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Camera_Gear: Point & Shoot cameras

R

rocketman

Guest
Since I know a number of folks don't have a DSLR this thread is for reviews of your P&S cameras.

Again, I'd to hear about your P&S camera. Treat this as if you were doing a one or two paragraph review of your P&S what you like and what you don't. Don't worry about it being professional, I want to hear what YOU the photographer think. Would you buy another one, if not what would you buy, and why.

RM
 
Olympus Stylus 770 SW

What I like:
I like this camera for carrying on the bike but also in my kayak. It is small, about the size of a pack of cigarettes. It is a 7MP and it is waterproof and shock proof. It has gone whitewater kayaking with me in the pocket of my PFD and performed well. It has a large screen that you can see fairly well in daylight. It has an action mode to reduce blurry pictures in motion and will take video. It also comes with some basic picture management software that is easy to use to catalog you pics and reformat them for emailing. With the optional 2GB Xd card it will take over 1000 shots at max resolution.

What I don't like:
The buttons are a little small and do not work well with gloves on. This is a minor issue

Great customer service:
I had one issue where the camera leaked while in salt water, result was a dead camera. I went to the Olympus website and followed the instructions to download and fill out a form. Sent the form and the camera to the service center. About a week later I was going to call the service center to see if they had received it yet and as I was dialing there was a knock on my door, it was UPS with a new camera from Olympus. Replaced it no questions asked.

Overall I like this camera it is easy to use and has a few advanced features fits well in a jacket pocket I would certainly buy another one.
 
Kodak EasyShare Z650

I love this little camera, plus Z650 sounds like the name of a motorcycle!

There are 4 main modes for taking picture:
1) AUTO: for the true point and shoot experience. More often than not the pictures come out fine.
2) SPORT: if whatever you're trying to get a picture of is moving around.
3) PORTRAIT: for close ups (duh!).
4)NIGHT: do I really need to explain this one.

If you want to feel like a real photographer there is a 5th mode: "SCAN". In scan mode (my favorite) you push a button to scroll through a bunch of settings including snow, backlight, landscape, text, children, fireworks, party, beach and more. You can be a little more creative with these settings but be careful, if you select the wrong setting for the situation the pictures can get all screwed up.

If you actually are a real photographer there is yet another mode, "PASM". I have no idea what those initials stand for. This setting allows you to manually control camera settings. WARNING: only use this if you are familiar with terms like "fstop", shutter speed, iso, etc. I've only used this setting by accident and the results were a total disaster!

When I bought this camera the salesman seemed to be very impressed that it came with a Schneider-Kreuznach 10X optical zoom lens. That meant nothing to me but I've been very happy with the results. If you want to see pictures taken with this camera check out the photo assignment for 1/26. My 3 of Canandaigua were taken with this little and easy to use P&S.
 

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In the spirit of things

My Panasonic LX1.

Pro: Lots of manual controls, wide aspect ratio choice) Con: low light performance & no viewfinder (lcd almost useless in midday sun).

Piece next to cam is a slide on circular polarizer adapted from a digicam. Green dots are felt to help hold the cam, ergos of SS are stinky.

132046701-S.jpg
 
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Canon S80

s80_front_open.jpg


PROS:

  • full manual control
  • ISO 50 setting
  • 28mm equivalent wide angle
  • f/2.8 aperture
  • astoundingly intuitive user interface
  • movie mode
  • L A R G E LCD
  • sharp, clear photos

CONS:

  • too big for shirt pocket, too small for hands
  • no RAW
  • like all compact camera, TOO noisy above ISO 100
  • no image stabilization

Typical image from my S80:

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fast

I just bought a nice Olympus point and shoot for under $100......

7 meg, takes nice pictures etc.

But it's SLOW, push the shutter and wait, and wait and wait......................
and then after it finally takes the shot you have to wait, and wait and wait to take another.

How much do I have to spend to get a digital camera that I can point and shoot NOW, and NOW and NOW? Like a 35 MM , point shoot, point shoot............

Suggestions appreciated as I'm going to Europe this summer and want to be able to take pictures without waiting all the friggin time to take a shot :banghead

thanks,
jason
 
How much do I have to spend to get a digital camera that I can point and shoot NOW, and NOW and NOW? Like a 35 MM , point shoot, point shoot............

The elimination of the shutter delay is usually accomplished with the purchase of a DSLR. Canon Rebel XTi is a good one and affordable. Nikon makes a similarly featured model. Olympus makes an SLR that comes with two lenses that is supposed to be a very good, very affordable camera. You might want to look into one of those.

If not, a higher end compact camera might do the trick. Try some at the local store.

Anyone else have an opinion or recent experience?
 
Nikon Coolpix 995

This is the camera I take on Bike Trips. DSLR is too big.

Pro:
Rugged
Lots of attachments available
Good battery life
Good lens takes good pictures.

Con:
Old heavy slow
3.3Meg
 

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Canon G2....getting old by digital camera standards (introduced in 2001).

Takes good, clean snapshot type photos. I like the flip out and adjustable LCD screen (it's protected when closed and not in use). Rugged....I've dropped it and it just keeps on working.

Only 4 megapixels, but that seems to be enough for snapshots and reasonably decent 8x10s.

I imagine the newer Gx series Powershots have been improved in most ways....but they lost the articulated flip out LCD somewhere along the way.

I've always liked the Canon user interfaces/menu structures. I also have a Nikon Coolpix 4500 (similar to the 995 above) that I bought for afocal astrophotography (before getting a DSLR)....but I just never got used to the Nikon menus etc. Hard to mix two different brands of digital cameras and be comfortable with both.....I don't have that problem with my old, fully manual, film cameras! ;-)

Gary Benson
Eagle River, Alaska
 

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Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom

The Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom.

olympusC-5060-Wide-Zoom.jpg


One of the best cameras in its class.

Thing that were important to me:

  • wide angle lens - 27 mm, which I find far more important than a zoom lens
  • threaded lens barrel for mounting filters (skylight, UV, circular polarizer),
  • remote shutter release,
  • accepts various media: CF, xD, microdrive (the latter is of no importance),
  • flip screen so that images could be viewed when the camera is in various positions,
  • 4:3 or 3:2 format; I won't buy a camera that doesn't do both,
  • RAM, TIFF; I won't buy a camera that only takes JPEG,
  • metal tripod thread.


Things I don't like about the camera:

  • takes a "proprietary" Li-Ion battery (I dislike anything "proprietary"),
  • the charger uses an AC wire cord to the charger instead of a flip plug for wall mounting (not an issue; just more bulky when touring).

And after all that, I still prefer film; far better latitude.
 
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