Which ?200-?250 compact for best image quality?

[jon_marks1]

Hello, all.

 

I've been trawling the web and magazines here in the UK, and am now

more confused than ever about which camera to buy. My main criteria

are image quality and some degree of manual control, certainly as

regards metering modes (my current Canon A300 Powershot is quite

flexible in this regard, and has spot as well as centre-weighted and

averaged, AFAIR).

 

One thing that drives me potty is barrel distortion. Other annoyances

are zoom lenses the length of toilet rolls, and a million-and-one

useless bells and whistles. All I'm after is a camera geared more

towards image quality than features. Although a good basic zoom might

be handy, I could almost certainly get by without one, as long as a

fixed lens allows me to get in to about 30cms from the subject (is

this asking too much?), in this case hi-fi gear. I'm not fussed about

frames-per-second or the like.

 

Having popped into the local Jessops, they mentioned a Canon, a Nikon

and something else I forget. Panasonic's Lumix 5MP camera also seems

to be getting good reviews, although it seems to be limited in

metering modes. I'll be using the camera on a tripod most of the time,

predominantly taking pictures indoors in what are probably quite low

light conditions (I really don't have the space or the cash for any

sensible lighting). I suppose low noise would be good, although my

Canon seems quite happy with slowish shutter speeds at lowish ISOs.

 

Any advice would be greatly welcomed. I suppose I could consider

buying used too, although I'm not that sure what sort of problems I'd

need to keep an eye out for.

 

Cheers, Jon.

[coconutdaydream]

canon g6

[anthony_m1]

Joey, Where can you get a G6 for 200 - 250? I will be first in line.

[aaron_good]

I assume we're talking pounds, not US Dollars?

[ryanjoseph]

Jon,

 

I would hate to break it to you, but barrel distortion at the wide end is a fact of life with compact digital cameras. Some are worse than others, but it is ALWAYS there. As for your money, in the 200-250 dollar range (I am assuming US dollars), I would go for a Canon Powershot A85. 239 dollars at BH and Adorama, fantastic compact camera! Of course that does not leave you with any money for a memory card and batteries in your price range, so alternatives can be looked at as well.

 

The A75 has 3.2 megapixels, but comes in at a lite 210 dollars including flash memory in a BH kit special. That leaves you with some money free to buy rechargable batteries as well. Are my recomendations biased? YES, I have used compact digicams from the likes of Sony, Casio, and Pentax, and all of them feel far more gimmicky in this price range than the AA75 or A85. I tried the Nikons, but I was not very happy with the ergonomics.