Desperately need some camera help

[disny_luvr]

Let me start of by saying that I am clueless when it comes to cameras. DH is too. We need as much help as we can get.

Our current camera is about 5 or 6 years old. It is a Canon PowerShot A520. We really like this camera, but it is just showing its age. First, it is only a 4.0 mega pixel and the zoom isn't the greatest. My boys are becoming much more active (playing soccer, riding bike) and most of my action shots are blurry. There is also a long delay (sometimes over a minute) between the pictures I can take. Even when I have newly charged batteries, the delay is long. Also, it doesn't take the best night shots. We have a trip planned for December and we REALLY need a new camera before then.

I don't want something that is too confusing and that offers a lot of extra "special features" because I probably will never figure out how to use them. I want a camera that takes good action shots with a nice zoom and something that takes pretty good night pictures.

Today while I was shopping I was checking out a Nikon Coolpix L110. Does anyone have any opinions on this camera? It seemed pretty nice but I didn't like that it had no lense cover. Again, I am open to any opinions. Thanks a bunch for your help.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We just picked up a Nikon Coolpix S4000 as our second camera. We have a DLSR and I wanted a small camera to throw in my purse/pocket and after checking out all the cameras at our local Best Buy, I settled on the S4000 mostly because it's slim and small. Like the L110 it also has the image stabilization, HD video and has a rechargeable battery vs AA batteries in the L110. Plus it was cheaper than the L110!!

 

[disneyboy2003]

Let me start of by saying that I am clueless when it comes to cameras. DH is too. We need as much help as we can get.

Our current camera is about 5 or 6 years old. It is a Canon PowerShot A520. We really like this camera, but it is just showing its age. First, it is only a 4.0 mega pixel and the zoom isn't the greatest. My boys are becoming much more active (playing soccer, riding bike) and most of my action shots are blurry. There is also a long delay (sometimes over a minute) between the pictures I can take. Even when I have newly charged batteries, the delay is long. Also, it doesn't take the best night shots. We have a trip planned for December and we REALLY need a new camera before then.

I don't want something that is too confusing and that offers a lot of extra "special features" because I probably will never figure out how to use them. I want a camera that takes good action shots with a nice zoom and something that takes pretty good night pictures.

Today while I was shopping I was checking out a Nikon Coolpix L110. Does anyone have any opinions on this camera? It seemed pretty nice but I didn't like that it had no lense cover. Again, I am open to any opinions. Thanks a bunch for your help.

To be honest, much of what you've described is typical of all point-and-shoot cameras. Point-and-shoot cameras typically have very SLOW shutter lag time and very SLOW cycle time (time between 2 shots). Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with whether you've got freshly-charged batteries in the camera.

Point-and-shoot cameras are also not so good with night shots or low-light photography. The best you can do with night shots is to put your camera on a tripod and take photos of *stationary* subjects.

For action shots, you need to set your camera for faster shutter speeds. Looks like your camera has a "shutter priority" mode, which is labeled "Tv". This is where you can set your camera's shutter speed. The other thing you can do is use your camera's Sports mode, which is the icon of a running guy. Sports mode automatically sets your camera to use a faster shutter speed.

While camera technology has certainly improved over the past 5-6 years, I'm not sure that a new point-and-shoot camera is the answer to your problems. Certainly, you should head over to your local camera store to hold and test the new cameras for yourself. Honestly, though, I have a feeling you'll encounter the exact same problems even with a new point-and-shoot camera.

A dSLR camera actually would be ideal for the problems you mention above (ie. shutter lag time, low-light photography, sports/action photography, etc). However, I am very hesitant to recommend a dSLR camera for you, since you mentioned that you didn't want a lot of extra & confusing features.

Plus, having a dSLR camera doesn't automatically solve all your photography problems. You'd probably need to learn some of the basics of photography, too, like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. to get the most out of your camera.

 

[katied]

We have a dSLR (a Nikon D80). It has lots of bells and whistles that DH plays around with - I just use it on auto, but I'm thrilled with the pictures we get even when I just use the auto. Plus, it can snap so many pictures, that you're bound to get the shot you want.

We would love to have a smaller PnS with the same features you're looking for, because when I'm on my own at Disney with kids, I'm not willing to lug around the dSLR. However, I've not found anything that will make me happier than our current Canon PnS. I've tested out smaller cameras even at the $400 - $500 range, and still not found something that meets these requirements.

If someone has any ideas, I'd love them too.

 

[DawnM]

I looked at getting the Canon G11 for this reason. It does most of what a DSLR will do, but doesn't have the interchangeable lenses.

Then on this board several pointed out that a G11 is only a few ounces less than a Canon rebel......and about the same price in many cases for the basic model.

It is smaller though.

Dawn

We have a dSLR (a Nikon D80). It has lots of bells and whistles that DH plays around with - I just use it on auto, but I'm thrilled with the pictures we get even when I just use the auto. Plus, it can snap so many pictures, that you're bound to get the shot you want.

