help, point and shoot?

[Nitrogen X Laced]

ok so how many people own and use a point and shoot camera? As of now I have a pentax p&s and i just ordered another pentax point and shoot camera. I believe It's the A10 one. What do you think would be best for me?

I'm a teenager and I'm not looking for anything too special. I mostly take picture of myself and friends, but I would like to take pictures such as fireworks. I also like to experiment with new settings.

On my new camera you can change the ISO and it goes up to 800. I'm not quite sure what I want, and I'm new to cameras. So I figured you guy would help me out.

here is the link:
http://www.pentaximaging.com/produc...a--Optio_A10/reqID--7315369/subsection--optio

Thanks for the help in advance =]

 

[Kelly Grannell]

1. fireworks: virtually any camera will be able to do it. Just refer to the sticky above the forum.

2. ISO 800 make sure it's full-resolution at ISO 800 and know how clean/dirty it is. Refer to your manual and test it yourself in a dim-light situation. Some camera manufacturers, namely Kodak (and another but I can't remember which) do ISO 800 at a severely reduced resolution... something ridiculous like 1.3 MP, virtually unprintable even at 4x6. Some companies have high ISO noise so bad you can't go further than ISO 200 (my old Fuji A200 was like that, some new camera companies are still like that too).

Now you've got the facts. Whether the noise is acceptable to you or not, it's subjective and I can't comment on that.

 

[Nitrogen X Laced]

Thank you for the help. My camera has not arrived yet, so I'll be sure to test it and see the noise effect.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I've just got the chance to ask my friend who's a Pentax authorized dealer. She said the ISO 800 is only under Candle Mode (whatever it is). However, from the sound of it, it's like Canon's dSLR "HIGH MODE" which is the highest ISO boosted to simulate a higher ISO (in Canon's case, ISO 1600 boosted to 3200, on your case 400 boosted to 800).

This can only mean one thing. Dirty ISO 800.

Now my definition of dirty ISO is based on measurable data (in this case, data from deduction), whether it's acceptable for you, only you can judge.

Take for example this picture taken using ISO 3200

To me the noise level is unacceptable (take a close look at the totem's faces), but for some it's acceptable.

Or sometimes, it's better to get a 'dirty' picture than no picture at all.