Need advice

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

Hello,

I am planning to go on a trip by car around Europe starting from 29th of August. I am planning to buy a compact size camera to carry it all the time with me. I am planning to take many photos in low light conditions (events, concerts, evenings).
I would be very thankful for any of your comments/advices on which camera would be the best for me!

Thank you in advice!

My specification:
Budget - Not important
Size - Compact
Features - All the features which are needed to get good quality daylight and night time photos.
Image quality is very important (10).

Do you care for manual controls?
No, it would be perfect if I could take excellent photos in auto mode.

General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Events, parties, trips, concerts
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
I will not make big prints.
* Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes
* Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Probably

Miscellaneous
* Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Like Canon
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Canon PowerShot SD890 IS
Do you need any of the following special features?
Wide Angle, Image Stabilization

Best regards,
Lauris

[jekostas]

Hello,

I am planning to go on a trip by car around Europe starting from 29th of August. I am planning to buy a compact size camera to carry it all the time with me. I am planning to take many photos in low light conditions (events, concerts, evenings).


I'm not sure this camera exists.

If you want it for events and concerts, the larger spaces preclude the use of a flash, which will not be powerful enough on a compact camera. Your best choices are the Fujifilm F30, F31fd and F40/F45fd, and given what you want the camera to do I'm not sure they'll be good enough for you.

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

[QUOTE=jekostas;323187]I'm not sure this camera exists.

If you had in mind CANON IXUS 970 IS, then it exists. Here is the link of my local web shops where I can buy it.
http://www.salidzini.lv/search.php?q=Canon+IXUS+970+IS

If you had in mind that such a good Camera ass I described does not exists, then I can agree, but I would like to get as close to my requirements as it is possible currently.

[jekostas]

If you had in mind that such a good Camera ass I described does not exists, then I can agree, but I would like to get as close to my requirements as it is possible currently.

I'm not even sure you could get close - the problem is that you're looking for a compact camera to do something that compact cameras specifically CANNOT do - take low-light pictures in large spaces.

The Fujifilm cameras I mentioned in my previous post are probably the best you can find, but none are current models - the current models of Fuji compact cameras are better than most in low-light, but not as good as those.

[AndyfromVA]

The best current Fuji compact camera is the F100fd. It's very good in low light situations (though not as good as a DSLR).

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

What do you think about Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS (Canon PowerShot SD950 IS)?

[David Metsky]

What do you think about Canon Digital IXUS 960 IS (Canon PowerShot SD950 IS)?
I think the SD890 is a better choice in that lineup. The 12MP sensor is too noisy and not useful even if it wasn't noisy.

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

I have understood that it will be hard to find any compact size camera close to my requirements.

Is there any 500g (including bateries) cameras which are close to my requirements?

[Rhys]

Have you considered a film camera?

Alternatively have you considered the Olympus digital SLRs?

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

To Rhys
Camera should be digital.

Which Olympus do you have in mind?

[S_p_i_d_e_r]

The best current Fuji compact camera is the F100fd. It's very good in low light situations (though not as good as a DSLR).

Hi Andy :)

I will disagree with that - maybe F100fd is a highest F-series model, but it is far from beeing the best one. Megapixel wars left many scars on new models. F100fd is not nearly as good as F31fd when it comes to low light performance and it lost manual controls somewhere along its evolution path :(

[S_p_i_d_e_r]

Camera should be digital.

Why? I'm using a film camera and I'm happy with it :)

[lauris_maps@inbox.lv]

I want to see my photo after I have made one.

[AndyfromVA]

Hi Andy :)

I will disagree with that - maybe F100fd is a highest F-series model, but it is far from beeing the best one. Megapixel wars left many scars on new models. F100fd is not nearly as good as F31fd when it comes to low light performance and it lost manual controls somewhere along its evolution path :(

We all wish that Fuji had kept going along the path the F31fd was on, but it didn't. The F100fd isn't as good as the F31fd but it's the best low-light small camera you can currently buy from a retailer. If you can find someone with a used F31fd to sell, chances are it will cost a lot more than a new F100fd.

[KCook]

Here is a link to a Flickr album with comparison shots from some of the cameras mentioned -

f40fd vs sd790 vs sd950 vs w300 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hansvet/sets/72157605862006559/)

Kelly Cook