Mid-range point and shoot recommendation?

[JSK07]

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a new digital camera. Something mid-range with regards to price. Our current camera is a Canon A550 which has been good to us but now the battery cover has broken. We'd like to step up into a better camera and since we have had good luck with Canon we've been comparing the Canon SX100 IS and the Canon S5 IS. Both seem to be excellent choices but we question if there is enough difference between the 2 for us to spend the extra $100 on the S5.

So I figured I'd come here and ask for some input from those who are more knowledgable. I really don't trust the salesmen in the retail stores.

I should note that we are not completely set on Canon. If there is another camera in the same price range we'd definately consider it. Trying to keep the cost below $350. This camera will see more indoor use. Mostly used by my wife to take pictures of our kids and for her scrapbooking hobby. So low light performance as well as sports related shots are important to us.

Thanks,
Jeramy

 

[Puffnstuff]

I just got a canon s5 is for $323 with fedex express shipping from buydig. They lowered the price of the camera down to under $317 yesterday with free shipping. So far I'm pleased with it and it does everything that I need in a point and shoot. http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=CNPSS5

 

[JSK07]

Thanks for the reply. I have to admit, I'm a complete novice. Which probably means that either camera is more than capable of meeting my needs. LOL I just want to make sure I don't make a bad decision. I've been searching around on the cameras but I get lost in some of the lingo.

 

[BabaBooey]

I have a fuji S8000FD and love it,very easy to use,good low light and 18X optical zoom and anti-shake,etc..


Also checkout stevesdigicams.com for excellent reviews and specs / pics ...:thumbsup:

 

[QuixoticOne]

Try these --

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html
http://photo.net/community/
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/headlines.html
http://www.kenrockwell.com/index.htm
http://www.dp-now.com/index.html
http://www.normankoren.com/sitemap.html

and be sure to read at least 3-4 detailed and apparently objective (nobody trying to sell anything) reviews of the camera(s) you're considering, and look at some of the sample high resolution photos and see what BAD things people say about whatever the model in question is.

It has been a while since I've shopped for a P&S; I know there are some truly decent P&S cameras out there, though especially if you're looking for high zoom capability, good light gathering lenses with low purple fringing (chromatic abberration), useful image stabilization, good low light performance, et. al. you're not going to have a camera that is any more COMPACT than a DSLR, and it's probably not going to be less expensive either.

So given that I'd tend to suggest that you compare pros and cons of both entry level DSLRS like the D40, K100D, Digital Rebel, whatever, and see if spending $350 plus or minus on a PnS is a good deal vs spending maybe 380 to 480 on a DSLR + decent included in kit lens like a 18-55mm or 50-200mm or whatever.

On the other hand if you really DO want something *compact* like pocket size, by all means get a good P&S, but don't expect it to be all that great for certain kinds of shots e.g. high zoom, high dynamic range scenes, flash photos, backlit silhouettes, macro shots, low noise photography at high ISOs in dark areas, etc. because with the physically small lens and sensor you're really not going to match (in general) what even a low-end DSLR can do.

 

[JSK07]

Well, I ended up going with a Canon S3. I found one at the local Office Max brand new for $219 on clearance. Couldn't pass it up at that price. I realize it's an older model but for our needs it will be more than adequate. Now if I could only make sense of half the settings. LOL I guess I can start reading the massive owners manual.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: JSK07
LOL I guess I can start reading the massive owners manual.

always the best place to start. read it, and while doing so actually do what it is saying with the camera.

 

[Krioni]

The S3 is a great choice... from reading on dpreview.com most of the users prefer the S3 to the S5 because of the lower pixel count (less noise in the image).

Congratulations on a good purchase.... wish I could find that deal, it would be worth it to have a smaller P&S at that price for when I don't want to carry my DSLR around.

 

[JSK07]

Originally posted by: Krioni
The S3 is a great choice... from reading on dpreview.com most of the users prefer the S3 to the S5 because of the lower pixel count (less noise in the image).

Congratulations on a good purchase.... wish I could find that deal, it would be worth it to have a smaller P&S at that price for when I don't want to carry my DSLR around.

I was looking at the comparisons over at dpreview.com. Under their review of the S5 they have side by side comparisions to the same shot taken with the S3. While I can see some differences in the 2 shots I could not say it would have been worth us spending the extra $100-150 to get the S5.

The size of the DSLR was a big factor in our decision. When we started thinking about vacationing the though of lugging a DSLR around everywhere just turned us off.

 

[Krioni]

Well, I think you made a good choice. The Canon S2/S3/S5 also taking pretty darn good video, my friend has an S2... I saw some of his video and was very impressed. It even has stereo sound!

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: JSK07

Originally posted by: Krioni
The S3 is a great choice... from reading on dpreview.com most of the users prefer the S3 to the S5 because of the lower pixel count (less noise in the image).

Congratulations on a good purchase.... wish I could find that deal, it would be worth it to have a smaller P&S at that price for when I don't want to carry my DSLR around.

I was looking at the comparisons over at dpreview.com. Under their review of the S5 they have side by side comparisions to the same shot taken with the S3. While I can see some differences in the 2 shots I could not say it would have been worth us spending the extra $100-150 to get the S5.

The size of the DSLR was a big factor in our decision. When we started thinking about vacationing the though of lugging a DSLR around everywhere just turned us off.

I just bought an S3 yesterday. All the reading I did led me to conclude that it was the sweet spot in super zoom cameras, mostly because of the extra noise from the higher pixel count. I'm hoping it will tide me over until I can afford a 5D or its successor.