Best fun digital camera for personal use

[lisa_cohen]

I am a professional photographer, but I sometimes want to carry a digital camera with me

that is small and will be great for weekend personal use for family shots, etc. Does

anyone recommend a small digital? I had a canon powershot 330 and couldn't stand the

delay... are all the small ones slow? Any favorites out there? Thanks.

[rob_murray]

Canon just announced the new A610 (5MP) AND a620 (7MP) with the newer digic II processor. Its really a smaller G6 camera. They replace the a510, a520 and A95 camera. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05082202canona610a620.asp

[andrew robertson]

All the small ones are slow. Unless you pre-focus the camera, expect a good second of lag

between when you press the shutter button and when the picture is actually taken.

[rvalois]

Hi Lisa ...

 

I shoot weddings with MF equipment and 35mm backup equipment.

 

I just purchased my "fun" digital camera - Konica-Minolta Z5. I was attracted to this particular model for a number of reasons including prior purchase by two of my fiends who were happy with it. SOme of those other reasons: 5 megapixels, lens gets you to within 1 cm (one centimeter)in super macro mode and has a 12x optical zoom with image stabilization - I'm simply amazed! Also has flash compensation.

 

Been using for a few months now and simply can;t get over the excelllent 8x10's. But then nothing's perfect: noisy at higher ISO - forget ISO 400 (par for smaller sensors) but simply gorgeous at ISO 50 or 100.

 

A few others to consider if zoom/macro interest you: Sony have just released a 12x optical stabilized model, Canon S2 IS and Panasonic.

 

Have fun shopping!

 

Ray

[vuyisich]

I think you would love the Canon S2 IS.

[mitchell_kirschner]

I would check out the Fuji F10. Very responsive with very good image quality; compact; 3x optical zoom; and especially noted as a digicam (as opposed to digital SLR) for its excellent high ISO capabilities. There's a photo.net member (<a href="http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=1778493">Hugo P</a>) who makes very good use of this camera.

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A good place to check in general is dpreview.com. You can compare different cameras side by side, search by features, etc.

[jcuknz]

The Panasonic LX1 has 8Mp, 6x zoom and is fast like the FZ series becuase it has the new Venus processor. My camera witn this processor is normally ready to shoot before I am. The LX also has image stabilisation which you may have with your pro lenses so will appreciate it's tremendous benefits. It is smallish to fit pocket or handbag or whatever you use :-)

[john_mccormack]

Another vote here for the Fuji F10. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have an optical viewfinder or aperture/shutter priority, but it's low light performance is second to none.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf10zoom/

 

Or, you may want to wait for the Fuji E900. It's a bit bigger than the F10 but has more user controls:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05072801fuji_e900.asp

[andrew robertson]

Well, second to every camera with a larger sensor. Maybe second to none when excluding

DSLRs.

[neil_cohen]

I recently purchased a Canon S2 IS after reading a LOT of rewiews. They are very accurate. Tremendous versatility, 12x , very comfortable to handle, excellent pictures. Think you would enjoy it.

[rocketmancc]

Someone gave a great reviw of the Konica/Minolta Dimage Z5. I would also like to

recommend the much lower priced Z20.

 

8x optical zoom, 5 MP, and fastest start-up on the market. .5 secs from power up to ready

for first picture.

 

Also, one of the most energy efficient Cameras out there.

 

It is great to not have to be constantly worried about how much battery power is left.

 

I use rechargeable NiMH AA's and so far I am getting anywhere from between 400 and 500

pictures on each set of batteries.

 

Plus, the lens is complety internal. No lenses sliding in and out. It also have filter rings to

attach Filters and wide-angle lenses.

 

Thanks

Carlos

[terrypittman]

I also wanted to carry a weekend camera with ease and decided on the Panasonic LUMIX FZ-10,

 

I absolutely love it.

 

Click on my name to see my images.

[joseph_albert]

To minimize the compromise in image quality compared to your pro gear, why not consider either a Konica-Minolta A200 or Olympus C-8080. The K-M has a longer zoom range (equiv. to 28-200 in 35mm vs. equiv to 28-140) and anti-shake, whereas the C-8080 has a rugged all-metal body, more like a pro camera in build. I was able to buy a 1 month old C8080 and went that route, although the longer focal length capability and anti-shake of the KM was my preference. I'm not sorry I did as I carry the camera with me most days, and it gets knocked around, so the rugged build is worthwhile. My main complaints with the C8080 are the lack of an optical viewfinder (LCD or EVF are teh choices) and the lack of manual zoom capability. Otherwise, I've found it easy to use as the features not easy to control aren't ones I need generally. Changing resolution, ASA, white balance, exposure compensation, and changing modes between aperture/shutter priority or manual mode are all a snap. I generally leave it in aperture priority mode with exposure histogram displayed one the lower area of the LCD, and then set aperture, and adjust the exposure compensation wheel to center the histogram. shutter delay is not objectionable, but time to write a raw file to microdrive is a tad slow. SHQ JPEG is much faster though. my other cameras are all film cameras so I can't compare to other digital, but I get very clean, 8MP images at ISO 50. depth of field is so great with teh small sensor that I can generally handhold at ISO 50, occasionally using ISO 100. ISO 200 and 400 are noisy. I've used the noise reduction reature for long exposures and have done 15 and 30 second exposures to get images with no detectable noise.