Which P&S?

[bugmenot]

Hello all!

I hope I'm not posting in the wrong place here, but I just wanted some advice about which camera to buy, and I hadn't decided on a brand yet, so I didn't want to go into the brand-specific sub-forums.

I'm not a photography expert, but I want to get into it. I don't know all the proper photography terms, so excuse me if I make any mistakes.
I've only ever had 3 digital cameras in my life, the first was an ancient Polaroid that shot 320x240 images, the second was a Fujifilm A550, and the last (which I have now) is a Olympus μ1010.

I got fairly frustrated with them (most recently my μ) for various reasons- at one point the fancy struck me to photograph the full moon, until I realised that the camera didn't seem to be capable of capturing it as anything more than a big white dot. After messing around with a lot of settings, I was finally able to capture the detail of the valleys and stuff, but the image itself was really grainy and discoloured.

I basically just want a Point & Shoot camera where I could have full control on such stuff as aperture and shutter speed. I don't need a super-high MP count, although whatever the MP is, it'd be nice to have a reasonable DPI (dots/inch? Is that the correct term?) so that the image doesn't look like fat coloured dots at 100%.
Things like large size of the camera, or special shape or something are of no issue to me, however, I'd prefer one that didn't use those large AA or AAA batteries.

Also, I'm a cheapskate (and nowhere near professional yet), so I obviously don't want to go for DSLR, and I'd prefer not to have to get the high-end P&Ses. I also don't mind if my camera is not the newest one out.

I've checked around this site, and it seems that the most widely used cameras are ones geared towards high optical zoom. I don't really NEED very high optical zoom, so it is not my priority.

Canon seems to be a favourite here, especially the Powershot cameras. PowerShot S3 IS seems to be the most used? I visited a Canon shop near my home, and I was recommended to look into the G11, G12, S95 and SX130. Since it was the shop, however, all her recommendations were the newest and most expensive ones (G11 was $500 while I'm trying not to even go to $200!).

Which brings me to another problem, but not one I'm expecting too much help with. I am currently living in Pakistan, so some of the latest (and probably some of the older) cameras would probably not be available here, and buying online and then getting it sent is not really feasible, as I'm not to trusting of the postal service here, and nobody is visiting me from abroad any time soon.

So I thought I'd come here, where all the experts who use this stuff every day are, and get some advice. I could read up on some reviews online, but you never know who is working for who, and which reviews are proper and which are just advertisements for the camera.

[dlambert]

I'd recommend checking out DPReview.com for info on any camera you're considering. Their reviews, in my experience, are unbiased and detailed.

As far as specific cameras go, it sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on the features you're looking for, and it sounds like availability of specific camera models might also be in question, so maybe you just need to look as which cameras are actually available for you to buy and work the problem from that angle.

I can vouch for the Canon G-series -- I had a G3 years ago that took wonderful pictures, and I understand that they've continued to do great things with this line. These camera don't lead the pack in terms of resolution or zoom, but they produce fantastic images with a high degree of control available to the photographer. I've also heard good things about the S95.

In all of these cases, however, you should have some realistic expectations about what sort of improvements you're going to see vs. your Olympus 1010. Honestly, the moon is a pretty tough subject to photograph well, especially without lots of zoom, great optics, and a steady tripod. I attached a shot of the moon I captured with a Panasonic FZ-28, which is a higher-end (as of 2-3 years ago) P&S. I'm not sure if you can get anything like this within your budget. Also note that although you mentioned that you're not really looking for high zoom capabilities, this shot was taken at full zoom -- about 486mm in 35mm terms.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by bugmenot

I don't need a super-high MP count, although whatever the MP is, it'd be nice to have a reasonable DPI (dots/inch? Is that the correct term?) so that the image doesn't look like fat coloured dots at 100%

[...]

Canon seems to be a favourite here, especially the Powershot cameras. PowerShot S3 IS seems to be the most used? I visited a Canon shop near my home, and I was recommended to look into the G11, G12, S95 and SX130. Since it was the shop, however, all her recommendations were the newest and most expensive ones (G11 was $500 while I'm trying not to even go to $200!).

DPI has nothing to do with the "fat coloured dots at 100%". It actually has nothing to do with digital images, though it is used as a printing term. The colouring you see is the camera trying to compensate for high ISO. And doing a poor job of it.

THe G series is one of the best, and likely your best choice for what you're describing, despite the fact that it is expensive. Go for the G12 if you absolutely need easy and simple controls for aperture and shutterspeed, or the S95 if you just need to be able to adjust them (both allow you to, but the G series is easier to do).

If your budget is under $200, youre not going to find much / anything that fits your needs.

[bugmenot]

Thank you for the DPReview.com suggestion! I'm checking out it's reviews of the cameras I was suggested now.

I'm hoping that my prospects aren't as bad as comparable to the quality of my Olympus camera. I mean, it is a great camera and all, but I came across it's limitations fairly quickly. Your image is a very beautiful capture. Take a look-see at the best I could get (attached).

Which reminds me...I always use a tripod. I don't know if it is my hands (although reviews of the μ1010 seem to suggest it sometimes has issues with shakiness, despite having some stabilisation technology thingo), but my images otherwise always come out blurry. I even tried following that article on the main site about how to hold your camera, but it didn't really help.


Osmosis, I realise I set my budget a bit low, and I'm willing to even go up to 300, I guess, but not $500 just yet!
And I know about the graininess at high ISOs, but that isn't exactly what I'm talking about. Lacking knowledge of the proper terminology, I'm not sure how to explain it....
You know, when you zoom in 100%, you'd expect each individual pixel to be a different colour, right? Only in this case, it is not. It's groups of fat "dots". The closest thing I could come up with is "dots per inch"- Image sensors per inch? Pixels per inch (as opposed to total number of pixels, i.e. MP).

[OsmosisStudios]

Try using spot metering. The issue may jsut be that you cant zoom in enough. A shot like dlambert posted takes roughly 600mm (in 35mm equiv). Yours only goes to 260.

[dlambert]

BTW, be sure to check out this thread here on DPS. There's a great shot taken with a Nikon D90 and a 1200mm lens (600mm + 2x TC). You're not going to be able to touch those optics with a P&S, but I think you might find the exposure settings interesting.