We would love to have a smaller PnS with the same features you're looking for, because when I'm on my own at Disney with kids, I'm not willing to lug around the dSLR. However, I've not found anything that will make me happier than our current Canon PnS. I've tested out smaller cameras even at the $400 - $500 range, and still not found something that meets these requirements.

If someone has any ideas, I'd love them too.

 

[rtphokie]

First off, welcome. There are a lot of very knowledgeable photo buffs here that are eager to help. This question comes up frequently and the answer is rarely "go buy the new Canon/Nikon/Olympus model XYZ". Often the person asking the question has a camera that will do what they want to do but just needs to learn a bit more about it.

As others have said, a point and shoot may not meet your needs do to inherent limitations of all of these smaller cameras. While there are newer point and shoot cameras which have less delay between shots. An SLR would meet all of the needs you describe best but it sounds like thats what you are looking for in terms of complexity and price.

Before you buy anything, you should try to squeeze as much out of your existing camera by learning a bit more about it. Even if you find that your current camera is too limiting, you'll know just what to look for in your next camera at the very least. Before you even look at another camera, read your current camera's manual & check out the features that might help solve your problem without spending a couple hundred more dollars. It can be downloaded from Canon here: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/7/0900011217/01/PSA520510CUG-EN.pdf

The only specification in your current A520 camera that I see lagging far behind other point and shoots is ISO capabilities. ISO is basically sensitivity setting for the digital sensor in your camera. You probably have it set to auto or a low setting like 100. Try setting it to 400 in conditions outside of bright sunlight (page 87 in your manual). The trade off is the possibility of increased digital noise (the oddly colored pixels, especially in backgrounds). Also try putting the camera in night scene mode (page 40) when shooting at night outdoors or dimly lit rooms indoors.

You can speed up the shutter to capture fast moving action better by using sports mode (page 40) Kids and Pets mode from the SCN selection on your dial may help as well (Page 51-52)

Your camera is also capable of shooting every 1.9 seconds if you put it in continuous mode (page 48). Some of the lag between shots you are seeing is probably it refocusing and reevaluating light, white balance, etc. Continuous mode prevents this when you just want several shots of the same scene.

One relatively inexpensive improvement you can make to your camera that can help speed it up is a faster memory card. Particularly in continuous shooting mode, the camera can only take another shot when it's done writing the data out from the previous shot. Try a high speed SD card and see if that helps reduce lag time between shots.

 

[katied]

I looked at getting the Canon G11 for this reason. It does most of what a DSLR will do, but doesn't have the interchangeable lenses.

Then on this board several pointed out that a G11 is only a few ounces less than a Canon rebel......and about the same price in many cases for the basic model.

It is smaller though.

Dawn

This one may be worth looking into. I just looked up some reviews on it. Thanks! I'll plan a trip out to the store to test it out.

 

[DawnM]

Excellent advice, as usual......I learned something too and will be looking closer at my old 4.2 mp camera (Sony DSC-S85) that I just gave to my son to use. It still takes good pictures, but he needs some help with indoor shots.

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Dawn

First off, welcome. There are a lot of very knowledgeable photo buffs here that are eager to help. This question comes up frequently and the answer is rarely "go buy the new Canon/Nikon/Olympus model XYZ". Often the person asking the question has a camera that will do what they want to do but just needs to learn a bit more about it.

As others have said, a point and shoot may not meet your needs do to inherent limitations of all of these smaller cameras. While there are newer point and shoot cameras which have less delay between shots. An SLR would meet all of the needs you describe best but it sounds like thats what you are looking for in terms of complexity and price.

Before you buy anything, you should try to squeeze as much out of your existing camera by learning a bit more about it. Even if you find that your current camera is too limiting, you'll know just what to look for in your next camera at the very least. Before you even look at another camera, read your current camera's manual & check out the features that might help solve your problem without spending a couple hundred more dollars. It can be downloaded from Canon here: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/7/0900011217/01/PSA520510CUG-EN.pdf

The only specification in your current A520 camera that I see lagging far behind other point and shoots is ISO capabilities. ISO is basically sensitivity setting for the digital sensor in your camera. You probably have it set to auto or a low setting like 100. Try setting it to 400 in conditions outside of bright sunlight (page 87 in your manual). The trade off is the possibility of increased digital noise (the oddly colored pixels, especially in backgrounds). Also try putting the camera in night scene mode (page 40) when shooting at night outdoors or dimly lit rooms indoors.

You can speed up the shutter to capture fast moving action better by using sports mode (page 40) Kids and Pets mode from the SCN selection on your dial may help as well (Page 51-52)

Your camera is also capable of shooting every 1.9 seconds if you put it in continuous mode (page 48). Some of the lag between shots you are seeing is probably it refocusing and reevaluating light, white balance, etc. Continuous mode prevents this when you just want several shots of the same scene.

One relatively inexpensive improvement you can make to your camera that can help speed it up is a faster memory card. Particularly in continuous shooting mode, the camera can only take another shot when it's done writing the data out from the previous shot. Try a high speed SD card and see if that helps reduce lag time between shots.