Point and Shoot Digital Advice Please!

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Hi all,

I've been doing my research and have narrowed my search for a point and click to 2 models. Your feedback is appreciated on each!

1. Olympus 850SW
2. Cannon Powershot A590 IS (or another Cannon Powershot A something or another)

I like that the Olympus is waterproof to 10 feet...but I'm used to the Cannon Powershot.

Any thoughts (or other models I should consider)?

Thanks

Karen

 

[Castle crazy]

Have you considered a Panasonic TZ5? I looked at the Canon and the Oly and ended up with the TZ5 which has a 10X zoom in a very small pocketable package. It has become my favorite camera.

 

[DizzyV6P]

To me, all P&S shoot pretty much the same when it comes to the main ones, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Kodak, etc...

The only differences are the 100's of little special features you can add to your photo.

I've dropped and broken my last 2 P&S so my only REAL option was the Olympus 790SW, the precursor to the 850SW.

Judge a P&S by how it feels in your hand should be your #1 concern. As much as I loved the Casio series, it was too small and thin and I could forsee this $300 camera being dropped....AGAIN.

When I leave my 40D behind to use a P&S, I just turn on, set to Auto and press the shutter button. That's it. No fancy menus, no fancy Night shots or candlelight shots, etc... Just point and shoot. I personally think these little cameras have gotten way too complicated for no real good reason.

Just like the advice we give to all those looking to buy a DSLR, goto the store and pick up and play with all the P&S and see which one feels the best in you and/or your spouses hands. That should be the #1 rule for all cameras regardless of all the fancy features.

The Olympus is shockproof and waterproof. That was enough for this Canon fanboy to get the Olympus over the Canon. The A series is a bit big to fit comfortably in my wife's purse while the SW series are slim...but not tooooo slim to just slip out of your fingers and onto the floor

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Yep...went to the store last night and I think its the Olympus. Anyone have any experience with it and its battery life?

The thing I like about the Canon is that is uses "AA" batteries whereas the Olympus is a proprietary battery.

Thanks!

karen

 

[DizzyV6P]

It's lasts quite long. I don't see the big deal about rechargable batteries since most recharge stations are pretty small these days.

I've never counted the # of pictures I've taken on my 790SW, but I know I've had to recharge it twice in the last 6 months. And that's after multi-day use of the camera and video taking capabilities. If you want a more accurate stat, look at their website. The Specs section should tell you how many pictures it takes per charge.

In my experience, those AA batteries drain so fast, I consider them worthless. Even using the "digital" brands. The only ones I've found w/ any useful length are the new Sanyo Eneloops rechargable AA's. But that requires you still bring the little recharge station (it's about the size of the camera)...which ruins the point of the AA. AA enabled cameras are a marketing ploy in my book.

 

[bob100]

It's lasts quite long. I don't see the big deal about rechargable batteries since most recharge stations are pretty small these days.
In my experience, those AA batteries drain so fast, I consider them worthless. Even using the "digital" brands.

my experience has been the opposite. Kodak AA batteries cost $5 at walmart and last for years. I prefer P&S cameras with AA batteries because its a racket (scam? with proprietary special-use batteries for cell phones, laptops, ...ipods , cameras, the list could go on. Give me generic batteries any day!

 

[DizzyV6P]

I had a Samsung P&S that would drain a Duracell Digital AA battery after 50-60 shots. The Sony lithium battery on my old Sonay PSC series never lost its charge capacity, after 2 years of constant shooting and recharging. Same deal w/ a Fuji P&S that lasted 3 years of constant recharging. How many AA would I have gone through? Probably enough to purchase Costco's entire pallet of batteries.

We'll see how long the Olympus 790SW lithium battery lasts, but its been my experience that they last quite a long time.

How can it be a racket when the rechargables last much longer than AA? The idea w/ AA was that in case you forget ur charger, you can just get the AA's. Given the fact that I already pack my laptop, Epson p-3000, phone charger, I have yet to forget my Olympus charger...its simply on my checklist of things to bring when I travel. For my DSLR flash, I use the Sanyo Eneloop rechargables. I've gone through 10 cycles of those already w/o any loss of charge capacity. Give me a set of rechargables anyday

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

I found a Olympus 790SW on closeout at Office Max (of all places) for less than $200 and snapped it up! It's very similar to the 850SW that I was thinking of...just last year's model with .9 megapixels less (not much of a difference in my humble opinion)!

Thanks to all for the input.