Suggestions On New Point and Shoot Camera?

[Gabriel Yeager]

Hello again everyone,
I'm not sure if this has been talked about somewhere and I managed to miss it, but I searched and did not find anything. So mods', if it has, thanks in advance for locking the thread and redirecting.

I'm looking for a new Point and Shoot camera for under $200 (US).

I recently broke mine, due to a nasty biking crash on a steep hill. lol! Lets just say, I did a 360* and smashed into the curb, thankfully, I was wearing my backpack, but the camera broke because it was in it! :(

So here I am, asking if anyone could help me out on a suggestion?

I like to do nature photography, so I think that the greens need to have great depth. I'm often out biking with my cameras, or out on walks, so durability would be a nice thing, if at all possible. The higher the resolution, all the happier I am (haha). I really like Canon's, but from what I have seen on color charts, they don't seem to hold up very well on the cheap ones.
I don't want to get anything less then a 5 mp camera, I would like something more like a seven megapixel if possible.

I saw the Samsung L73, and I think it might be the camera for me; its got high res. nice features, and is small. But how is the coloring on this camera, does anyone know?

I also need something that can shoot without having to wait a hole second to get an image! That drives me absolutely insane!

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!
~Gabriel

[Leigh Wanstead]

Hi Gabriel,

Sorry to hear your crash.

Why not see this as a good reason to buy a d40 camera though little above your budget?

Regards
Leigh

[Gabriel Yeager]

Hi Leigh,

I like your thinking! Hahaha, I love that camera! However... I don't think I could get to it at this point, sure is tempting though!

Someone here has got to own a point and shoot camera somewhere!?!?
~Gabriel

[Leigh Wanstead]

First thing first, what stops you to buy a d40? Just curious

[Matthew Nayman]

The canon 570 IS is a great point and shoot... 7.1 mp, full manual controls if you want them...

[Gabriel Yeager]

Originally Posted by Leigh Wanstead

First thing first, what stops you to buy a d40? Just curious

I can't get the money right now, its too expensive... and then if you add the prices of lenses, it just goes out the window in price. And I'm looking for something I can carry around with me at all times with my Girlfriend.

Thanks Matthew, I can't believe I pasted that camera up!

I love Canon's. Their awesome cameras, I guess you could label me a "Canon snob."

I like how it has the full manual option, and high Megapixel count, I think I'll look into this one.

Thank you!
~Gabriel

[Leigh Wanstead]

Hi Gabriel,

I just read Ken's latest article http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/free-digital-camera.htm

You live in USA which get the same benefit Ken mentioned if you use a film camera. What do you think?

Here in New Zealand everything is so dear compare to USA. So I have no plan to use a film camera.
I also did the cost analysis, so far I have shot 53,000 photos considering spending around US$1,750 on d40. This means each click cost me around US 3.3cents. That is a nice deal. ;-)

Regards
Leigh

[Gabriel Yeager]

Hey Leigh, thats pretty incredible... I think thats something worth looking into as far as SLRs go.

My dad actually has one, maybe I'll give it a shot.

I've noticed I can get a film SLR with three lenses for about $150(US) a lot of the time. Sounds like a good deal to me!

But I am still interested in getting a simple Point and Shoot camera that I can fit in my pocket to take a photo "on the fly."

Thanks!
~Gabriel

[Leigh Wanstead]

Ken mentoned on his website that all digital camera offers similar image quality. The reason to buy expensive one just for easy to use. If that is true, why not buy a Canon Powershot A550?

[Leigh Wanstead]

Hi Gabriel,

Have you bought the new camera?

Regards
Leigh

[Gabriel Yeager]

Hey Leigh,

I'm not sure that is entirely true... For instance, the Canon Powershot A550 has really deep and great looking colors, however, the images have a lot of noise on them. Even at really bright levels. As oppose to some other camera; it can have white washed colors, but very little noise at low light... Sooooo, I'm not so sure about that one.

No I have not got one yet, I'm still deciding, and making sure I got the money. lol.

~Gabriel

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Leigh Wanstead

Ken mentoned on his website that all digital camera offers similar image quality.

For Gabriel.

What Ken Rockwell says is indeed true. Image quality is pretty much the same across the board. The price difference, as Leigh points out, governs ease of use and feature set. Just saying... if the A550 images had noise, then that's most likely just due to a setting... probably Auto ISO. You can get great looking images out of a $200 camera, trust me. It's not a camera limitation. It's just an operator limitation, which is easily correctable.

[Heath McKnight]

Nikon has a nice point-and-click that includes wifi to send photos, but over at B&H you can pick up an excellent D40 with an 18-55mm lens for $500.

heath

[Gabriel Yeager]

Thanks Heath!

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

For Gabriel.

What Ken Rockwell says is indeed true. Image quality is pretty much the same across the board. The price difference, as Leigh points out, governs ease of use and feature set. Just saying... if the A550 images had noise, then that's most likely just due to a setting... probably Auto ISO. You can get great looking images out of a $200 camera, trust me. It's not a camera limitation. It's just an operator limitation, which is easily correctable.

Thank you Chris! That really helps! It makes sense now.
I know you can take great photos with a $200 camera, I think I have proven that to myself with my last camera.

~Gabriel

[Heath McKnight]

I swear, this is our unofficial motto when it comes to video and still cameras:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

I've taken great photos with an old Canon A60 PowerShot (2.1 megapixels point-and-shoot), and I'm only taking better pictures on a D40x because I worked on composition, etc.

heath