Need a P&S

[thescreensavers]

Looking around 150-250 rage that I can buy locally at like bestbuy/compusa/walmart/target..ect. I need it by Thursday :O

I have a Canon SD800 IS right now, and it has a a barrel issue and the case has taken lots of abuse and its falling apart :O. Other then that was a great camera!

I am not looking for anything that has all these extra features stacked on to make the price go up, just a good p&s that can take great pics and the occasional Video. Must have optical zoom! And if possible somewhat good low light ability( I know P&S suck at this)

A friend recommended the Fuji F72/70 and a Nikon S630.

What do you guys think?

 

[Kaido]

My buddy just got a Canon SD780 ($199) and it's pretty great. Actually fits in your pocket, great stills, really nice 720p video. If I were to get a pocket cam today, that's probably the one I'd get.

 

[Rubycon]

My buddy just got a Canon SD780 ($199) and it's pretty great. Actually fits in your pocket, great stills, really nice 720p video. If I were to get a pocket cam today, that's probably the one I'd get.

I got one of these to replace my aging SD20. The video blows away the SD20 and the pics are quite nice outdoors. Even inside they don't look over processed like the Sonys. Definitely recommended!

 

[Tiamat]

Im currently looking at the panasonic ZR-1. Seems pretty sweet...

 

[thescreensavers]

I was looking at the SD780 and yea it seems great, but the Fuji has a lot more Optical zoom :O but it lacks HD Video Hmm the ZR-1 seems interesting as well has the optical zoom and HD video

Both are great choices it seems. Which do you pro/hobbiest camera guys think?

 

[Kaido]

I was looking at the SD780 and yea it seems great, but the Fuji has a lot more Optical zoom :O but it lacks HD Video

Both are great choices it seems. Which do you pro/hobbiest camera guys think?

The Canon 970 has 5x optical zoom (vs. 3x) and also shoots HD video:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=18335

 

[extra]

The F70/F72 are okay, the dynamic range thing is great anyway--rest of the camera blows though lol. But the dynamic range is really, really, nice!

Canon S90 is great (a bit out of your price range though). If you *need* low light capability save up and get one--it's worth it. The G11/S90 (and to some extent the Sony's with the same sensor) are so much better than other point and shoots at low light ability that it's not even funny. (Personal experience: I went from a decent Panasonic point and shoot to a G11. I also compared the G11 with my friend's G9). I feel like the G11/S90's raw files at low iso (80-200) look more like a file from an SLR than from a point and shoot.

Honestly, you can't really go wrong with a Canon or Panasonic point and shoot at this time. Though at some price points I believe the Panasonic offerings are much more appealing. This is one of those. If you can't be flexible on price then:

I'd probably go for the panasonic zr1. 25mm equiv lens! A few mm at the wide end makes a ton of difference. Think about it: that's like a 15.5mm lens on an aps-c slr! Really wide! The focus really is quite fast. I don't think it's quite the "ultra high speed af" that they advertise though lol. Yeah, it doesn't do hd video though. Meh. If you *must* have hd video get the ZS3. Imho the HD video on Canon's point and shoots isn't quite as good as the Panasonic stuff (and the G11/S90 don't even have it lol).

Avoid the Nikon point and shoots imho. Their slrs are absolutely amazing but their point and shoots must be made by a totally different department. If you value usability and a menu system that makes sense then avoid at all costs Fuji products (Disclaimer: One of the things I do is support Fuji wetlabs, so I may be a bit bitter at how ****ing ****y ***** bad their MS01 workflow software is...ahem). Some of the Sony stuff is pretty good though I don't have much personal experience with them. I would at least look into them though.

 

[thescreensavers]

The F70/F72 are okay, the dynamic range thing is great anyway--rest of the camera blows though lol. But the dynamic range is really, really, nice!

Canon S90 is great (a bit out of your price range though). If you *need* low light capability save up and get one--it's worth it. The G11/S90 (and to some extent the Sony's with the same sensor) are so much better than other point and shoots at low light ability that it's not even funny. (Personal experience: I went from a decent Panasonic point and shoot to a G11. I also compared the G11 with my friend's G9). I feel like the G11/S90's raw files at low iso (80-200) look more like a file from an SLR than from a point and shoot.

Honestly, you can't really go wrong with a Canon or Panasonic point and shoot at this time. Though at some price points I believe the Panasonic offerings are much more appealing. This is one of those. If you can't be flexible on price then:

I'd probably go for the panasonic zr1. 25mm equiv lens! A few mm at the wide end makes a ton of difference. Think about it: that's like a 15.5mm lens on an aps-c slr! Really wide! The focus really is quite fast. I don't think it's quite the "ultra high speed af" that they advertise though lol. Yeah, it doesn't do hd video though. Meh. If you *must* have hd video get the ZS3. Imho the HD video on Canon's point and shoots isn't quite as good as the Panasonic stuff (and the G11/S90 don't even have it lol).

Avoid the Nikon point and shoots imho. Their slrs are absolutely amazing but their point and shoots must be made by a totally different department. If you value usability and a menu system that makes sense then avoid at all costs Fuji products (Disclaimer: One of the things I do is support Fuji wetlabs, so I may be a bit bitter at how ****ing ****y ***** bad their MS01 workflow software is...ahem). Some of the Sony stuff is pretty good though I don't have much personal experience with them. I would at least look into them though.

Thanks for your input, hmm the ZX1 has HD video and its the same as the ZR1. But a different model? Comments on Amazon say it takes 720P video, but Panasonic site says no