Top 10 Point and Shoot Digital Cameras - DPS Reader Favorites
Three weeks ago I asked Digital Photography School readers a simple question - What Digital Camera Do You Use?
The results of this question were quite overwhelming with 320 responses (at the time of writing this). The array of cameras being used was quite amazing and yet there were some definite themes that I thought I’d summarize in 2 posts (this one looking at Point and Shoot Digital Cameras and tomorrow looking at DSLRs).
Also at the bottom of this post I want to look at two other aspects of the results:
1. The breakdown between DSLRs and Point and Shoot Cameras
2. Brands of Point and Shoot Cameras
What Point and Shoot Models are Most Popular?
Before revealing the list let me make a couple of observations:
I was surprised on two fronts:
1. Despite there being 75 point and shoot cameras mentioned one camera completely dominated the list
2. The top of this 10 list was dominated fairly heavily by super zoom cameras (the top four all had 12x optical zooms with image stabilization). Only 4 of the top 10 were compact digital cameras.
Top 10 Point and Shoot Digital Cameras as Used by DPS Readers
I’m not going to list each camera mentioned but here are the top 10 (listed in order of popularity):
- Canon PowerShot S3 IS - a 6 megapixel camera with a 12x optical zoom and image stabilization - pictured right
- Canon Powershot S2 IS - a 5 megapixel camera with a 12x optcial zoom and image stabilization
- Panasonic DMC-FZ50 - 10.1 megapixels with 12x optical zoom lens and image stabilization
- Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 - 7.2 megapixles with 12x optical zoom and image stabilization
- Canon PowerShot SD800 IS - a 7.1 megapixel compact camera with a 3.8x wide angled optical zoom and image stabilization - pictured right
- Canon Powershot A620 - 7.1 megapixels and a 4x optical zoom (more of an entry level than others in the list)
- Canon PowerShot S5 IS - 8 megapixels, 12x Optical Zoom and Image Stabilization
- Fujifilm Finepix S5200 - 5.1 megapixels, 10x optical zoom and image stabilization
- Canon Powershot SD550 - 7.1 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom
- Nikon Coolpix 5400 - 5.1 megapixels with a 4x optical zoom
It is worth noting that the number 1 ranking point and shoot camera (the Canon PowerShot S3 IS ) outranked all of the others significantly. In fact as many people owned it as all of the other 9 cameras in the above list put together! Obviously Canon are onto a winner with that model - it’ll be interesting to see if the newer Canon PowerShot S5 IS gets as popular.
The DSLR vs Point and Shoot Mix
Here’s how the DSLR vs Point and Shoot breakdown looks among Digital Photography School readers.
This mix did surprise me a little as I get a lot of email from Point and Shoot users. Perhaps they didn’t feel as comfortable answering or perhaps Point and Shoot users ask more questions than DSLR users.
I should say that while fewer DPS readers use Point and Shoot digital cameras - more point and shoot models were mentioned than DSLR models. (75 Point and Shoots vs 28 DSLRs). This is simply because the digital camera manufacturers release a lot more cameras aimed at this market than they do DSLRs. For example Canon tends to release between 2 - 4 new or updated DSLRs a year but announces 20 or so point and shoot cameras.
So what brands of point and shoot cameras are most popular?
Obviously Canon is clear favorite when it comes to Point and Shoot digital camera users among our readers. After that there’s a lot less between the main manufacturers with Sony, Fujifilm and Panasonic contending for second place.
Tomorrow I’ll post a list of the Top 10 DSLRs that the DPS community uses.
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August 14th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Interesting that Nikon does so badly in the point-and-shoot realm. I shoot with a D50, when I recommend pocket cameras to friends, I always strongly recommend Canon. Nikon’s offerings in this arena have always struck me as overpriced and underfeatured, and in terms of image quality, Canon impressed me more. I do love Nikon SLR’s, though.
August 14th, 2007 at 8:03 am
A lot of those are EVFs. They’re not as powerful as SLRs, but in a class far beyond a regular point and shoot. When you talk about a point and shoot camera, people are generally looking for something with a little less power and more automation than an EVF. I don’t consider EVFs to be in quite the same range as a standard point and shoot.
