Compact Cameras

[Guest]

SLRs don't interest me, as I'm never going to carry that kind of weight around.

 

Compact cameras are much more interesting.

The Olympus XZ1 looks like a camera for really high quality photos, but is slightly more bulky than some competition & the 28~112mm lens range doesn't seem enough.

 

The Canon S95 is smaller, still has a large sensor & also seems to be a high quality product. Unfortunately, the zoom range is 28~105mm.

 

So whilst these cameras will undoubtedly take fine photos most of the time & in poor light, once again I am likely to shop in the "compact superzoom" category.

When that's up for replacement in 2~3 years time, perhaps there will be something that combines the quality of the S95 with just a little bit more zoom range (maybe 25~200mm).

However, at the moment, it looks like another Panasonic TZ, or on of the many clones around.

This means trading some performance on the indoor (glamour!) shots for good ability to zoom outside. Over 95% of my photos are taken outside after all.

What type of cameras does everyone else go for?

[Guest AKAHagrid]

No doubt: Canon IXUS 220 HS

 

I'm a long-time user of Canon cameras. The S95 has the Digic 4 processor, which is phenomenal. Much better at quickly focusing, esp in low light. The problem with the camera (as well as its predecessor, the S90, which I have used) is that the flash is a powered pop-up type, which can cause mishandling if you are not expecting it.

 

I'm currently using the new IXUS 220 HS (aka "Elph 300 HS" in the US), and I'm in love. It's very small, thus imminently portable. It also uses the Digic 4 processor. It takes stunning HD movies (and you can zoom optically whilst recording), and it uses the MOV (MP4/H.264) format rather than AVI, so its video is substantially higher quality, not to mention Apple compatible out of the box without any transcoding.

 

The only downside is that there is no optical viewfinder, which can pose a problem when shooting in bright light, since the LCD screen image can be hard to see. But with that many pixels, and that much quality, I find that I can shoot wide and crop in post-processing.

 

Sorry if that's too much info!

[Guest kjun12]

The Canon S95 is a great camera. I got one a couple of months ago and am very pleased with it. Strongly recommend it to you.

[Guest Geezer]

In the past I have had to discard three good cameras because batteries were no longer available. Recalling my mother bought AA cells in 1946,and they can still be purchased today at any 7-Eleven, I insisted my present camera use AA cells.

 

A problem with almost all rechargeable cells, including those dedicated designs for specific cameras, is they self discharge even when not used. This can leave you powerless when you need to use your camera. Sanyo has developed new rechargeable cells marketed as Eneloop sold in AA and AAA sizes. They retain 70% of their original power even after three years of non-use.

 

My present camera is a pocket size Nikon CoolPix P60 using two AA cells.

[Guest fountainhall]

SLRs don't interest me, as I'm never going to carry that kind of weight around.

Have you tried any of the more recent SLRs?

 

I guess it depends on what you basically wish to use it for. I had had several compact cameras - Fuji, Casio, Sony - and liked them all, even though I always found I wanted a larger zoom. 18 months ago, I opted for the mid-size Sony HX-1 which has a fantastic range from 28mm - 560mm. That super zoom takes wonderful images. It's certainly heavier than my Sony compact - maybe twice as much - and is obviously bulkier. But I carried both around on a trip to South America at the end of last year and had no weight issue at all. In fact, I found I only used the compact on a couple of occasions, whereas the HX-1 was in use every day. Now I am happy to have both!

[Guest]

I think the Ixus220 is another competitor for the Panasonic TZ range. Reviews seem to put them at a similar level.

 

The Canon S95 sounds absolutely ideal in every respect, except for the lack of zoom range. I had an earlier Olympus model with telescopic zoom similar to the S95 & found it insufficient.

I'm getting a Panasonic TZ9, as the reviews on it's successors seem very mixed & there is a terrific run out deal on the TZ9, which seems well respected. Maybe I'll also get an S95 when that's on a run out deal, or if it's successor manages to increase the zoom range, I may pay the full asking price to get my hands on such a blockbuster product ASAP. If there was an S95 derivative with maybe 6~7x zoom, that would have got my business this time around.

 

As for the batteries, well I found NiMnH rechargeable AAs to be highly unsatisfactory in an earlier camera. Despite the quality Sony branding, the batteries used to self discharge and eventually lost most of their capacity within less than 20 cycles. The Lithium ion batteries I've been running for the last 3 years still allow me to shoot loads of photos & have negligible self discharge. Spares can easily be purchased on Amazon. In 3~4 years time, the same battery will still be available, although perhaps there will be some high quality compact which would be a better purchase by then.

 

As for an SLR, well I've never tried one. I can see it would not fit in my pocket, even though the sizes have reduced in recent years.