Sony WI vs Nikon CP 5200 or Canon S60 vs Pentax 555

[tdeherrera]

Like many, I too am torn between a few different cameras and could use some advice as to which camera to choose as my first digital.

I'm torn between these four cameras:

Sony WI
Nikon Coolpix 5200
Canon s60
Pentax Optio 555

I realize that the latter two fall into a different category than the first, but that's part of the dilemma. I'm looking at a 5mp cameras because I'd like to blow up to 8x10 and possibly 11x14 if needed. I'm looking for a camera that will essentially go everywhere with me. That being said, size might be important...but it's not going to be the deciding factor. I'm more concerned with getting sharp pictures and the lack of red-eye as this camera will be used primarily for "people shots" (family, social functions and pictures of my soon-to-be-born baby). I was a photography major in college, but manual controls aren't essential either. I have my professional camera for pictures like that. I've always been an avid Canon user, but I've read a lot of bad reviews about the S60 and red-eye.

I've seen conflicting reviews on all of these cameras, but I haven't seen many "people shots" to make my own conclusions. To sum it up, here's what is most important to me:

Least amount of red-eye
Sharpness and lots of it!
Good color tones
Size for convenience, but not crucial
"Dummy" modes would be nice (if there's no manual settings), but not crucial
Looking to spend $400-$500, but would spend more if I needed to

Oh, and I could care less about movie modes!

Thanks....any and all suggestions are welcome!

[Jake Conner]

Well... If size is not the deciding factor, strike the first two from your list. You may want to stick to full auto/"dummy" modes for now, which all four have, but sooner or later you'll need some degree of manual control for best results, and only the 555 and S60 offer a full range. You say you want maximum sharpness, which the 555 delivers, but you also say you like people pictures, which might be favored by the smoother look provided by the S60. In any case, you can turn down the sharpness on the 555 to provide this look. The S60 provides a wider wide end (28mm vs 37.5mm on the Pentax), while the Pentax provides a much better telephoto end (187.5mm vs 100mm on the Canon). The Pentax's lens is probably better suited to portraits, as a standard portrait focal length of 90mm to 100mm will be in the middle of the zoom, usually the point of least distortion, while the same point on the Canon will be at the tele end and probably subject to some pincushion distortion. The Canon has a threaded lens for filters and conversion lenses while the Pentax doesn't, but you could rig something up pretty easily if you needed to. Overall, I recommend the 555.

Jake

[John_Reed]

I'm torn between these four cameras:

Sony WI
Nikon Coolpix 5200
Canon s60
Pentax Optio 555

Least amount of red-eye
Sharpness and lots of it!
Good color tones
Size for convenience, but not crucial
"Dummy" modes would be nice (if there's no manual settings), but not crucial
Looking to spend $400-$500, but would spend more if I needed to

For the least amount of redeye, you might want to look at a camera that needs very little flash. I'm thinking of the Panasonic DMC-FX5, which is a 3X zoom shirt-pocket sized camera, 4MP (enough for prints up to 11X14), AND it has image stabilization. A guy over on dpreview's Panasonic forum, Jack Scholl, has one, and swears he's never used the flash yet! Check it out. It looks like it's selling for around $400, so it fits your price point, and having seen some of his examples, I was impressed. Maybe you will be too?