Point and shoot camera.

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BLASTO

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Hi Guys,

Iam looking for a point and shoot camera and below are my requirements in order of preference.

Looking to upgrade my Canon A610.

1) Pocketable. (No compromise. Should fit in my pocket. If it fits in jeans pocket, well and good)

2) Good indoor/low light photos. (My canon A610 is bad in this department. Thats the reason for upgrade)

3) Maximum Hand-held optical zoom. I wont use tripod. (Iam not sure what that number will be. Now, If there is a camera that can give 10x zoom when held in hand, good. If only 8x is possible in my budget, good even then. But more the better. My current camera has only 4x and it is NOT enough)

4) Budget : 10-15k (cheaper the better)

5) AA Batteries. (Good to have as I have a BIG AA battery pack and fast charger which I can reuse. But not absolutely necessary)

6) Look good/Availability is black. (I realised that I hate silver after getting my previous camera. Again not a necessary condition).

Video, HD, blah blah not required. No specific brand in mind.

Not an avid photographer, so need basic modes for portrait, landscape, night etc which I assume every camera has.

Onething I have learnt from buying TV is that, high end models of previous years are cheaper this year. Would like to explore that option too. No need for cutting edge technology for the frequency I take photos anyways.
 
Canon SX220 HS.

Just under 15 K if you shop around. 14x optical. 12MP sensor. HS Low light sensor.

Enough said. :)
 
mad said:
Canon SX220 HS.

Just under 15 K if you shop around. 14x optical. 12MP sensor. HS Low light sensor.

Enough said. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks mad.
Looks great.. Fits my requirement perfectly..

Honestly did not expect this much for the price.. Camera prices seem to have crashed in the recent years I suppose.. Is there a black in this?

My A610 was 16k 4 years back.. Duh!!

Only thing is, it has custom batteries. I saw a version in ebay which supports AA batteries - SX130. How does it compare? Not mentioned HS though.
 
Last edited:
How important is Optical Zoom for you? I know you found 4X to be less. But high zooms tend to magnify shakes and noise. Plus the speed of the lens is also affected at higher zooms.

Below is a link for a group test very good compact cameras. If you want the Zoom go for Nikon otherwise the Canon and Panasonic offer better image quality and faster lens. The fast lens helps a lot in night photography. 10MP is more than sufficient and anything more is mainly for gimmick sake.
Enthusiast Compact Camera Group Test (Q4 2010) Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review
 
Raghav said:
How important is Optical Zoom for you? I know you found 4X to be less. But high zooms tend to magnify shakes and noise. Plus the speed of the lens is also affected at higher zooms.
Click to expand...

As mentioned 8-10x. Anything lesser would not be an 'upgrade' from my camera per-se..
I was vaguely aware of the shake issue. How much zoom is ideal for shake free fotos? Is it a variable depending on cameras?
I assume if I take a 8x zoom foto with a 14x camera, it will be shake free? Am I correct in assuming so?
What is lens speed?? :s What does it affect/restrict?
 
I possess a Canon SX100 .... pretty good performance over the last 2 years. But, this SX 220 looks fabulous .... go for it!
 
Strictly speaking these compact cameras are not good for low light photography since the sensor size is very small thus will produce noise in high ISO Images.

You can look for the S series in Nikon Coolpix lineup or the L series if you want the AA battery facility.

Nikon Coolpix S Series is truly pockatable .....
 
BLASTO said:
Thanks mad.
Looks great.. Fits my requirement perfectly..

Honestly did not expect this much for the price.. Camera prices seem to have crashed in the recent years I suppose.. Is there a black in this?

My A610 was 16k 4 years back.. Duh!!

Only thing is, it has custom batteries. I saw a version in ebay which supports AA batteries - SX130. How does it compare? Not mentioned HS though.
Click to expand...

Custom batteries are not a problem. Trust me on this. I have a Casio Exilim, with a custom battery. Even when I am taking photos by the dozen, it lasts me several days. Also, Custom batteries makes the camera smaller.

It is a point and shoot, so along with that goes the usual warnings, smaller sensor size, smaller lens etc.

Don't fall to the temptation of picking up anything bigger. You will not use it as often.

And if you are feeling like a photographer, the Sony NEX series is highly recommended. Infact the NEX 3K is now down to an amazing 20K.

