Which ultra compact camera will you choose?

[Da'GimCi C0d3]

I was fasinated by the look and feel of the ultracompact and narrowed to the following 3...

1) Sony DRC N1
2) Sony DRC T9
3) Fujifilm Finepix Z2

Which one will you choose?? :)

[JTL]

4) None of the above

:D

[Pixel8]

OK... seriously some of us need an ultracompact and understand there's a tradeoff in terms of photo quality. What we want to know is which tiny cam will deliver photos good enough that one doesn't ruin shots to the extent you can't make a good 5x7 out of them. F'r instance, I've been told (by a store saleman) that he loses 1/2 his ultracompact shots to camera shake - avg person can't consistently hold them steady enough. From web reviews I've seen others distort colors enough that they're unnatural even to a casual eye.
There must be some of these small, well styled things which has improved enough so one won't come back from a vacation with photos you just don't want to look at.

[TampaJim]

I would pick either the Canon SD550 or the Panasonic FX-8. Those were on the list of choices, weren't they? :D

[speaklightly]

Even if you picked a Kodak V-530/V-550 it might be a better choice. Let's take a few minutes to analyze what you really want to do.

Speaklightly

[Da'GimCi C0d3]

Actually i also did consider the SD550 (IXUS750) and the SD450 (IXUS 55 i think)... but their LCD are of lower pixels... does that make really much of a diff in extreme light conditions (very bright / very dark)?

Futhermore, they dun come with stabilizer rite? Does the stabilizer helps alot to prevent blurness due to shakey hands?

:confused: :confused:

[Koosla]

Does the stabilizer helps alot to prevent blurness due to shakey hands? It does. Not any amount of shake, and it also depends on shutter speed, but the general consensus is that it gives you about two additional stops. For example, with both my FX2 and FZ30, I'm sometimes able to obtain quite sharp pictures with as low as 1/8 shutter speed.

But a stabilizer is not the only way to avoid blurred pictures, and it actually won't prevent moving subjects becoming a blur, if shot at those low speeds. Another trick, and one that some Fuji cameras relies in quite often, is using high ISO values that will, in turn, allow for faster shutter speeds; therefore, it is desirable to have a camera that produces acceptable (not too noisy) results at high ISOs. Fuji has several pocketable cameras with this ability, including the very compact Z1 and Z2; but the Sony T9 is certainly an interesting option, having both an optical stabilizer and acceptable high ISO performance.

[JTL]

F'r instance, I've been told (by a store saleman) that he loses 1/2 his ultracompact shots to camera shake - Sounds like he's out to sell a particular camera to me! If someone really lost half their pictures to camera shake, their hands must either shake like a vibrator or they don't know how to use a camera (and yes, I have met plenty of camera "salespeople" who don't know the first thing about cameras or photography)! ;)