I know you get asked this all the time, so please bear with me. . .

[DesertBell]

but. . . which camera should I get? I tried reading over all the specs and comparing them, but since I don't know what most of the catagories mean, it was really just a way to get myself even more confused.

At the moment, I am stuck between the Nikon Coolpix s550 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1563025

and the Olympus Stylus 1010 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1488357

although I am open to other possibilities.

I need something that is durable, and that doesn't take forever to take a picture. I can't tell you how many wonderful moments I've lost waiting for my current Olympus d-580.

I will be using it primarily for family photos that will rarely be developed over a 4x6. I would like for it to do well in low lighting.

I am definitely NOT well versed in photography, I pretty much point the camera and press the button, so I pretty much need a camera that can do 95% of the work for me.

Thank you!

 

[Code]

I would recommend the Fuji F40fd if you are interested in low light from a compact. It has very few manual controls (100% point and shoot) and even at ISO 1600, 4x6 prints look decent. Don't really know of any other compact P&S (besides older Fuji models) that can stand up to its low light performance. Though it has a shorter zoom range than those you are looking at...

 

[DizzyV6P]

Olympus uses their slow XD picture card. Nikon uses the faster SD cards.

Most point and shoot cameras are slow. That's a fact that can't be changed. Most PnS won't take decent low light shots w/o introducing a lot of grain in it. All manufacturers have tried to minimize it to some effect, but until they start building better CCD chips, the technology just doesn't compare to the power of a DSLR in terms of low light pictures.

I would suggest trying a few of them out. See how it feels in your hands. That cool Sony that has every bell and whistle for a great price is only good if you don't end up dropping it because you can't get a firm grip on it. (I've dropped and broken 2 PnS cameras already!) So before you mail order something, goto a store and play with them first. Sony, Canon and Nikon all have cameras with good low light modes.

What are you trying to take pictures of? How fast are you expecting? Dell doesn't give stats on shutter lag, but look it up on amazon or bhphoto to see if they do. Of all places, Walmart has shutter lag times on their tags in the store...LOL. Is this something you want to fit in a purse? pocket? jacket?

Good luck w/ your search!

 

[DesertBell]

The whole dropping issue is one of the reasons I've been looking at the Olympus. I have dropped the one I have a*few* times, and it's been splashed with water (grizzly River Rapids, no less), and it still works fairly well. So I need the camera version of a tank.

Most of my pictures are of my kids and my dogs (and the random firework here and there). With the camera I have now, between the time I press the button and the time it takes the picture, I usually have a screen full of nothing, because they've left the shot. (Occasionally it will also decide it's not taking a picture at all.)

I looked up the shutter lag time for my current camera, which is (obviously) my basis of comparison. However, I am pretty sure it's slower than this, since I timed it to see how long it would take to power on and be ready for the first shot and it was over 5 seconds. This is what I found:


Power On -> First shot
3.6


Shutdown
2.5 - 22

Shutter lag, full autofocus
1.00/1.07

Thank you so much for all your help! The more I look the more confused I get. I am looking at the Fuji, now, too

 

[ukcatfan]

If your camera has a tendency to take a beating and/or subjected to water, consider one of the waterproof models from Pentax and Olympus. They are only waterproof down about 10-15 ft, but that is enough for most. I am pretty sure those models are also more shock resistant than most other models.

Kevin

 

[mikamah]

A friend of mine has the olympus stylus that is water and shock proof, and loves it. The pictures come out great, though I don't know how the low light ones are, and it is water proof, they bring it in the pool, her kids have dropped it, and it is very sturdy. My sony point and shoot has been acting funny, and I'm thinking of getting one of these.

 

[DizzyV6P]

My Olympus Stylus doesn't take great low light shots just like a majority of the PnS cameras out there. If you want spetacular low light shots, you'll have to jump to a DSLR. That being said, my wife and I have been very satisfied w/ the Stylus SW 790. I haven't dropped it yet, so I can't vouch for its 5ft drop shockproof claim

 

[Groucho]

Another vote for the Fuji F40. We replaced our Canon SD600 with it and the Fuji is definitely better in low light, and seemed to have more pleasing colors. It's better than most PnSs, which only have a 1/2.5" sensor, vs the 1/1.6" one in the F40. It's a long ways from a DSLR (and ours hasn't been getting much use since my wife decided she likes using my old DSLR better ) but it is at least usable when the lights dim. The build quality seems pretty decent, too.

 

[rtphokie]

but. . . which camera should I get? I tried reading over all the specs and comparing them, but since I don't know what most of the catagories mean, it was really just a way to get myself even more confused.

At the moment, I am stuck between the Nikon Coolpix s550 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1563025

and the Olympus Stylus 1010 http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1488357

although I am open to other possibilities.

I need something that is durable, and that doesn't take forever to take a picture. I can't tell you how many wonderful moments I've lost waiting for my current Olympus d-580.

I will be using it primarily for family photos that will rarely be developed over a 4x6. I would like for it to do well in low lighting.

I am definitely NOT well versed in photography, I pretty much point the camera and press the button, so I pretty much need a camera that can do 95% of the work for me.

Thank you!

Have you up picked up and used each of these choices above? If not I strongly recommend you do so. This will give you a good indication about the durability of each camera. Also, each camera may feel different if you hand and if it doesn't feel right, you wont get nearly as much use out of it. Do you plan on getting a camera bag for it? Putting it in a fanny pack? Sticking it in a purse or pocket? Think about these things as you handle each camera. This is also the best way to see if the lag time between pictures is tolerable, actually taking a few.

Advice from this board is nice but nothing beats handling it yourself whether you are an expert or know nothing about photography. You are an expert on what you like.

Also ask the sales guy if he/she sees many of that model coming back. Then ask which model he sees come back the most (if you get a vague answer, ignore whatever advice he/she gives you, they are most likely a part time employee who knows/cares little about the cameras they sell).

 

[rtphokie]

Also check out this thread for good info:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1636201