General Use Camera

[aecohen]

Please, anyone can help me on this?

I'm not a Pro, so I really want a camera that took 8MP+ photos, with a reasonable quality even in the dark (I mean, without the flash! I hate when the images appears with motion because of this).
I will use the camera to take pictures in my vacations! so is more like a general purpose camera!. I want it resistant enough, not like to be used while skiing but enough to be treated "soft" rude.



Budget
Cheap, less than 300$. I want to buy it at Amazon, with a gift card

Size
Like any p&s. But not with AA batteries!

Features
Any feature!. Maybe a fast autofocus. Any handshaking feature could be useful.

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
8MP+

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
Standard I guess

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
9 in daylight conditions and 8 in poorlight

Do you care for manual controls?
Minimal

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
General purpose

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Not that much

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Yes

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Sometimes (nothing too fast actions)

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I had two olympus cameras (one very old the other one from 2008), both take great pictures in the day but in the night (without flash) I can't get a single good picture.
So I can try others.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
None.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image Stabilization. Any other.

[speaklightly]

aecohen-

I purchased a Panasonic ZR1 from Amazon for less than $(US)200.00 and I have been very pleased with it. Image quality is very good and the camera does not need to be over protected.

I did add a $(US) 12.95 Slave flash to enhance and improve the indoor image quality, and it has worked very well indeed.

Sarah Joyce

[aecohen]

Thanks! for your quick answer. And what can you tell me about the pictures without using flash in poor light conditions?

And what about the batteries?

[jekostas]

Exactly how dark of a room are you thinking?
Also, why not AA batteries? You can get rechargeables that will last as long, if not much longer than Li-Ion batteries, and it's much, MUCH cheaper to get extras.

[aecohen]

Well not too dark and not always in a room, but for example, with my last camera I cannot take a picture of a building in the night without using flash (the kind of building or monument that you usually visit when you are doing some tourism, with their own light). And with the flash the colours are not the same.

Take a look at the pictures, as you can see that not exactly what you see in the night when you are there. Notice the blur in some of the pictures. I tried differents settings and always got not a good picture.

About the AA batteries, its not really an issue, it's only that normally NON-AA cameras are slimmer. So I can live with AA if it's the case hehe.

52238

52239

52240

[jekostas]

Well not too dark and not always in a room, but for example, with my last camera I cannot take a picture of a building in the night without using flash (the kind of building or monument that you usually visit when you are doing some tourism, with their own light). And with the flash the colours are not the same.


You're not going to find a compact camera that's going to get a good shot out of that situation in your budget, especially handheld.
speaklightly's idea of a slave flash isn't going to work either, as it's just going to give you another shot that looks like the third one.

Compact point and shoot cameras just aren't that good yet.

[Paradox]

You're asking the impossible. The only way to get a good low light shot out of a cheap camera is knowing what you're doing and applying knowledge of what's going on when you click the shutter. And even then it's not easy. They just aren't capable of taking good low light shots hand held on fully automatic mode.

[aecohen]

Hahaha, that's a really honest answer hahaha thank you for that. Ok so lets change the strategy here....if that kind of picture is not possible with that budget, what budget should I have (minimum) to buy a point and shot that does that? (of course with a recommendation please)

And the second strategy is....taking into account the poor light problem, and with the same initial budget.....the ZR1 is the one? any other options?

Thanks again!

[jekostas]

Hahaha, that's a really honest answer hahaha thank you for that. Ok so lets change the strategy here....if that kind of picture is not possible with that budget, what budget should I have (minimum) to buy a point and shot that does that? (of course with a recommendation please)

And the second strategy is....taking into account the poor light problem, and with the same initial budget.....the ZR1 is the one? any other options?

Thanks again!

The Panasonic ZR1 will definitely NOT WORK for what you want.

In fact, this is not a budget issue - this is not something you can throw money at to make it work. Compact cameras simply do not do low-light shooting well.

[Paradox]

Indeed. This isn't a money issue, it's a laws of physics issue, and the only way you can get around it is by learning how to use them to your advantage. ;)

[speaklightly]

A camera like the Nikon D-3000 equipped with a good external flash like the SB-600/SB-800 if flash is going to be used.

Without the flash, fast lenses like the Nikon 35mm F1.8 mounted on the D-3000 and on a tripod will do motion free scenery, buildings, and the like well, but not stop action. High ISO capable cameras such as the Nikon D-90 and the Pentax Kx of course can do more. Please take a look at Jeff's recent Pentax Kx review.

Sarah Joyce

[AlexMonro]

Two possible ways of getting a good result for the type of shot you posted:

1) Get a tripod, and get your friend to practise standing completely still for a second or two. At a pinch, find a wall or something to rest the camea on, and use the self timer to release the shutter.

2) Get a Nikon D700 DSLR with a good VR lens, and a bag to carry it in for several thousand currency units (dollars, euros, pounds), then you could probably shoot handheld at ISO 6400. You'd still have to be careful of camera shake if you wanted to stop down enough to get the depth of field to get both the foreground and background sharp. You'd also have to get used to lugging several kilos of weight and a fair bit of bulk around too.

Edit: I've just seen Sara's suggestion of the Pentax K-x, and that might work too, at somewhat lower cost, weight & bulk than the D700. You'd still find a good lens, such as the Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 18-50 f/2.8, or the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, helpful.