Wich camera? Maybe you know the perfect one for me!

[suzieA.]

Hey everybody! I'm going to Sout-America for 8 months to travel. I'd like to buy the perfect camera:

1.Compact. I need a compact camera. It doesn't need to be creditcard size. but small enough to fit in my pocket

2.Quality. I want to be able to make sharp indoor-, landscape- and "human"- pictures with good quality. As little purple fringing and noise as possible.

3.Fast. I am easily Irritated by slow cameras. It has to have a reasonable amount of speed in taking shot after shot and turning on.

4. I like functions like: Night shot, candlelight etc. Also white balance is a plus.

5.Red-eye reduction. I know its almost impossible to have no red-eyes on these pretty small cameras.but maybe some have better red-eye re. than others? (review canon s400 on this site: no redeyes at all!)

6.Batteries need to be avarage/good. because i'll be travelling i dont know how much time ill have to charge (and if theres even an oppurtunity to charge). Thats why a camera with replacable AA or AAAs would be better than one with a charger.

7.LCD display also good indoors

I know I'm aksing for a lot of things, but maybe some people have good advice or know the perfect camera for me!


p.s. If I look at the test pictures of buildings etc of the little compacts (the reviews at this site) they dont seem to be very sharp to me. Or is that just me being crazy? My parents have a 2.5 year old "normal-sized" digital camera and those pictures seem sharper....Is it true that the small size of these cameras really "spoil" the quaity of the pictures?, or is the quality still very good, but just not as good as you compare them to real "proffesional" cameras?

p.s.s. I'm thinking about the canon powershot s400. warn me i you think it will be a huge mistake! or tell me wich other camera I should buy!
Thanks!

[John_Reed]

Hey everybody! I'm going to Sout-America for 8 months to travel. I'd like to buy the perfect camera:
6.Batteries need to be avarage/good. because i'll be travelling i dont know how much time ill have to charge (and if theres even an oppurtunity to charge). Thats why a camera with replacable AA or AAAs would be better than one with a charger.I hope you don't have to go totally without a charger for 8 months. If you do, you'll have to be carrying an extra suitcase for all those AA alkaline batteries you'll need! Digital cameras go through AA alkalines like a hot knife through butter, so to speak. I'd get a camera that uses AAs alright, but plan also on getting a couple of good sets of 2000+ mAh AA batteries (one set for the camera, one for spare) and a charger, like the Maha 204, which works in all countries that have electricity. I'll defer the discussion of "which camera" to others more expert on that choice.

[kimnicho]

It's obvious you have done your research :) However, I'd recommend canon s410 over the s400 (not for the added "print" button) but for its faster shutter speed and slightly better picture quality (according to the experts). Costco.com has a great set w/ bonus battery + bag.

[Thon]

For travel, small is definitely better. But there are a few things to bear in mind.

What type of photos would you be taking?
This will determine the type of camera you'll need. Wide zooms are good for landscapes and ultrazooms for bringing the faraway subjects closer. 3X-4X cameras are good for general purpose photos but may not have the zoom capability when you need it.I wouldn't recommend an ultra-compact such as the S400 (yes they are nice) as they just lack the indoors capabilities. The Canon A80/95, Panasonic FZ3 are the better choices while keeping the size fairly compact.

How much storage (or access to storage) do you have?
If you travel with a laptop or portable image storage, then you should ok. If not, you'll need a lot of cards, and I mean a lot, since 8 months is a long time.

If you are going to travel into more remote areas (no electricity), cameras with AAs are the best. Get about 3-4 sets of high capacity NiMHs and a good fast charger. If you are going for a camera with Li-ions (and these are expensive) get at least another 2-3 spares.

I've seen a couple of guys out there making their own external battery packs for their cameras, eBay sells them too. The C770UZ has a good battery pack assembly listed out in the Imaging Resources Olympus Forum, and the same principle should work for othercameras too. http://www.photo-forums.com/WebX?50@190.n1BObnNUtmW.0@.ee9a06f/0

In the end, you'll need to balance out your requirements with the camera specs. And hope you have a good holiday.

[PhilR.]

p.s.s. I'm thinking about the canon powershot s400. warn me i you think it will be a huge mistake! or tell me wich other camera I should buy!

I think the AA suggestions are good, but I don't think the S400 or 410 use them. There is a new camera that has gotten me very interested. It is the 4mp Ricoh Caplio R1, which although is a pocket-sized compact, has a 4.8x zoom that also starts off at a wide angle. Great for travel photos! It also uses AA's as well. Definitely check them out before you buy....

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0408/04081801ricoh_rz1r1.asp

PhilR.

[suzieA.]

Thanks everybody!

I've read about the Ricoh too, but I found this review:

Ricoh seem to have taken one step forward and two steps back with the Caplio R1. Image quality has dramatically improved in comparison with previous Ricoh models, with only soft out-of-camera images spoiling a great perfomance (which is easy to fix with software anyway). But just as this long-standing issue seems to have been successfully addressed, Ricoh have made the R1 a lot less useable than cameras like the Caplio GX and RX, by using a shiny, slippery plastic material for most of the external controls. What should be a simple to use digicam is actually a frustrating experience. The 28-135mm lens is a great feature on such a compact model, offering true wide-angle and portrait options, but when zooming from telephoto to wide-angle, it almost sounds as though there is something mechanically wrong with the zooming mechanism. If Ricoh had retained the useability of their previous models and coupled it with the improved image quality, then the Caplio R1 would have been well worth considering - as it is, the Caplio R1 is another missed opportunity.

anybody who has this camera and disagrees?

[kimnicho]

I, too, am intrigued by the Ricoh cameras but since they are not a Big Player in the Digital World, I think I will stick with the Big Three - Canon, Nikon, or Sony. I don't think you will have any regrets with either the Canon S400 or S410. Just buy an extra battery !!!! You can find good generic ones online (just look for the ones 'made in Japan')

[suzieA.]

Hello Guys I pretty much narrowed my options down to:
Canon A95/85
Ricoh caplio-R1
Sony DSC-V1

I like it that the A85 en the DSC-V1 have so many functions..
Does anybody knows wich one is better?

Also: How fast is the DSC-V1?

[PhilR.]

Hello Guys I pretty much narrowed my options down to:
Canon A95/85
Ricoh caplio-R1
Sony DSC-V1


Well heck, if you're thinking of the V1, then you might as well throw in the Nikon 5400. With the current $200 rebate from Nikon, you can get one for around $275....

As for the R1 review - that is a lot of purely subjective material. What one person finds slippery might be just fine to the next person - same goes for noise levels....

PhilR.