tavilach
12-27-2004, 06:25 PM
I'm in the market for a very small camera that I can take anywhere (in my pocket), and that will deliver me quality images. The top cameras that I've found are the Canon SD300 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/sd300.html), the Canon SD200 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/sd200.html), and the Sony DSC-L1 (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/l1.html). I've been told that Canon and Sony are the best in this market, and have therefore not considered companies like Pentax and the like. If you have any other suggestions for what I'm looking for, feel free to give me more suggestions.
What I care about in a camera is as follows:
Size - It needs to be enough to easily fit in a pocket (inside a small case that doesn't add much bulk, presumably), along with another device (such as an iPod). I currently own a trusty Olympus D-490, and while it has served me well, it looks like it's in mint condition...because I never take it anywhere. Why is this? Well, it's because the camera is just too big to fit in my pocket, and I end up taking horrible pictures with my Ericsson T637 camera phone, which I then trash. I want to be able to take good snapshots of day-to-day events, and for that I need a very small camera.
Quality - I don't want a cheap camera with 100 megapixels (yes, I know that doesn't exist...I'm making a point). I want a camera that produces wonderful images, even when disregarding the amount of pixels. I'm talking about color accuracy, lack of graininess, minimal purple fringing (or chromatic abberation, if that's the preferred word), etc. I've seen some sample photos, including this (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd300-review/IMG_0604.JPG), of some really bad purple fringing with the SD300. Similarly, I've found it in samples of the SD200 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd200-review/IMG_0017.JPG), as well. I can't tell if the SD300 is any worse or better (it seems a bit worse, though) than the SD200 in terms of purple fringing, just from one sample picture, but this does matter to me. I also don't know how other cameras, including the DSC-L1, fair in this regard.
Material - I want a solid camera that won't break, or even scratch, easily. If it scratches, it should at least have an option of a case that does not increase the size too much.
Megapixels - I don't really know how many megapixels I want, but 4.0 seems like a good number. I don't make many prints, but I do like to crop images a lot, and I could very well want to print a cropped image. I also don't want to be behind the times...if I pay a lot of money for a camera, I'd like it to be nice and advanced. I'm not really sure what I want in this category...I'd like some guidance.
Speed - I need to be able to whip out the camera and immediately take a snapshot. I then need to be able to immediately take another, and another. After looking at the reviews of the SD300 (which has the new Digic II processor) and the DSC-L1, the DSC-L1 seems faster in many regards, but the SD300 seems to have a faster startup. Are the speeds of these two cameras essentially the same, or is the speed difference of the DSC-L1 really noticeable? Are there are cameras that are even faster? I just want to be able to take pictures of the moment...before it passes.
Movies - A decent movie mode would be nice, but it doesn't make that much of a difference to me.
Zoom - Optical zoom is a necessity.
Flash - Flash is a necessity, and the more effective the better.
So, my DCRP friends...what should I buy?
Thanks for your help!
What I care about in a camera is as follows:
Size - It needs to be enough to easily fit in a pocket (inside a small case that doesn't add much bulk, presumably), along with another device (such as an iPod). I currently own a trusty Olympus D-490, and while it has served me well, it looks like it's in mint condition...because I never take it anywhere. Why is this? Well, it's because the camera is just too big to fit in my pocket, and I end up taking horrible pictures with my Ericsson T637 camera phone, which I then trash. I want to be able to take good snapshots of day-to-day events, and for that I need a very small camera.
Quality - I don't want a cheap camera with 100 megapixels (yes, I know that doesn't exist...I'm making a point). I want a camera that produces wonderful images, even when disregarding the amount of pixels. I'm talking about color accuracy, lack of graininess, minimal purple fringing (or chromatic abberation, if that's the preferred word), etc. I've seen some sample photos, including this (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd300-review/IMG_0604.JPG), of some really bad purple fringing with the SD300. Similarly, I've found it in samples of the SD200 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd200-review/IMG_0017.JPG), as well. I can't tell if the SD300 is any worse or better (it seems a bit worse, though) than the SD200 in terms of purple fringing, just from one sample picture, but this does matter to me. I also don't know how other cameras, including the DSC-L1, fair in this regard.
Material - I want a solid camera that won't break, or even scratch, easily. If it scratches, it should at least have an option of a case that does not increase the size too much.
Megapixels - I don't really know how many megapixels I want, but 4.0 seems like a good number. I don't make many prints, but I do like to crop images a lot, and I could very well want to print a cropped image. I also don't want to be behind the times...if I pay a lot of money for a camera, I'd like it to be nice and advanced. I'm not really sure what I want in this category...I'd like some guidance.
Speed - I need to be able to whip out the camera and immediately take a snapshot. I then need to be able to immediately take another, and another. After looking at the reviews of the SD300 (which has the new Digic II processor) and the DSC-L1, the DSC-L1 seems faster in many regards, but the SD300 seems to have a faster startup. Are the speeds of these two cameras essentially the same, or is the speed difference of the DSC-L1 really noticeable? Are there are cameras that are even faster? I just want to be able to take pictures of the moment...before it passes.
Movies - A decent movie mode would be nice, but it doesn't make that much of a difference to me.
Zoom - Optical zoom is a necessity.
Flash - Flash is a necessity, and the more effective the better.
So, my DCRP friends...what should I buy?
Thanks for your help!