It Out</a>), the same author who compared the G10 to a

medium format camera stated:" As good as they can be, (see my G10 vs Medium Format article) these aren't really

a replacement for a DSLR let alone a medium format camera when it comes to image quality. They're good, but not

that good."

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Depends on how small you want, and whether you care about video capability. Obviously the G10 is the top of the Canon line, but it isn't very small, and it isn't cheap. If want something a little smaller and/or cheaper, and can live with limited video capability (top quality is 640x480 pixels at 20 fps), I'd say take a look at the A590 IS. Personally I find the SD models <I>too</I> small, making them a bit hard to hold, use, and control, but that's me, maybe you'd love one.<P>

 

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 does look very interesting, with a 24-60mm-equivalent f/2.0-2.8 lens, optical image stabilization, and supposedly fairly decent high-sensitivity performance (apparently OK at ISO 400 and even usable at ISO 800). If you prefer wide to long, this would have to be at the top of the list.

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In my experience, the Canon A series cameras make terrific pocket cameras for spur-of-the-moment shooting, and

are capable of fairly incredible macro shots, as a bonus. They all suffer at higher ISO's, and image quality is

really going to be only nitpickingly different among _any_ of them. Go to your favorite camera store, and buy

whichever canon A camera is on sale or feels best in your hand, and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. (I

lucked into last-year's a720IS for just a little over a hundred bucks when Office Depot closed them out). You

can see a couple of samples from that camera at my Flickr stream:<blockquote><center>

<a href=" S.i.R. title="S.i.R. by Pen Waggener, on Flickr"><img

src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/2974536127_94c0cbd2e1_t.jpg" width="100" height="67" alt="S.i.R." /></a>

<a href=" First Frost title="First Frost by Pen Waggener, on Flickr"><img

src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3191/2954406263_d76951fa3b_t.jpg" width="100" height="67" alt="First Frost"

/></a></center></blockquote>

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dan, do tell us a little more about your shooting habit. what you mean by 'plain ole' point and shoot' means something different to each user. some might find the casio slimline bodies to be good enough. others might have a discerning taste for the so called higher end bridge camera. ricoh does not seem to have been mentioned above. the gr and gx series are no mean performers. the sweet spots in some of the ricoh models is sweeter than the canikon offerings. olympus also makes a few lovely pockatable cameras. don't just stick to canon. venture out and better deals might be available.
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Others have suggested brands other than Canon, but I wonder if they have ever used a Canon P&S and then tried another brand. I would suggest going to a store that carries several brands and trying them in the store to see how you like the feel, responsiveness, and menus. After that I think you will end up with a Powershot SD series to meet your needs. A lot of other brands are capable of decent image quality since most P&S cameras including Canon use Sony CCD sensors. The difference is in the handling and operation. A few months ago a friend asked for advice on a P&S to use with his Nikon D200. Since he said he would like to be able to use his flash on it I suggested whatever Nikon's top P&S at the time was. When he got it I couldn't believe how slow it was, even compared to my wife's 3 year old SD 500. I wondered if it was just me who noticed this until I saw a discussion here in the Nikon forum asking the same advice, and well over half the responses from Nikon users said to go with Canon for a P&S.

 

Bottom line, I prefer an SLR. If I don't want to be bothered with one I use my A640. If I needed something for a pocker I would use one of the newer SD series Canons. The A and G series are more full featured and have better ergonomics, but I wouldn't call them pocketable.

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