Ok... Need some MAJOR help.

[RBennett]

Ok, so I am needing some help picking out a p&s for DW. I have a Pentax DSLR, but for a p&s I'm leaning towards a Canon. I've gone back through a bunch of pages on here and trying to evaluate data. I'm thinking of the Canon A590 IS and the Canon SX100 IS (both Powershots.) The main difference is the 590 has an aperture up to f/2.6 (the other one f/2.8) and an optical viewfinder (where the other doesn't have one at all.) However, the SX100 has a zoom of 36-360mm (instead of 35-140mm) and a shutter speed of 1/2500 over 1/2000. OR..... is there something out there outside of just these two that I'm completely overlooking?? The main thing she's wanting this for is so that she can take some decent shots of her own when I'm not around and she'd like to keep it under $250. I've been reviewing different cameras on dpreview, but I'm stuck for the moment.

 

[My2Girls66]

I have 2 friends with the SX110 and 1 friend with the 590. I've used both and both are nice. The SX110 is a larger camera and has no viewfinder tho it has a nice big screen. The 590 is more compact. The zoom is nice on the SX110 if she'd like that feature. I guess which one depends on her preferences. One of my friends with the SX110 took it on a safari in Africa and got some nice shots.

 

[wenrob]

This is not a technical review but DD and I were playing w/the SX110 the other day at Best Buy. I really liked it. Dam* near bought it just to keep in my purse. I'm thinking DD may end w/one for her birthday.

 

[RCDisneyFan]

I think the SX110 IS feels a little bit plasticky compared to some of the other Canon P&S cameras; however, I'm sure it's a good buy at the going rate. If it was going to receive heavy, daily use, I'd worry about its' longevity - but it should be fine for casual use.

In general, viewfinders on P&S cameras are very shoddy, so I wouldn't worry about not having that. I love my DSLR, but I really, really miss having all that zoom available! Since the wide end has essentially no difference, I'd go with the camera with more zoom. But I'm an admitted zoom junkie..

It depends (as someone else said) - Does your wife want to be able to drop the camera in a coat pocket? Or would she rather have more zoom?

I think you're on the right track going with Canon - I looked at a lot of P&S cameras a little over a year ago and I think Canon produces some of the nicest pictures and are comparatively easy to use / learn. Panasonic makes a good p&s too - sturdy, easy to learn...but you have to know Panasonic is notorious for noisy pics (I have a refurbed TZ3.) I looked at Nikon's p&s selection at the time too, and they're not much better in terms of noise, and I think less novice friendly. I really do prefer the output of Canon's p&s cameras.

Notice how a devoted Nikon Girl is able to easily recommend Canon products...? We're not all bad!

 

[RBennett]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! I've been trying to pry out some more information from DW as far as what SHE is wanting/looking for, but she keeps putting it off on me to get "a good one" w/o the high cost. I agree completely with the zoom comments above, but I'll tell you my biggest worry: no viewfinder. I've tried taking pictures on a bright sunny day and it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to see what I was taking a picture of, so that's why I like viewfinders (even if it's just a drilled hole through the camera.) Something to block out the light. But if the camera companies have picked up on this, I didn't know if they have come up with a way to reduce this. I mean the aperture difference (2.6 vs 2.8) isn't a significant difference, and the sensor size (.04cm squared difference) isn't that big of a deal. But the HUGE zoom difference and the viewfinder are the two biggest decisions. So I guess that lays out the debate: zoom & sunny LCD vs viewfinder and not as much zoom.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

Hello Everyone!!! This is DW (Hi Honey!!! ). I've been thinking about this and I would like one with more zoom. Especially since we are going to Alaska. I think the extra zoom would be nice for some of the excursions we will be going on. What do you think??

 

[RBennett]

Hello Everyone!!! This is DW (Hi Honey!!! ). I've been thinking about this and I would like one with more zoom. Especially since we are going to Alaska. I think the extra zoom would be nice for some of the excursions we will be going on. What do you think??

Well, like I said, this is YOUR camera and I want you to be happy with it! So if the zoom is more important to you, then there's your answer. Thanks everyone!!