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Current MODERATELY PRICED p&s for indoor photos

S

slackerinabox

Lifer
Sorry for the length of this, I bought an hx5V based on some research (it took supposedly great indoor photos because of the eximor sensor) and have simply dreadful baby pictures because of that decision - indoor pictures look like water color paintings! Without spending Canon s95 money, what's a good p&s for decent (not award winning pictorials) indoor pictures?

I have a micro-4/3 I'm very happy with but I use that for work, this camera will be for my wife and should fit in a diaper bag and be user friendly. Please don't recommend an SLR, my wife hates lugging even my relatively small micro-4 around.

Must haves:
* As close to $200 as possible, $250 max (used/refurb is ok) - i suspect it will be abused/dropped/lost/etc so don't view this as a long-term investment
* Not so much noise removal that everything looks smeared
* Decent low-life performance (by low light I mean indoor lighting, not outdoor night shots)

Not necessary:
* Video - just bought a jvc HD camera for that
* Massive zoom not necessary. Most pictures will be close ups of our little one
* Please don't suggest just buying a s95, I know it's a great camera but $350 is just too rich for me (unless there are absolutely no other options)

Other notes:
* I'm not convinced the new era of backlit cmos cameras are as good indoors as people claim, or am I just being burned by a particularly shitty camera? Is the HX5v particularly awful or should I just stay away from mid-range (smallish sensor) cmos cameras (Nikon p300, samsung tl350, etc.)?

* Canon s90 vs s95: If all else fails I may just get a used s90. Would I be kicking myself for that decision and should I just spend the money on the s95, or are they similar enough still image wise (I know the s95 has vastly better video features but I'm just concerned with photo quality)

* Panasonic LX3 vs S90 = Close enough to go with whatever I can find used cheaper or is one clearly better than the other for indoor photos?

* New panasonics/canons: I've had good luck years ago with consumer level lumix and elphs. What current models do you guys recommend, especially for indoor photos.

* Any underdog big chip cameras out there worth mentioning? I heard samsung's vastly improved these days but I remember a samsung I bought years ago (well review) taking glorified cell phone pictures, any model these days worth checking out? Fujis? Kodaks? I'm ok that Kodak tends to artificially emphasize colors for the vivid look but how's indoor pics on them?

*** Cameras I'm considering ***
* Nikon P300 (will this be similar to my hx5v or a significant upgrade?)
* Samsung TL350 (concerned that it may have a steep learning curve, and samples I've seen range from mediocre to outstanding)
* Used canon s90 (on the high end of my budget and I prefer new)
* Used LX3 (same as above)
* Canon elph line - so many models, don't know what the current bang for buck champ is.


Again, sorry for ranting and thanks for the help 🙂
 
SD4000IS has an f/2.0 lens at wide angle and runs $200. That's about as good as you're going to get. Just have to remember never to zoom in. Never used this model personally, but like you, I've had generally favorable experiences with the ELPH/SD lineup in the past.

Other recommendation would be m4/3 with 20mm f/1.7 pancake. Expensive, yeah. Really not that much larger, though.

Indoor photos with a P&S sized sensor = compromise, no matter how good the camera.
 
Used Panasonic ZS3 for under $150 on ebay is a great deal if you just want great image quality and no bells and whistles found on recent cameras like GPS/etc. Its not run down camera though, has wide-angle lens, optical image stabilizer and face detection.
 
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I'm recommending a Nikon p300. Cost around $200, wide angle starts at f1.8, and the sample photos I've seen look like a good balance between noise and NR.
 
Thanks guys. I actually owned a ZS3 and loved it but sold it because I wasn't that happy with the indoor pictures. Wasn't awful (like my hx5v) but everything seemed lifeless (while video and outdoor was exceptional).

I'm beginning to think I should just buy a used S90- thoughts? The LX3 looks worse in samples but it gets a lot of praise.. Which would you get?

Thanks!
 
Get a fast aperture camera for low light, definitely. In your budget (new) that would be a SD4000IS ($200) or Nikon P300 ($250).
 
Maximus96 said:
great choice, "cheapy" and "good low light" will never go together
Click to expand...

Yep. During my chase I've wasted money on the ZS3 (great little cam, mediocre low light), hx5v (awesome video, terrible indoor video/pictures), and various nikons and samsungs... The Nikon P300 seems great but I'm pretty scared of it turning out to be ho-hum, so the s95 it is! Thankfully I got $120 for my hx5v on ebay so my out of pocket for the s95 isn't that bad.

Speaking of the s95, any must have accessories? Hijacking my own thread 🙂
 
CptObvious said:
Case and extra battery is all I think. For my wife's S95, we've tried 2 cases:

http://www.amazon.com/Case-Logic-TBC...0352253&sr=8-1
Case Logic case, cheap and pocketable

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSho...0352253&sr=8-2
Canon leather case, more protection and stylish

My wife prefers the latter as she carries it in her purse.
Click to expand...

That canon case looks sweeeet! Ordering that plus the battery.

Question - I might use the camera for work sometimes when I don't feel like lugging around my micro4/3 but need wider than 28mm - any of those wide angle conversion lens things not suck?
 
I see the OP mentioned the Panasonic ZS3 pictures were "lifeless", and I tend to agree - out of the box, the Panasonic cameras have a rather neutral tone, and nothing really "jumps" at you. Otherwise, they're great cameras, and the image stabilization is phenomenal. My SO has a ZS7, and it's a competent and powerful piece of hardware.

Now, if you have a Canon camera, here's a trick that surprisingly few people are aware of:
Try using the "Vivid" settings for colour as default. The results will be surprisingly pleasing.

Good luck, OP, enjoy your new toy!
 
AnitaPeterson said:
I see the OP mentioned the Panasonic ZS3 pictures were "lifeless", and I tend to agree - out of the box, the Panasonic cameras have a rather neutral tone, and nothing really "jumps" at you. Otherwise, they're great cameras, and the image stabilization is phenomenal. My SO has a ZS7, and it's a competent and powerful piece of hardware.

Now, if you have a Canon camera, here's a trick that surprisingly few people are aware of:
Try using the "Vivid" settings for colour as default. The results will be surprisingly pleasing.

Good luck, OP, enjoy your new toy!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I liked all of the features crammed into the zs3 and the lens was great, the pictures just never wowed me. Video was really good, actually. Shot this with it at a very dark venue:
http://vimeo.com/14412547

Will surely set my canon to VIVID, I've always preferred colors that pop a bit to that neutral look. Ordered the camera last week and it just shipped - argh to slow shippers but really look forward to trying it. Already got my extra battery and case, can't wait!
 
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