best compact p&s?

[cryssi]

I previously had an SD1100 (which I refuse to believe that I've lost somewhere other than my house or MIL's house, but haven't been able to find for a month) that I was perfectly happy with (upgraded from SD600, upgraded from SD400). I've been using the SD600 since I can't seem to find the 1100, so MIL got me an SD1200 for christmas. I hadn't done any research on cameras (because I refuse to believe that the SD1100 is gone!) so I'm not so sure I want the SD1200. For one thing, the battery is different! DH's cousin got an SD780 that looks sharp and is very compact. I also really like the specs on the SD940.

My question is...do I stick with Canon? DH says the Nikon coolpix is not so great. How is Sony Cybershot? Olympus? I'm looking for something light and compact that I can carry around in my purse...also to run with (1/2 and full marathons). My SD1100 fit the bill perfectly, so I'm not looking for something larger. I also have a 2.5 month old baby, so the camera has to be good for capturing all of his cute baby moments! So I want light, compact, and great images in "dummy" mode (for quick pix). I should also note that we have a Nikon D300 as our big camera.

TIA!

 

[boBQuincy]

DPReview did a test of many compact cameras last December, here is one that may be interesting:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408slimgroup/

The other test groups are easy to find on the website and identify what DPReview considers the best P&S in each group.

 

[PhotographyDR]

Being a Nikon shooter you would think I would stick to Nikon P&S. I also did not like the Nikon line for P&S. When I picked up mine I actually went with the Panasonic LX3 it has been on the market for about 8 months. (old in the electronic world) but it is great. Low light is really good as well as action shots. It is easy enough for my wife to pick up and has enough manual controls that I like using it as well. My wife has a Sony Cybershot and has had great luck with it. Only for day time though it struggles as night. The Cannon line is also a great lineup. From the G11 to the S90. Both great low light performers. Don't mean to add confusion but these are what I looked at this summer when I was looking for another P&S that I could carry instead of my DSLR all the time. Like I said the LX3 has performed flawless. I have been able to rival my D300 with this little P&S.

 

[ead79]

I'm by no means an expert, but I got a Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS ELPH earlier this year, and I have been very pleased with it. It's very small, and I love that I can just stick it in my pocket or purse and go. I have been very pleased with way it captures true to life colors, plus I think it performs quite well in lower light, which surprised me for a little point and shoot. In all honesty, I think it works better in low lighting than much much "fancier" Kodak Z7590 bridge camera. I'm also very impressed with its battery life. Of course, you sacrifice zoom for a small camera, but it's definitely convenient.

 

[cryssi]

Being a Nikon shooter you would think I would stick to Nikon P&S. I also did not like the Nikon line for P&S. When I picked up mine I actually went with the Panasonic LX3 it has been on the market for about 8 months. (old in the electronic world) but it is great. Low light is really good as well as action shots. It is easy enough for my wife to pick up and has enough manual controls that I like using it as well. My wife has a Sony Cybershot and has had great luck with it. Only for day time though it struggles as night. The Cannon line is also a great lineup. From the G11 to the S90. Both great low light performers. Don't mean to add confusion but these are what I looked at this summer when I was looking for another P&S that I could carry instead of my DSLR all the time. Like I said the LX3 has performed flawless. I have been able to rival my D300 with this little P&S.

great pic!

 

[cryssi]

Thanks for all the responses! I'll look into the suggestions and report back...

 

[MBKELmom]

subscribing. I was curious about this too. I want a small P & S so I don't have to carry my Nikon DSLR all the time.

 

[boBQuincy]

subscribing. I was curious about this too. I want a small P & S so I don't have to carry my Nikon DSLR all the time.

From my experience it is likely that once we are used to a dSLR we will not be very happy with a P&S. I recently bought a Canon G11 and tried using it sometimes in place of a dSLR. The P&S gives up too much in speed and versatility so I am only likely to carry it when a dSLR is just too big.

Since we have small/light dSLRs (Canon Xsi) there are not too may occasions where we would not carry them instead of a P&S. We also have a tiny Canon SD1100 which gets little use since image quality is not very good at anything above the base ISO.

 

[cryssi]

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions! My camera has been found. or It was under MIL's couch (she told me she had looked there). So anyway, guess I don't need a new p&s. I had just about decided on the 940 too. LOL. Oh well. Maybe we will get a new lens for the D300...

thanks again!