August 14th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Agreeing with the above: great cameras but hardly “point and shoot”!
August 14th, 2007 at 8:22 am
While I take your point on the EVF classification I didn’t want this series of posts to start breaking up into too many categories. Point and shoot, EVFs, entry level dslrs, pro dslrs etc - so I broke them into two categories and hope people will be OK with that.
There is a real difference between the EFSs and the other point and shoots though - hopefully people will be able to see the top 5 or so of each above pretty clearly.
August 14th, 2007 at 8:34 am
I had the Canon powershot pro 1 (an ElectronicViewFinder camera) and I personally classed that as a point and shoot, just because of the way it handled… I guess horses for courses?
August 14th, 2007 at 10:11 am
My S2IS is around 2 years old now.. but I still use it on a more or less daily basis. It does what I need it to do - but I do have DSLR envy and want to get one :D
August 14th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
I currently own a dsc-h2 and the s3-is was a bit more than I could afford,If I had the money I would have bought an Xti for sure.The dsc-h2 does basically what I need and some of my friends with d-slrs( 20d and xt) are also quite fond of my camera,simply because of the zoom lens.Over the 2 months I have had it i have now snapped over 7000 photos with it and am quite happy now.Wished it looked like the s3 is though. :)
August 14th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Interesting article…
Nikon is no where in site when it comes to P&S…
but I too own a canon P&S and its def worth it…
August 14th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
I’m an S3 IS user, I love the camera, and I completely agree with Amigone201. :)
August 14th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
It’s to bad Ricoh has such a small market share - they make cool and innovative cameras! I was reading about the new one with a 24 mm wide angle zoom lens and it looks like a nice camera!
August 14th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I just got Ricoh Caplio R6. Not enough pictures taken yet but looks promising!
August 14th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I use the new Olympus SP-550 UZ and despite some negative reviews, simply love it. It has way more pluses than minuses. That said, when I went into the market for a new camera, I could have bought a DSLR and didn’t. I love the freedom of a compact digital camera. I like being more portable and not having to carry so much equipment. It works much better for my type of photography and do not regret my decision at all.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I have to disagree with the previous comment about EVF cameras. An EVF is just a point & shoot digital camera with a second, smaller LCD screen in a tiny peep-hole. Fundamentally, their feature set doesn’t differ significantly from other P&S cameras, and in fact is usually somewhat worse than that of some nice “bridge” cameras like my old Olympus C-5060. Their main feature is generally a large zoom range including a lot of telephoto reach. That’s useful and cool (despite the obligatory image quality compromises).
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with them, but however you argue it, there’s one thing that unquestionably puts them in the same category as P&S cameras: a tiny little sensor.
August 14th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
I have the Sony H5 and love it! I used to use Nikon´s SLRs.
The Sony only has one major problem- no hot shoe.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:38 am
Yes, but I’m actually looking for a Point and Shoot so this could be of interest to me. I’d like to see a survey of what people use as a camera with the following constraints - it must be pocket/compact size and they must have another larger camera. I’d expect to see quite a few Canon IXUS’s and Fuji Fxx’s but I’m not sure what to go for.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:42 am
I own a Nikon Coolpix 5700, Canon Powershot A520, and a DSLR Canon 400D which I bought in that order, and my opinion is that Canon software is way more powerful in P&S segment at least that Nikon. On the Nikon there is a very noticeable lag from the moment you point and something and when it actually takes the photo which can be measured in seconds.
The A520 (4 Mp), even it was marketed as a lower camera than the 5700 (5.1 Mp)usually delivers much higher quality in the kind of fast shoots you can expect to use a P&S camera, handles better lightning and it overalls to a much pleasurable experience on top of it has plenty of manual controls more easily selectable than with the Nikon even if the Nikon has a lot of extra buttons to make those adjustments fast.
I always carry the A520 even when I carry my DSLR too, cause I want to be able to make some discrete and fast shoots which could spoil the subject if I get out a big camera for example. Im so satisfied with it Im going to buy another P&S from canon updated with more Mp.
