Best Point and Shoot under $220

[aphelion02]

So I am sick of the pathetic camera on my phone, and have decided to get a point and shoot. I actually considered getting a DSLR, but considering I know next to nothing about photography I decide to save that for the future when I learn more about taking decent photos.

I know next to nothing about cameras; here's what I am looking for.

1. Budget: less than $200 if possible, but willing to expand budget for more value. Willing to go up to $300 if it means much better quality, but would really prefer to keep costs down.
2. Typical usage scenario: mostly indoor, family shots, scenery (think 'tourist / travel scenery)
3. No need for images to be blown up.
4. Not a big user of video recording.
5. Won't be taking a lot of fast moving shots.
6. Image quality is biggest criteria; good zoom capability is also good.
7. Would like to have good auto, "idiot proof" settings, but would be nice if there are manual controls for a newbie to learn more about photography.
8. Compactness is good but not absolutely the biggest criteria.

 

[aphelion02]

Please help?

 

[a123456]

Disclaimer: I don't know anything about photography. I was in a similar situation, looking for a vacation camera with auto settings. For me, main thing was hopefully some wide angle shots for scenery. I asked a photography friend and got a recommendation for the Canon 300 HS.

It takes decent pictures and is in your general price range. You could try it out at Best Buy or some other shop and see what you think.

 

[ElFenix]

for the usual 4x zoom metal body point and shoots i'm of the opinion that none are worth more than $150. oh, sure, more expensive models are likely to have additional features but for the most part those features don't impact the picture taking. pick something from panasonic, sony, or canon, in that price range, and rather than agonizing over the minor differences between, spend the time to read the instruction manual and do what it is telling you to do. that will let you take far better pictures than spending hours comparing minor differences between models.

heck, get last year's model on closeout and save even more, that's what i did.

 

[aphelion02]

What confuses me the most is that even for a given vendor, there are multiple different models at the same pricepoint. For example, I was looking at the Canon SX 130 IS and the Canon SD 1200. What is the difference between them besides the zoom on the SX 130?

Also, is there significant gain if I expand my budget, to say, $350 or so? Is it worth it, or would it be better to spring for a DSLR at that point?

 

[JoeMcJoe]

Please help?

I just got this one: Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS (link).

I was surprised how good quality the images and HD video were.
For these small pocket cameras, spending any more than $200 is not worth it, the picture quality will not improve, but the number of features will. It has a nice wide angle lens.

I use this camera along with a Canon 5D DSLR.

If you want really good quality images, a DSLR is required, it has physically larger lenses.

 

[aphelion02]

This is the confusion I mean...whats the difference between that Elph 100, SX 130 IS, and SD 1200/ 1300? 3 camera models from the same manufacturer at the same price range...

 

[JoeMcJoe]

Take a look at this comparison table: link

The Elph 100 HS is one of the newest, just came out, can record HD video.
This is the smallest camera in this list. It can be fully automatic, its quite smart, can detect faces, can detect when a person smiles, etc.
Lens range of: 28 – 112 mm



The SX models usually are not pocket sized, have larger zoom lenses.
Lens range of: 28 – 336 mm


The SD are a cheaper model, less features and isn't as small as the Elph 100 HS.

Helps? or makes it clear as mud?
I was in the same boat as you, I selected the Elph 100 HS, I didn't need a large zoom lens, I wanted a wide angle lens for indoor shots.

 

[aphelion02]

Ahh, thanks that helps a bit. Do the larger lens range on the SX models impact the image quality? From what I understand, the lens impacts the zoom range, and the image quality is dependent on the imager. How do the imager on these compare? Also, what does ISO mean for picture quality?

From what I can tell right now, it sounds like Elph is the way to go for me. I like the ultracompactness, and 12x zoom is overkill for me.

 

[Sephire]

Canon S95

 

[aphelion02]

That camera is $400...is it really worth the money? Like I said, I can stretch my budget but only if the quality really justifies it. Can you give situations where a camera like that would show a real-life difference?

 

[Sephire]

Why the Canon S95 is the best P&S camera in PQ

 

[Gooberlx2]

The S95 is a great P&S camera...best in class most likely. It's worth the money if you care to take advantage of the additional features outside of the improved image quality (raw, manual controls, etc...).

If you're not looking to do more than simply snap casual pictures with the camera set to auto-mode, then I think your money is better spent with one of the cheaper models already mentioned.

All that said, the Canon brand is by far the safest bet when it comes to compact P&S digital cameras (imo).

 

[JoeMcJoe]

Ahh, thanks that helps a bit. Do the larger lens range on the SX models impact the image quality? From what I understand, the lens impacts the zoom range, and the image quality is dependent on the imager. How do the imager on these compare? Also, what does ISO mean for picture quality?

