subcompact cameras

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I don’t want a DSLR, but there seem to be several experienced shoppers on site- so I could use your help- :)</p>

<p>My daughter has a Canon AE-1, that she uses, but she also wants not a “compact” camera, but a “sub- compact”, which of course is more expensive, and confusing to weed out what is available.</p>

<p>I just recieved a Canon A570 IS, which I haven’t really looked at yet ( have to find my reading glasses), I looked at in the store, and liked it, liked all the reviews, but still evaluating.</p>

<p>Anyway- I would lean toward Canon if possible, but I suppose if she isn’t getting the same kind as I have, it wouldn’t matter to save money by sharing lenses, etc.</p>

<p>( Her top choice is the Sony DSC-N2- not sure what criteria she used to select it since her 2nd choice is Canon G7, which looks like a nice camera, but more money than I wanted to spend and also not a sub-compact)</p>

<p>She needs something that is fairly sturdy since she is fairly active ( but she is careful with her things, not like me, my new shiny LG9700 already has little nicks in it from where I dropped it)- she doesn’t have a preference for batteries, but if anyone has a preference, Id like to hear, as I would about selecting cameras taking storage type in consideration.</p>

<p>Our phones both take MicroSD cards and the A570 takes a mini SD, but some of the other phones use memory sticks.
I don’t transfer files that way enough to be familiar, but wouldn’t it be an advantage to using same media? ( my palm also uses SD)</p>

<p>Her third choice is Kodak EasyShare V570, which looks interesting but it is over a year old!- ( and I thought selecting colleges was complicated :wink: )</p>

<p>Im thinking of spending $300, after discounts ( she is using $150 of her own money, the rest is a birthday present & I can’t wait another month for the new things to come out, because she wants it for her summer adventures)</p>

<p>for really nice features, I will spend more, but not as much as $500.
sorry honey.</p>

2

<p>keep in mind megapixels don’t matter above 5 or so, and I dont even think you can buy a new camera that is less anymore anyway.</p>

<p>“Yesterday, The New York Times’ writer David Pogue blogged about a Discovery Channel TV show he taped recently (which will air in February), in which he had a professional photo lab print out 13-, 8-, and 5-megapixel photos at 16” by 24". Then they posted the photos in Times Square in New York, and asked passersby to say which was best – a kind of megapixel taste test. Nobody could tell the difference, except for a photography professor - who was probably guessing anyway."</p>

3

<p>So, I have had several, and have used the pictures in publications.</p>

<p>For the money, the one with the most features among subcompacts, with the best start-up time, and least shutter lag (I consider this key), my favorite is the Casio EX-Z850. (They have some later models now, but I don’t think they are as good. Uses SD card; proprietary battery gets around 450-500 photos per charge! 8 mp - though I usually use 6. Great feel in the hand. Excellent macro shots. It frankly has more features than I could ever use, so… (I purchased mine from BestAudioVideo in Ohio for $269; case, memory, and reader extra.)</p>

<p>If I were doing it again, I’d go with the SONY DSC-w55. Somewhat fewer bells and whistles, but great pictures virtually every time, and enough features to allow at least some creativity. Uses Memory Stick Pro Duo (which is okay, though a little bit more expensive to purchase), and has 56k on board, so you can get 25 pictures or so and download without the Stick. Proprietary battery gets roughly 380 pictures without recharge. 7 mp. I’ve purchased two for my kids at Office Depot, on sale for $149. (memory, case, and reader are extra)</p>

<p>I used to not like proprietary batteries. From experience, with lots of shooting and forgetting to recharge rechargeables, and not liking to replace batteries in the middle of a day,I have now come to the opposite view.</p>

<p>The Canon A570 is NOT a subcompact, and feels positively huge compared with the aforementioned. My d. has had two Canons previously (A540s, I think, or its predecessor), and had problems with both of them.</p>

4

<p>I bought two Canon Powershot SD630s (Digital Elph); one for my d and one for me. Tiny, slim with a huge 3" LCD. I absolutely love mine; BUT my d took hers out of her case (in her purse) after a recent flight and discovered a cracked LCD. After researching, I’ve discovered many Canon models have a problem with the LCD’s cracking with normal, nonabusive use…and Canon is not accepting these damages as a warranty item. Soooo…through Canon, $165 for a new LCD/repair, through an Ebay vendor, $100 for a new LCD/repair.</p>

<p>If you go this route, buy the stiffest, tightest hardback case (the one made by Canon is good) you can find. My hardback case may be why mine has survived being tossed around in my purse. (Btw…most girls want to stuff their subcompacts in their jeans pockets, so getting them to use a case may be a trick.)</p>

5

<p>My Pentax Optio fits in a Altoids tin. While it also makes nice pictures, the Altoids tin thing was the entire reason for its initial purchase. My husband bought it to use on his cross-country bike ride; then I took it over, then D stole it from me, then I bought a new one, then S stole that one… and I’m trying to decide whether to get another one. I don’t mind the kids stealing them because they actually use them, then send me photos.</p>

6

<p>I have a Canon SD800 IS which I absolutely LOVE. I paid $350 at Best Buy. I was attracted to the image stabilizer and wider angle. I wanted a camera I could carry in my purse or my pocket. It takes great pictures. I picked up a 1GB memory card at Costco so I always have space to play. We gave our daughter the Canon SD 600 for graduation last year- paid about $200 - she loves it also. Check out <a href=“http://www.dpreview.com%5B/url%5D”>www.dpreview.com</a> to do a little comparison shopping also cdnet</p>

7

<p>Here’s a good review of the EX-Z850:</p>

<p><a href=“DVD Talk Forum”>DVD Talk Forum;

8

<p>I got my DD a DMC - TZ3 for like $289 from buydig. It has a good balance of functions - 3" LCD, 10x optical zoom, image stabilization, and a Leica lens. Best of all, it offers wide angle 16:9, 3:2 and 4:3 aspect ratios. </p>

<p>About megapixel, one can not just compare the pure # such as 5 or 7 etc. It has alot to do with the size of your CCD. with the same 10 megapixel capability, a DSLR with a full 35mm size CCD will give xtimes better image than those point and shoot with a small CCD.</p>

9

<p>That’s a great camera, too! (But it isn’t a subcompact.)</p>

10

<p>I like the altoids in a box camera- have to go check it out :)</p>

11

<p>One of the things I miss most is not having a wide angle lens option on my digital cameras. My old Nikon had a 28mm lens that I used a lot for group/family photos. For this reason alone, I would give a second look at the Kodak V570 which has two lenses…one of which is a wide angle lens. It fits your daughter’s sub compact requirement and is relatively inexpensive. See the following sites that have good photos that show off the wide angle lens option:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/V570/V570A.HTM[/url]”>http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/V570/V570A.HTM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/kodak/v570-review/index.shtml[/url]”>http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/kodak/v570-review/index.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The biggest problems are group and outdoor panoramic shots where a zoom lens works against you. Think Holiday group photos in the living room where everyone is packed like sardines on the couch and you can’t back up enough to get everyone into the frame.” Where’s Uncle Waldo?” And outdoor shots which don’t give you a sense of scale even if you were able to get everything into the frame, it’s all too small.</p>

12

<p>EK4: you’re looking for the Optio S7, and you have to kind of stretch the tin a bit (I used the unsharpened end of a pencil to kind of massage the tin in spots). I notice the reviews say it doesn’t take the best pictures, but it sure is easy to take everywhere, which matters to me.</p>