[bangraman]

I know very little about digital cameras. Currently I own the Powershot A20 (For sale), Digital Ixus V2 (my main point and shoot camera right now) and the Sony PEG-NZ90 organiser (also for sale). All of these are 2 megapixels and for the most part they're fine. Few of my pictures I have the need to enlarge beyond a standard size print. The A20 has the best optics so it gives the best results but I find it a bit too big to carry about for normal use. The Ixus is a great size but I find it's image quality lacks a bit when compared side by side with the A20. The NZ90 has a still smaller lens so gives inferior results to the V2 under most circumstances (but still, the images that come out of what is actually an organiser is still stunning).


I'd like to take a two-forked approach to photography from now, a really portable 2 megapixel camera (much smaller than the V2, don't care if it has no optical zoom) that goes with me everywhere plus a good 4+ megapixel camera.


Sometimes I like to edit and send images while out, so somehow the cards from the camera must be able to go into a Compactflash slot on my organiser, either natively or via an adaptor. What would you suggest?

 

[psxguy85]

If you want to get into Digital SLR's, the Canon 10D is a very good choice. You have to buy the lenses separately.

I like the Canon G5 and Canon S400. The G5 looks like a cross between a True SLR and a P&S. The S400 is perfect for its small size.

All of the cameras mentioned are over 4 MP.

 

[stymie miasma]

Hi Bangraman,

For what it is worth, I am also in the market for my first digital camera. I have found dpreview to be immensely helpful, so if you have not had a chance to do so, please do check it out. The full-featured reviews are very thorough (at least for my purposes) and the cameras are put through a battery of standard tests which adds to the overall objectivity of the reviews IMHO.

I am currently favouring the Canon PowerShot S45 which is a compact 4 MP 'point and shot' camera. That said, the S45 includes some handy manual features to allow experimentation and fine-tuning your shots. From what I can tell, it offers the best 'bang for buck' in terms of size, construction/optics, features, image quality and price.

psx-guy suggested the 5MP Canon PowerShot G5 as your 4MP camera, but from what I read of the review, it suffers from some image quality problems associated with the higher resolution sensor not mating well with the current optics, which are essentially identical to the optics on the older PowerShot G3. For what it is worth, similar flaws were noted on the PowerShot S50, the 5MP successor to the S45, where again, the same optics were used on the newer camera. The author suggested stick with the 4MP PowerShot G3 until Canon sorts out the problem.

I am very curious to see how the new Fuji S7000 fares in the reviewer's hands. It is a 6MP SLR-like camera that contains Fuji's super CCD sensor which actually produces a 12 MP image - don't ask me how, but it does!

Hope this helps!

 

[shafu]

www.dpreview.com is a great site. For what it's worth, I just bought the Cannon S400 and found it great for my honeymoon pictures.

 

[Mcrmouse30]

Quote:

Originally posted by shafu www.dpreview.com is a great site. For what it's worth, I just bought the Cannon S400 and found it great for my honeymoon pictures.

Pics?

J/K. I definitly would recommend getting the Canon G3. The images that it produces are incredible. Plus it is better than lugging around a digital SLR. Though if you want to go that route look into the Fuji S1(great deals can be had through ebay) or if you want more expensive go with the Canon 10D. A client of mine just dropped $5k on it with a couple of really nice lenses. I have been playing with it and I am really impressed.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by bangraman I'd like to take a two-forked approach to photography from now, a really portable 2 megapixel camera (much smaller than the V2, don't care if it has no optical zoom) that goes with me everywhere plus a good 4+ megapixel camera.

Or you could try the Canon PowerShot S400 (or its equivalent over there), which is a "pocketable" digicam with 4MP and a 3x zoom. It's really quite impressive.

 

[Pazu]

I did some online digital camera researching myself a couple of weeks ago and narrowed it down to either the G3 or S400 (G5 costs way too much).
I chose the S400 though, as it is more compact and I didn't really need all those features of the G3 (plus S400 costs less of course

).

Now all I need to do is to actually save enough money to get one.

 

[swalker]

I really liked Canon S30 when I owned it but it's sort of a tweener as it's a little too big and heavy to be called a pocket sized camera and not big enough to have a good grip like Canon G3 or Fuji 602. Personally I think S400 is overpriced for what it does since S45 is selling at a similar price these days and S45 is superior to S400 in most categories except the portability. My friend is using Samsung V4 and it is suprisingly decent, full-featured small sized camera (not to mention relatively cheap) although I still preferred the pictures from S30 as V4 pictures seemed a bit undersaturated to my eyes but having the manual controls at that size and weight was pretty nice.

If portability is what you're after getting a Pentax Optio S/Casio Z3(two similar products), or Minolta Dimage Xt plus something like Canon G3 or Nikon 4500 as the main camera would be nice.

 

[SBomm]

Last year I bought the Canon S30 and have taken a few thousand pictures. I've been very happy with the image quality and the sturdyness. It's even been dropped on concrete and still functions perfectly.

Now the S400 looks like the same lense, same 3.2 megapixels. and most of the manual features of the S30. But it comes in a great tiny package, not much bigger than a pack of cigarettes. If I were shopping for a new camera this would probably be my first choice.

 

[stuartr]

I shoot with the S30 and two professional quality SLRs. I like the S30 for its portability and its fairly good image quality, but if you are going to be taking pictures that you want to blow up to a good size, either stick with film for now (this would be my choice), or if you can take the bite to your wallet, the EOS 10D is a great camera. I will not suggest the D1s, because if you were thinking about buying it, you probably would not need my advice. I.E. photography would be your job. But anyway, I am waiting until most DSLR's have a CMOS sensor that corresponds to a 35mm frame. Until then you cannot have true wide angle, nor can you really blur the background in portraits.
So, if you can handle an SLR, get the 10D,
if not I hear good things about the G5.
If you want a more "photographer's" view of the cameras, check out photo.net. They are not as technical as dpreview, but they will tell you how the camera is for actual real world applications.

 

[psxguy85]

I have Canon's highest end Film SLR, and I'm planning to continue on to their digital division by going with the 10D. I don't suggest the 1Ds unless you have a lot of money to burn AND are advanced amateur in photography, OR if you are a professional photographer.

My friend, who is completely insane, got the 1Ds, and is loving it. I've shot with it too, but I don't trust myself holding a $8000 camera body. $8000 lens on the other hand.....

 

[stuartr]

Yeah, as I said, I wouldn't recommend the D1s, because he would get it if he needed it. Frankly, no one who shoots less than a 500 pictures a day needs a D1s. The D1s is a fashion photographer or catalog photographer's camera. For the cost of the body alone I could get and would much rather have a leica MP or M7, a 50 mm summicron, a 90 mm Summicron APO, a 35mm ASPH and a 20 mm lens.
Glad to hear that you have a EOS1 (Vs?). A nice camera. I am still happily in FD and using a T90 and a New F1. If I make the full jump to digital (which I won't do for a long time), I would wait until the CMOS of the D1s becomes available on more reasonably priced cameras.

 

[Gergor]

For ultracompact camera, how about the new Sony DSC-U60 (or U30)? It uses memory stick though, is there such a thing as memory stick to compactflash adaptor?

 

[psxguy85]

is it called D1s in other countries? Because I"ve always known it as 1Ds, and its lower brother, the 1D. Some people call the 10D the D10. I don't get it.

Just want to clarify some things.

 

[Mr.PD]

Count me as another Canon S30 owner.
Works well for what it is designed for.
My only real complaint it it's macro mode. Don't get too close!