From what I can tell right now, it sounds like Elph is the way to go for me. I like the ultracompactness, and 12x zoom is overkill for me.

The longer lens of the SX camera usually means it doesn't give as good a pictures, it gives ok pictures over a wider zoom range. I used to have a previous generation SX camera. Just my opinion.

The S95 is a great camera. But is it worth twice the money for you? I didn't think so for me, not in a point and shoot.

The S95 gives you a lot of control, manual control of the settings. If you don't know what the settings mean, its unlikely you will ever use it.

LINK for comparisons and a link to a review. It lists the size of the image sensors, the bigger can mean better.

What is ISO? See this link.

 

[ElFenix]

The SD are a cheaper model, less features and isn't as small as the Elph 100 HS.

Helps? or makes it clear as mud?
I was in the same boat as you, I selected the Elph 100 HS, I didn't need a large zoom lens, I wanted a wide angle lens for indoor shots.

looks like the SD1200 is last year's model of the Elph 100 HS. same lens, same weight, nearly the same body. i guess canon has finally decided it has run out of numbers to use with the SD name.

Ahh, thanks that helps a bit. Do the larger lens range on the SX models impact the image quality?

bigger zoom ratio has to reduce image quality, that's simple physics. more elements = more defects and more stuff that needs corrected by more elements. but, it'll let you zoom way in. you'll be less likely to carry the camera, though, as it isn't quite pocketable.

From what I understand, the lens impacts the zoom range, and the image quality is dependent on the imager.

image quality is dependent on both. a super expensive sensor looking through a terrible lens can only capture the terrible image coming out of the lens. similarly, it doesn't matter how good the image the lens throws is if the sensor isn't capable of capturing the detail.

at this range of camera, though, none of the lenses are all that great and the sensors are usually the same from camera to camera and brand to brand.

How do the imager on these compare?

you can take a look at steves-digicams review of the 100HS and the previous SD1300, the HS is definitely more pleasing at 1600. neither is capturing a lot of fine detail at that speed but the HS is less noisy.

Also, what does ISO mean for picture quality?

generally, increased ISO speed means reduced image quality. ISO speed is a standard published by the ISO (the same people who do the ISO 9001 standard) for exposure that is a bit flexible nowadays. but basically, what happens when you increase ISO speed is that the analog gain is turned up on signal the sensor picks up during exposure. the gain amplifies noise just as much as it amplifies signal, and if there isn't much signal to begin with (due to the subject being dark or dimly lit), you'll see a lot of the amplified noise in the final result.

From what I can tell right now, it sounds like Elph is the way to go for me. I like the ultracompactness, and 12x zoom is overkill for me.

buy it and be happy.

 

[The_Dude8]

Get the SD 4500 or the sd4000.

 

[Paladin]

I got the new Sony WX9 a couple weeks ago. I like it so far

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Shot-DSC-WX9-Vario-Tessar-Wide-Angle/dp/B004H8FNJY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305325119&sr=8-1

 

[aphelion02]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The Elph 100 seems like the sensible choice for me, but tbh I am wavering in favor of the Canon S95. Part of it is that it seems professional-looking, but also I am wondering if it will be a gateway for me to learning more serious photography down the line as I play on the manual controls.

Does this sound like a good idea? Or should I just get a cheap point n shoot + another DSLR down the line.

 

[CptObvious]

I 2nd the SD4000 or SD4500. I had the S95 and my girlfriend has the SD4000. While the S95 is clearly better at most things, the SD4000 takes surprisingly good low-light shots due to its fast f/2.0 aperture. It also takes better video than the S95 I had (30fps vs. 24fps). For learning about photography though, the S95 is better due to the manual controls and RAW file support.

 

[oRdchaos]

Canon has some refurb SD4000's and S95's on their website at the moment. I believe the SD4000 runs around $200, and a hundred more for the S95.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_268554_-1

 

[aphelion02]

I ended up buying the Canon S95. This is quite a bit above my original budget, but I don't mind paying for quality. I would like to thank everyone for their great suggestions, especially for the great cameras in the $200 range. Unfortunately, I got the tech lust and didn't follow advice...

I just hope that I can pick up enough photography to make this purchase worthwhile, otherwise I will have pissed $200 down the drain. Does anyone have good places to start for a photography noob? If I get good at this, I can totally see myself getting a DSLR in a few months.

 

[Sephire]

Join the S95 hordes!

 

[Sephire]

S95 is very handy when going to concerts and sports events since some of them don't allow DSLR. The manual settings are more than enough to compensate.

 

[CptObvious]

I found this site to be very helpful and well-written:

http://mansurovs.com/photography-tips-for-beginners

It's for DSLRs but most can apply to the S95 since it has controllable aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings.