SturmUndDrang
12-03-2008, 09:06 AM
My parents asked us kids to pool together and buy them a new digital camera for Christmas, since their old film camera has finally started to die. My parents are both NOT gadget freaks or particularly digitally savvy: they need a fully automatic point and shoot camera that has really easy to understand controls and menus, and shoots great pictures out of the box.
Lets get the standard questions out of the way:
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Budget: $100-$250 (online OK); might go higher for a truly exceptional product
Size: compact or ultra-compact; needs to fit in a pocket comfortably
How many megapixels will suffice for you?: 8 is fine, not a problem if has more
optical zoom will you need?: at a minimum 3x, but would like more (e.g. 5X)
How important is “image quality” to you?: 9 (relative to the class of camera: I realize that DLSRs will beat most any P&S)
Do you care for manual controls?: No
What will you generally use the camera for?: the usual: indoor photos of family gatherings, outdoor photos of trips
Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?: Possibly
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?: Lots of indoor photos, but not too many night scenes
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?: Not too many
Are there particular brands you like or hate?: Like: Canon, Panasonic; Hate: Sony (proprietary obsessed, DRM infested snobs)
Are there particular models you already have in mind?: see discussion below
Do you need Wide Angle: Highly desirable
Do you need Image Stabilization: ESSENTIAL, will not buy a camera without it
Do you need Weatherproof: would be great to have it, but will not pay massive amounts for it either
Do you need Hotshoe: No
Do you need Rotating LCD: I consider gimmicks like that to be a bug, not a feature
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I began doing some research. Out of the flood of reviews, I found the best summary advice to come from here:
http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/ (see the Best Cameras: Under $400)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup/ (Group 1: Budget cameras (sub $150))
It looks like these models are some of the best choices:
Canon SD 1100 (from dcresource)
Sony DSC-150 ""
Panasonic LZ8 (from dpreview)
Sony DSC-120 ""
I went to a local camera store yesterday, and tried them all out.
I was most impressed with the Canon SD 1100: very compact, and the best user interface. Reviews indicate that it takes about as good fo pictures of any camera in its class when in automatic mode.
I was next most impressed with the Sony series. However, it requires expensive sony proprietary memory and has a more complicated interface than the Canon, which are both turnoffs.
The Panasonic was OK but a bit bulk due to its AA batteries. It did not blow me away.
Here are some questions that I have for you guys:
1) Does Canon now provide a way for you to measure how much battery capacity is left? In particular, on the SD 1100 model? I ask because for years, Canon never gave you any way to measure battery capacity. Instead, all they would do is give you a warning when the battery was about to run out, but that is too late. This was the one thing that I really hated about Canon, because I figured it was a conspiracy to force me to buy an extra replacement battery. I forgot to look into this on the SD 1100 yesterday when I was in the store...
2) does anyone own any of these models? Have any feedback to share?
3) are there other brands that I should consider?
4) is now around Christmas a good time to buy? Or should I wait a few months because some new models are coming out then?
Lets get the standard questions out of the way:
--------------------------------------------------
Budget: $100-$250 (online OK); might go higher for a truly exceptional product
Size: compact or ultra-compact; needs to fit in a pocket comfortably
How many megapixels will suffice for you?: 8 is fine, not a problem if has more
optical zoom will you need?: at a minimum 3x, but would like more (e.g. 5X)
How important is “image quality” to you?: 9 (relative to the class of camera: I realize that DLSRs will beat most any P&S)
Do you care for manual controls?: No
What will you generally use the camera for?: the usual: indoor photos of family gatherings, outdoor photos of trips
Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?: Possibly
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?: Lots of indoor photos, but not too many night scenes
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?: Not too many
Are there particular brands you like or hate?: Like: Canon, Panasonic; Hate: Sony (proprietary obsessed, DRM infested snobs)
Are there particular models you already have in mind?: see discussion below
Do you need Wide Angle: Highly desirable
Do you need Image Stabilization: ESSENTIAL, will not buy a camera without it
Do you need Weatherproof: would be great to have it, but will not pay massive amounts for it either
Do you need Hotshoe: No
Do you need Rotating LCD: I consider gimmicks like that to be a bug, not a feature
--------------------------------------------------
I began doing some research. Out of the flood of reviews, I found the best summary advice to come from here:
http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/ (see the Best Cameras: Under $400)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup/ (Group 1: Budget cameras (sub $150))
It looks like these models are some of the best choices:
Canon SD 1100 (from dcresource)
Sony DSC-150 ""
Panasonic LZ8 (from dpreview)
Sony DSC-120 ""
I went to a local camera store yesterday, and tried them all out.
I was most impressed with the Canon SD 1100: very compact, and the best user interface. Reviews indicate that it takes about as good fo pictures of any camera in its class when in automatic mode.
I was next most impressed with the Sony series. However, it requires expensive sony proprietary memory and has a more complicated interface than the Canon, which are both turnoffs.
The Panasonic was OK but a bit bulk due to its AA batteries. It did not blow me away.
Here are some questions that I have for you guys:
1) Does Canon now provide a way for you to measure how much battery capacity is left? In particular, on the SD 1100 model? I ask because for years, Canon never gave you any way to measure battery capacity. Instead, all they would do is give you a warning when the battery was about to run out, but that is too late. This was the one thing that I really hated about Canon, because I figured it was a conspiracy to force me to buy an extra replacement battery. I forgot to look into this on the SD 1100 yesterday when I was in the store...
2) does anyone own any of these models? Have any feedback to share?
3) are there other brands that I should consider?
4) is now around Christmas a good time to buy? Or should I wait a few months because some new models are coming out then?