A APS-C, pocketable, interchangeable lens camera for 20K. :clapping:
 
Hi,

Most folks here have been recommending you cameras close to your maximum budget. Let me make a case here for a small compact point and shoot that will not hurt your wallet. I have a nikon coolpix L23. It offers 5X zoom, 10.1 MP (most people would not need more Mega Pixels), AA Battery, has all the usual modes (landscape, portrait etc), and is quite pocketable. I picked it up from flipkart for around Rs 4500 with a free case and free 4GB SD card around 3 months ago.

I am primarly a DSLR user (Nikon D80, which I have been using for the past 4 years). I bought the coolpix as an easy to carry, easy to use P&S, and was not expecting anything out of the ordinary from this camera. However, for most everyday uses, including low light photography, this camera more than meets my needs. I rarely take out my DSLR now unless I want to take fancy pictures

Do consider some of the entry level Nikon coolpix models. For around 5000-6000 bucks, you can get a very capable camera.

Cheers,
APK.
 
Another option is to invest in a phone with a very good camera. Multiple usage - phone, camera, music player, video player, internet browser. Can be used in most situations if using flash to light up subjects is not much of an issue. Of course if you need to take low light photography without flash, then most if not all, phone cameras fall flat. Another caveat - start up time, focus time, time between shots, etc can be very slow in a phone cam compared to a dedicated cam. Also, hardly any phone cam comes with optical zoom. But as some wise guy said, the best zoom in the world are your feet!

I rarely carry my dSLR these days as my HTC Desire HD is sufficient for most situations (although it is hardly a brilliant camera).

Joshua
 
Ohh man i just completed this excercise a couple months ago
I feel as though ive rea enough to do a PHD

Below are purely my opinions
the best low light cams that are pocketable are the Canon S90 and S 95
or the Pana LX5
this obviously will stretch your budget
but are worth it

since i didnt want to stretch and had kept mine at strictly 13-14k
i looked down the order

here are my findings (for low light shoots)
Best AA Battery pocket cam- super pics Canon SX 130 IS ( heavily recommended- only reason i didnt buy it is because im STRICTLY NOT an AA guy)

Best li ion cams as below ( budget below 14k)
Canon SD 4000 ( probably the best low ISO shots but low zoom)
Canon Elph 100 ( camera in your budget probably under 12k- nice slim good pics.I almost bought it)
Panasonic ZS 5(i ended up buying the ZS 6 - dont by the ZS 7 - the GPS takes too much battery)-

check the following website for super pointers
Dpreview and google dave's picks
 
The camera set you are looking at is called Travel Zoom segment. Here are six cameras that you will find very suitable for your needs. The Canon has been declared the best in the group test and I would agree.
'Compact Travel Zoom' Camera Group Test (Q3 2011) Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Now having said that, I will come to lens speed, Shutter speed etc.. I will try to very brief.

Essentially a camera sensor captures light when you click a snap. You need exact light for good exposure otherwise photo is too light or dark. Now the camera lens has a aperture range which dictates the amount of light it takes in. The smaller the aperture number the more light taken in. Secondly the the mount of time you keep a shutter open (shutter speed) affects the light taken in. That a shutter speed of 1/2 sec takes in more light than 1/8 sec.

You will realise that both these settings can be used to control the light/exposure. Now to take night snaps you need more light and hence shutter needs to be open for longer. This brings in shake as your hand cannot be stable beyond 1 sec usually. A camera with good aperture (like f2.0) allows you click snaps with faster shutter and hence the photo turns out sharper and without blur. Essentially a Camera with aperture f/2.0 will allow you a speed of 1/4 sec shutter vis-a-vis a f/2.8 camera allowing speed of 1 sec. f/3.5 will be even slower.

Also as you start using Zoom you cannot use the best aperture of the camera. You will notice aperture given as a range f/3.5 - f/5.6. This means that when you zoom the camera the Aperture available is f/5.6 which makes you use a slower shutter speed and hence more shake/blur in Zoom photos. It is a gradual process as you increase zoom.

In summary if you want an allrounder then your choice is good but if Image quality/night shots are more important then go for my first set of cameras. You will have to sacrifice zoom, but believe me it will not be a downgrade from what you use.


BLASTO said:
As mentioned 8-10x. Anything lesser would not be an 'upgrade' from my camera per-se..
I was vaguely aware of the shake issue. How much zoom is ideal for shake free fotos? Is it a variable depending on cameras?
I assume if I take a 8x zoom foto with a 14x camera, it will be shake free? Am I correct in assuming so?
What is lens speed?? :s What does it affect/restrict?
Click to expand...
 
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