Best Compact Digital Camera
On the home front, we are T-minus three weeks on the arrival of our first child. All the baby essentials (that we are aware of) are now taken care of...now I am starting to get a case of the PDGJ (pre-dad geek jitters).
First item on my list, a new Digital Camera. We already have two; a Nikon D50 which takes killer pictures, but since it is a digital SLR it is bulky and not very convenient. The second is a small Canon which takes OK pictures and can fit in your pocket if you really want it to, but not that comfortable.
So now, I am trying to search around for a really good compact digital camera. Almost all of them seem to have 3x zoom and a variety of features which I will almost never use (seriously, one has a foliage setting). With three weeks to go, there is not a lot of time to research, order, and play, so if you have any suggestions of cameras you love (or even ones you hate and I should avoid) please let me know in the comments.
My only real must have feature is it easily fits in my front pocket. Taking multiple pictures quickly is also a very welcomed feature (I love the digital SLR here). The ability to zoom more than 3x would also be nice, but should be considered optional. Any kind of stabilization features would probably also be helpful as well.
Thanks in advance for your feedback and suggestions!
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Comments
Sean Gerety on on 6.11.2007 at 8:34 AM
I got the Cannon SD 800 IS and love it. Takes great pictures, small form factor and I put a 4 gig SD card in there so I can take thousands of pic's on full resolution.
Sean
timheuer on on 6.11.2007 at 9:17 AM
dude, hands-down get the Canon SD850IS. up to 1600 ISO and image stablizing...rocks the hizzouse. i have the sd550 and LOVE it (have the underwater case as well) but am going to get the 850IS when it hits my stores. i have a friend that has it and it is amazing. digic III processor, FAST shoot, great optical zoom...boom, baby, boom www.usa.canon.com/.../controller
Kevin on on 6.11.2007 at 9:32 AM
I currently have the Canon PowerShot A710 IS, which I love and it takes great pictures. IMO the best feature is the optical image stabilization (IS), which is why I got it. Canon has a couple higher end point & shoot cameras with IS: The A710 is fairly large (for a P&S), but the ELPH SD800 and SD850 are very slim. I recommend on picking up one of them. =)
Ryan on on 6.11.2007 at 9:43 AM
I have a Pentax Optio W20 which is a waterproof camera. I don't think that is a huge requirement for you but it was my #1 requirement. It takes great pictures and has a million settings.
My biggest complaint is it does not have an old school view finder, only the digital screen in the back. When it's bright out it is hard to see.
Probably not what you are looking for but I thought I would chime in.
Jess Tedder on on 6.11.2007 at 9:51 AM
I recommend the Pentax Optio A30, it has 10 mega pixels, awesome shake reduction feature, 1600ISO, 3x optical zoom, video capability, and is the size of a deck of cards.
I purchased one a few months ago for similar reasons; we have a DSLR and love it but its too bulky for some situations.
Here's a run down on the specs:
www.dpreview.com/.../07022104pentaxa30.asp
Here's a photoset that I shot exclusively with the pentax:
flickr.com/.../72157600113647121
Larry O'Brien on on 6.11.2007 at 11:01 AM
Cognitive dissonance, perhaps, but I love my Canon SD900 which is a replacement for a few-years-old Nikon Coolpix. It's much faster to boot ... er ... start, shutter lag is minimal, the optics are fine, it's very portable. I think I paid about $325 at Costco a few months ago. Yeah, there's a foliage setting, but so what?
Only downside for me is that there's no auto-EV bracketing, so High Dynamic Range fun requires several adjustments (easy to make, but slow). But you've got a DSLR, so you've got that covered.
Flickr photoset at www.flickr.com/.../powershot_sd900
oVan on on 6.11.2007 at 12:09 PM
I realize that most people recommend Canon because it's one of the best sold brands in that market, but you should have a look at the Sony T100, it definitely fits in your pocket, has 5x zoom, image stabilization and face detection.
Haacked on on 6.11.2007 at 12:26 PM
Very smart of you to start looking now. I waited too long and ended up ordering the Canon SD850 IS.
If I were you, look for high ISO, image stabilization, and face detection. The first two are important for getting good baby shots without requiring the flash every time.
It was a tough choice between the SD850 and the Sony T100 (or the Sony T80), but the memory stick issue is a pain for me and a couple reviews I saw said the canon takes better pics.
Personally, I would avoid Pentax. I had a bad experience with that brand. Maybe not all of them are bad, but all it took was one.
Scott Hanselman on on 6.11.2007 at 2:07 PM
I love my Casio Exilim Z750...
Scott Cate on on 6.15.2007 at 3:48 PM
Did you decide on a model yet?
Scott Watermasysk on on 6.15.2007 at 3:57 PM
I haven't decided 100%, but I am leaning towards the Canon 850. I have the Canon SD 100 now which has held up pretty good.
Tommy on on 6.15.2007 at 10:40 PM
My wife and I just got a Kodak V705 for our trip to Europe and it's great! There is a fixed wide angle lens that makes getting a wide view scene into the frame very easy. The movie mode is pretty nice too. There is also an autostitching panorma feature that I use very often because there is zero effort involed in making a 180 degree panorama. You just take 3 photos (the camera helps you align them) and then it stitches them together for your automatically....very nice.
The 1000ISO is serviceable but a little grainy. The zoom is technically 5x, but it really is a 23mm wide angle with a second lens that is 3x (the usual 30-some odd to 100+mm).
Anyway, check out flickr.com/.../dodoskido for some examples (the most recent sets are mostly shot with the V705 with a few from my Rebel XT mixed in.