Best point and shoot digital camera for DL?

[nbliss]

Shopping around for a good point and shoot camera to take to DL next week. There are soooo many options, just wondering if folks here have a camera they can rave about? Thanks!

 

[Eeee-va]

I have a Panasonic Lumix and it is just OK. The thin size is great but almost all new point-and-shoot cameras are thin like that. I wouldn't buy it again. The color on my circa 2005 Canon is sometimes better, though.

 

[Brancaneve]

I love my Canon Elph with HD video recording and the super small size. It fits right in my pocket and takes great pictures.

 

[jory29]

Canon for the win... I have an old, pink, digital elph and it has served me well. I LOVE the compact size, and the FAST time before shots. IMO that is the thing to research, is how many seconds it takes to start up, or to 'refresh' between flashes if indoors, etc.

I have nothing but good to say about the Canon line. Just make sure you have a couple of spare batteries, you can find some on ebay to fit certain cams... some do take AA or AAA batteries, but then the 'refresh' time isn't as fast, from what I've heard.

ENJOY your trip!!

Oh! Also - make sure to label your cam. with your name, contact info., hotel info., etc. Also - take a PHOTO of that info. written down, so if someone finds just your SD card then they could contact you if they see that photo.

(I also take photos of my signed Disney Parkhoppers, as well as everything we pack in the suitcase, in case our luggage gets lost on the flight over. Then we have a record of it from our onboard luggage camera.)

 

[SilentFeline]

I have a Canon PowerShot and it works pretty well. My only complaints are that it takes horrible night shots and it isn't good if you want to be able to take quick shots in succession. That being said, it has many features and the user guide is really thick so I haven't read how to use them all yet. For all I know there may be a way to fix these flaws. It's also an old model, but it received great reviews and was the best I could afford at the time. It's very user friendly for the basic features. My model is a bit bulky but I'm sure the newer ones are thinner and smaller.

My advice would be to check out user reviews on CNET.com and narrow your search down to Nikons and Canons. Those seem to be the camera brands most often used by professional photographers so how can you go wrong? Good luck!

 

[alicia1506]

i have a panasonic lumix fh-25 which is a great p&s and takes really lovely night shots, which not a lot of the p&s cameras do. it has a 7x zoom, a high mp count and performs pretty well in low-light and high-contrast situations, which again, not a lot of p&s do. it is usually priced around the $300 mark though, but sometimes can be found on ebay/other auction sites/wholesalers for around the $200 mark.

it's taken some amazing shots, and the manual is pretty cute. only thing is it has a proprietary rechargeable battery which means you may need a spare if your battery dies. unlike other models, you can't use replaceable/rechargeable AA betteries in this model.

 

[ukstitch]

If you can afford it, then any of the recent Canon S series would make a great camera.

They're small and light weight (shirt pocket small), great in low light and and have a reasonable zoom on them (though they can't compete with the "super zooms").

The newly released S100 would be the best one as it has a slightly better zoom range on it, plus it can take more pictures per second if you need to take a series quite quickly for any reason.

Having said that, you could probably pick up the S90 or S95 fairly cheap (S95 is last years model, S90 is the year before that - both are still very good cameras compared to the competition, it's just the S100 is better).

 

[jacs1234]

I'm looking at buying the Nikon S9100.

 

[jacs1234]

Or maybe I should get the P7000. What should I do? What should I do. The S9100 has a better zoom but does it take pics as clear as the P7000?

 

[ukstitch]

Or maybe I should get the P7000. What should I do? What should I do. The S9100 has a better zoom but does it take pics as clear as the P7000?

This page here seems to suggest that the P7000 will get you better pictures than the S9100.

Armed with that information I'd be tempted by the P7000 - you can always crop to get more zoom once they're on the computer, but there's not a lot you can do to get a better picture once it's been taken

 

[cyclenut]

For point and shoot the Canon SX230IS is my recommendation.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cam...-34504981.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody;1r

The primary reason why is that it has an excellent zoom that pulls back into the camera. This allows the camera to fit nicely into your pocket, which you can't do with most 14x zoom cameras.

The earlier models took AA batteries, which I liked, but this model uses the canon rechargable battery pack. These don't last all that long and since they must be recharged instead of replaced, you might want a second battery that is fully charged for roaming around the park. However, I don't know that you would need it. If you turn off the GPS (which you don't really need unless you are geotagging anyway) then the battery will last longer.

My daughter has an earlier version of this camera and it takes EXCELLENT pictures. It also has quite a few options that are generally found on more expensive digital SLR cameras.