 

[rossb]

Being a Nikon shooter you would think I would stick to Nikon P&S...

I've been a Nikon shooter for the past 25 years and I'm with you, I'm not a big fan of the Nikon P&S offerings. I tried two of them last year and I didn't like either of them.

I bought my wife a Canon SD1200 and it is good for a compact P&S if you understand it's limitations. The SD1200 works well in "P" programmed AE mode, but IMO it does not work well in "Full Auto". In "Full Auto" it keeps trying to read the scene and it will automatically switch scene modes. The scene modes sometimes boost the ISO settings too high when shooting outdoors. Even worse, when shooting indoors in "Full Auto" it will usually drop the shutter speed much too low, which will result in blurry pictures. It may or may not shoot the flash indoors when in "Full Auto", the scene detection mode is unpredictable.

On the other hand, leave it in "P" mode and it will always shoot a 1/60 shutter with indoor flash which results in sharp pictures. Flash exposure in "P" mode is good for a tiny flash. Outdoor performance in "P" mode is also nice. Color and contrast are good. Center sharpness is also good, but it starts to get a little soft on the edges and in the corners. Soft corners and sides is common with Canon SD cameras, the SD990 does the same thing.

 

[photofreak]

I've been a Nikon shooter for the past 25 years and I'm with you, I'm not a big fan of the Nikon P&S offerings. I tried two of them last year and I didn't like either of them.

I bought my wife a Canon SD1200 and it is good for a compact P&S if you understand it's limitations. The SD1200 works well in "P" programmed AE mode, but IMO it does not work well in "Full Auto". In "Full Auto" it keeps trying to read the scene and it will automatically switch scene modes. The scene modes sometimes boost the ISO settings too high when shooting outdoors. Even worse, when shooting indoors in "Full Auto" it will usually drop the shutter speed much too low, which will result in blurry pictures. It may or may not shoot the flash indoors when in "Full Auto", the scene detection mode is unpredictable.

On the other hand, leave it in "P" mode and it will always shoot a 1/60 shutter with indoor flash which results in sharp pictures. Flash exposure in "P" mode is good for a tiny flash. Outdoor performance in "P" mode is also nice. Color and contrast are good. Center sharpness is also good, but it starts to get a little soft on the edges and in the corners. Soft corners and sides is common with Canon SD cameras, the SD990 does the same thing.

I'm a true blue Nikon SLR lover too!! and same here, the P&S's weren't up to par, so after much research and keeping in mind that the goal of buying my new p&s was to get myself into some family and vacation photos , I went with the Sony cybershot that has the smile technology and even better the intelli-shot (helps the hubby or others take ease free photos and not complain!! lol)
Only draw back I found.... memory cards are specific to the Sony's... oh well, it suits our purpose!!

 

[Zion21]

Anything by Canon or Nikon is going to give you excellent pictures. Dont be fooled by the guys at best buy or wal-mart!

 

[Cinbride]

I've been a Nikon shooter for the past 25 years and I'm with you, I'm not a big fan of the Nikon P&S offerings. I tried two of them last year and I didn't like either of them.

I bought my wife a Canon SD1200 and it is good for a compact P&S if you understand it's limitations. The SD1200 works well in "P" programmed AE mode, but IMO it does not work well in "Full Auto". In "Full Auto" it keeps trying to read the scene and it will automatically switch scene modes. The scene modes sometimes boost the ISO settings too high when shooting outdoors. Even worse, when shooting indoors in "Full Auto" it will usually drop the shutter speed much too low, which will result in blurry pictures. It may or may not shoot the flash indoors when in "Full Auto", the scene detection mode is unpredictable.

On the other hand, leave it in "P" mode and it will always shoot a 1/60 shutter with indoor flash which results in sharp pictures. Flash exposure in "P" mode is good for a tiny flash. Outdoor performance in "P" mode is also nice. Color and contrast are good. Center sharpness is also good, but it starts to get a little soft on the edges and in the corners. Soft corners and sides is common with Canon SD cameras, the SD990 does the same thing.

thanks for that info. I'm going to give that a try. I had an sd870 but have since bought the 1200. what do you recommend for outdoor quality pics from a 1200 then, just set it in P? Also have indoor low light crazy kids lol to take pics of and fireworks/spectromagic? I loved my sd870 and thought most my disney pics turned out really good and clear. thanks