Budget P&S?

[Brian Boyko]

Howdy.

Moved to NZ and took my Canon HG20 and my Canon 7D with me. There's so much beautiful stuff here that I'd like to shoot and put on the Web to send home; but the 7D isn't exactly light or portable. I was looking at maybe buying a pocket-sized P&S.

Thing is, I took a big paycut in order to move here, and I already have the 7D, so price is probably a bigger consideration than normal. What would you guys recommend?

[Chris Soucy]

Welcome to NZ.

Now, about that P&S.

You've already got one!

That little HG 20 of yours takes cracking stills and video and it's greatest plus: you already own it!

I took my HV 20 to Oz last year instead of my Canon A1 or my Nikon D80 and it worked great.

Stills and HD video in one dinky package, easy to carry, easy to use and robust enough to simply toss into the car back seat in the general direction of it's carry case.

Did I miss either of my "big boys"?

Nope, every time it crossed my mind that I might get a better shot with either of the other two, I thought of the sheer utter PITA lugging either of them round would be (and the thought of doing such a trip with them BOTH was too horrible to contemplate), and then there was the security issue.

Yes, you could go for one of those matchbox sized p&s things but then there's no HD video.

Just my take on it (and it saves spending any money!).


CS

[Brian Boyko]

Thanks.

The problem is that I can't take the HG20 around with me in my pocket, doesn't take AA batteries (recharging it is actually a bigger problem, considering that I only have one US-style surge protector which all my battery chargers have to plug into.)

Don't get me wrong, I love the HG20, but I really wanted something I could stick in my pocket and keep with me all the time.

I ended up getting a Canon Powershot 480; which seems to be working well so far.

[Dave Blackhurst]

depending on how "budget" you're talking, there are quite a lot of decent choices in the sub $500 range that take pretty good pictures.

I picked up a Sony DSC TX1, not expecting much from it, but have found it surprisingly handy - you won't get any more pocketable... it's successor, the TX7, has 1080p video, as opposed to 720p. About as compact as you'll get, easy to take anywhere...

There are a couple other Sony models you might look at - the HX5 just announced looks interesting...

I have the HX1 and like it a lot, but it's not a pocket cam (unless you've to big pockets!) and still has the older (not "R") CMOS, the HX5 has the R CMOS, and a more compact format, but loses the articulating screen, which IMO makes the HX1 more versatile (HX1 has 1080p video too). The HX1 is a nice, relatively small package with decent control and features...

That's sort of a Sony user perspective, but i'd imagine there are also some nice Nikon, Canon and Panasonic options with similar features and price points.

[Matthew Craggs]

I believe you made the best choice with the Canon A480. Canon makes a bunch of nice little budget cameras that are affordable, easy to use, and take great pictures, assuming you don't mind using AA batteries.