 

[krispin41]

Also http://www.dpreview.com/ is a great site for comparisons.

I have two small Canon P&S, an Elph (SD450) and a PowerShot A1100IS, both are great cameras, however the PowerShot seems to be a bit slower, because it takes AA batteries, the Elph is smaller and slightly faster, however the battery is a special Canon one that is expensive.

I was spoiled during this last trip though, I used my Canon Rebel, and during the fireworks I had no lag, and was able to snap about 500 shots. Yeah....lol.

Kristan in NorCal

 

[PatMcDuck]

I always get Sony cameras. SO I will weigh in here on the Sony side.

I got a new point and shoot camera in August. It is a Sony Cybershot DSC-WX9
Mine is red.

I can finally take clear pictures of things that are moving. Which is quite helpful at a Disney theme park.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Also http://www.dpreview.com/ is a great site for comparisons.

I have two small Canon P&S, an Elph (SD450) and a PowerShot A1100IS, both are great cameras, however the PowerShot seems to be a bit slower, because it takes AA batteries, the Elph is smaller and slightly faster, however the battery is a special Canon one that is expensive.

I was spoiled during this last trip though, I used my Canon Rebel, and during the fireworks I had no lag, and was able to snap about 500 shots. Yeah....lol.

Kristan in NorCal

www.dpreview is the way to go for advice. Go to the local stores and look at the cams. Many times good pictures come from the person not the camera. Try for the widest lens opening with the least amount of shutter latency. Also look at the photo forum here, many great photog's with great opinions. What works for some does n ot work for others.

Jack

 

[kailuagirl]

Great post!! I just bought a Nikon S8100 that I haven't used yet. Anyone have one of these? Any feedback?

Thanks! I want to go check out these other cameras now that have been recommended

 

[blackjackdelta]

I always get Sony cameras. SO I will weigh in here on the Sony side.

I got a new point and shoot camera in August. It is a Sony Cybershot DSC-WX9
Mine is red.

I can finally take clear pictures of things that are moving. Which is quite helpful at a Disney theme park.

Sony makes most of the sensors for all the other brands, the hardware is different between the brands along with the processing algorythmns(sp)

Jack

 

[Disneyland 1951]

Canon
PowerShot A3300 IS Digital Camera (Silver)

PRICE: $159.00

Small, cheap, 16mb, zoom, very good HD Video, many colors...... great deal.
Only advice is to get an extra battery if you shoot a lot of photos or video.

YouTube Video link... Click Link to see video

http://youtu.be/imq2H-1i9BI

 

[robinjh7]

I'm a big fan of the Canon D10. (We are part of the Canon 'cult' as we own and have owned many Canon models. My 'big' camera is a 40D.) The D10 is bulkier than the other models, but it takes GREAT low light pix. And it is shockproof (I'm a dropper of cameras and other things electronic). I can wear it around my neck and not worry if I bang it into something, so I wear it always while in the park. It's also waterproof. The only downside I see to it is it's not pocket-size.

 

[Disneydreamsdancer]

I'm a big fan of the Canon D10. (We are part of the Canon 'cult' as we own and have owned many Canon models. My 'big' camera is a 40D.) The D10 is bulkier than the other models, but it takes GREAT low light pix. And it is shockproof (I'm a dropper of cameras and other things electronic). I can wear it around my neck and not worry if I bang it into something, so I wear it always while in the park. It's also waterproof. The only downside I see to it is it's not pocket-size.

Those are beautiful nighttime shots! I have owned a canon powershot and used that for the last years or so. I find canon to be a good brand, the shots are clear and the camera is easy to use, only downsides are batteries, get one that doesnt take AA's as they dont last long, even the recharagables and the nightshots arn't great, they tend to blur, other than that very happy with the canon. I now have a fujifilm finepix which I LOVE, its a much slimmer camera so easier to fit in my pocket and takes great quality photos, plus it has a lithium battery so it lasts days of constant shooting before needing to be charged. Hope you get a great camera!

 

[Kittyskyfish]

I've been very happy with the Canon S95. It takes great daytime and night time shots, the battery lasts a long time, and the interface is pretty intuitive. With any camera, it does help to learn some night time photography techniques and to set some custom modes so you can quickly turn then on before rides or shows. It has a 3.8x optical zoom, which isn't as magnified as other cameras, but it does the job fine in most situations.

Here's some low-light shots with the S95 (no flash used):

And a sunny day shot!