August 15th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Forgot to say that I consider EVF cameras a subset of P&S because the visor only has a tiny LCD with is practically unusable, being the rest of the features almost identical, so the LCD visor can be considered a gimmick instead a feature imho.
August 15th, 2007 at 6:06 am
I wonder how popular the Sony Cybershot DSC series would be if you combined all those using H1/H2/H5 cameras. I personally use an H2.
August 16th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I am still lovin’ my Canon S2IS… it was my gateway camera…after I bought it I started to experiment with Manual mode and really started to love photography. I still have and use my S2 regularily especially for video and Super Macro!!
August 18th, 2007 at 6:04 am
A great photograph is 90% photographer and 10% camera. Camera features add to the potential subject list. An expensive full featured camera doesn’t insure great photographs.
August 19th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
I went to check out the popular S3 specs at the Canon site but
there are no “S” series cameras listed. Only “SD”. Does this mean the “S” cameras have all been discontinued? There seem to be too many cameras to choose from anyway and models don’t seem to last over a year. Is this becasue the technology changes that fast or it it just to make money? I just don’t understand why the popular cameras are discontinued.
Thanks in advance for responding.
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=113
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:58 am
I own a Canon Powershot A95. I’m an amateur photographer that does some serious photography. I recently got rid of my Minolta XG1 film and all lenses for $80. I was lucky to get that. I’ve used DSLR’s (Canon, Nikon) and love both. I travel and do sports, but basically throw my stuff around all over the place. My A95 has been with me for 4yrs almost and is still shooting…barely. However, it works. It has dents, scratches, nicks, and chips. I cannot stress how much I love the metal body.
I’ve taken some amazing photos (and many not so), but have always loved the result. It’s clunky and slow now. I have to coax it into zooming sometimes, but people are always impressed with the quality. Yes, it pales in comparison to the new models of anything, but you know what…
…it ain’t all in the camera. It’s who’s behind it that counts.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
I wonder why people don’t like olympus models. For example Olympus SP-560 UZ is one of the best recently announced point and shoot cameras and there are much more very good models from olympus. I understand that Nikon and Canon has good name, but Olympus produce as good cameras as Nikon and Canon (my oppinion).
October 19th, 2007 at 6:55 am
I have canon 710 IS. & got tremendous pics’ from it.
will go in coat-pocket. lots of modes on. for price better than the S3 IS. lighter & lens accessories etc. has 6 optical as well. later version= 720 IS.has face detection.
November 9th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Nice infos here. I am looking for quality digital cameras with fair price. And the articles are helpful. Thanks!
November 19th, 2007 at 1:29 am
I think - with regard to the above pie chart - that the operative comment underneath is “among our readers”.
Such a relatively small and weighted sampling doesn’t really prove anything one way or the other.
To imply that Canon sells nearly half of ALL point and shoots is ludicrous, and certainly inconsistent with actual sales world-wide.
All this illustrates is that the Canon “fan boys” are way more vocal about their toys!
December 9th, 2007 at 4:26 am
I have been a P&S camera user for a while now and was looking into possibly upgrading to an entry-level DSLR to have a little more fun. So I was going on line to try to educate myself a little bit before making a decision. Thanks for taking the time to post these articles for us. TF
December 31st, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Can anyone tell me if canon ixus75 is a good P&S camera. I’m just looking for something to get me started with photography that i can carry in my pocket.
I’m very new to photography and have never owned a camera before.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I thought Sony cameras are cool and stylish but don’t understand why only few people buy it. People should take a look at the all new DSC-T200.
February 17th, 2008 at 7:46 am
The Sony DSC-T200 is the coolest camera out there if you want to impress your friends with technology. Unfortunately, the indoor pictures are some of the worst you will ever see. Extremely grainy in most indoor lighting! You could get better pictures with most cameras that cost less than $100. This explains why so few people actually buy the DSC-200.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:14 am
I love my Nikon D50. I’ve owned it for about 4 months and just absolutely love it. This is my first DSLR. Previously I messed with a Canon SD100, which did great in low light settings. The pictures were just amazing and vivid. I now use that camera in my photo booth and it works out great. Only other bad thing is how slow it is to get ready to take a picture. Very slow