Weezie77
12-10-2008, 10:35 AM
I'm looking for a new camera for my husband to buy me for Christmas. I currently have about a 4-5 year old Sony P&S that for the most part works great, but as of late has had a serious battery eating problem.
I have an 18 month old son, which is the subject of most of my pictures. He's pretty active, so probably the most important thing I'm looking for in a camera is the shortest shutter lag possible. I know I can't get instant without going to a DSLR, but I'm not quite ready for one of those yet. I'm just tired of missing shots.
I'd also like something that does better indoors and in lower light - I took some great shots of my son by the Christmas tree without a flash that would have just been stunning had I had a little better camera!
Here is the info from the sticky:
Budget
Under $400, I'd go a little more if it was worth it
Size
Doesn't matter too much, but nothing huge
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you? Probably at least 8-10
* What optical zoom will you need? Standard would suffice
* How important is “image quality” to you? 9-10 - I'd like the highest quality possible without going to a DSLR
Do you care for manual controls? some basic ones would be nice, but nothing overly complicated - enough to help me learn a little about this stuff and to get better pics
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for? Mostly taking pics of my son, both indoors and out, but I also like to take natures shots
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Once in a while, but not many
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? YES
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not sports, but action shots of an 18 month old!
Image stabilization is a must.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Are there particular models you already have in mind? I was looking at the Canon SX10 IS and the Nikon P80, but after reading some reviews and consumer reports, I'm thinking that a higher end compact like the Canon SD790 or even the SD1100 might be just as good if not better for me - I'm open to suggestions!
TIA!
I have an 18 month old son, which is the subject of most of my pictures. He's pretty active, so probably the most important thing I'm looking for in a camera is the shortest shutter lag possible. I know I can't get instant without going to a DSLR, but I'm not quite ready for one of those yet. I'm just tired of missing shots.
I'd also like something that does better indoors and in lower light - I took some great shots of my son by the Christmas tree without a flash that would have just been stunning had I had a little better camera!
Here is the info from the sticky:
Budget
Under $400, I'd go a little more if it was worth it
Size
Doesn't matter too much, but nothing huge
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you? Probably at least 8-10
* What optical zoom will you need? Standard would suffice
* How important is “image quality” to you? 9-10 - I'd like the highest quality possible without going to a DSLR
Do you care for manual controls? some basic ones would be nice, but nothing overly complicated - enough to help me learn a little about this stuff and to get better pics
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for? Mostly taking pics of my son, both indoors and out, but I also like to take natures shots
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Once in a while, but not many
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? YES
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? Not sports, but action shots of an 18 month old!
Image stabilization is a must.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Are there particular models you already have in mind? I was looking at the Canon SX10 IS and the Nikon P80, but after reading some reviews and consumer reports, I'm thinking that a higher end compact like the Canon SD790 or even the SD1100 might be just as good if not better for me - I'm open to suggestions!
TIA!