point & shoot

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints (nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

While Sony cameras fall short of the flexibility and features that photography enthusiasts love, they design more for the P&S market; The Sony cybershot S75 and S85 are good, high quality cameras. Sonys are usually designed with an emphasis for full automatic operation and come with saturated colors. Sony owners often use them with a larger amount of sharpening as the P&S crowd often does not touch up their photos with Photoshop or other editing program.

The niftiest Canons are the S110 and S300, their small, sleek packaging makes them extremely portable. The 2 pixel output should not be an issue if you want prints no larger than 8x10 although you are compromising image quality a little bit with these tiny cameras (and tiny batteries). This ultra compact market segment is getting competition now, I like the looks of the recently announced Pentax Optio. We will have to wait to see what the Canon s30/40 will be like. I'm sure they wiill deliver good images, but since they are built on the G2 engine they tend to be feature rich; great for hobbyists, generally too confusing for the casual P&S shooter who doesn't know what an F stop is let alone histogram interpertation or exposure bracketing.
Regards, Mike K

mark said:

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out
there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection
makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but
want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know
much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features
etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the
best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints
(nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be
open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

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The G2 can be recomended without reservation. In automatic mode it takes absolutely stunning pictures with no effort. A lack of features does not make a camera any easier to use. They ALL have automatic mode. If you want something smaller wait for the S30/S40. If you want to remain a casual P&S user you need never change the mode dial from the big green auto symbol:



Seems simple enough for a child to use, but maybe I live in an isolated community of photo-geniouses.

Peter

Mike K said:

mark said:

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out
there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection
makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but
want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know
much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features
etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the
best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints
(nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be
open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

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Thanks Peter

The G2 indeed sounds like a great camera and was my first choice until I started reading a few posts on this forum about some folks being unhappy with the G2 in the Auto setting. This is a concern since virtually all my shots will be done in the auro mode.

The other concern is theat the G2 has so many features that I would not tend to use, I thought perhaps the money could be better spent on a simpler camera with less functions - but one that delivers better pics from the auto setting.

size, price, and complex functions are not an issue to me - only simplicity of use with highest quality pictures. This may be asking too much, but I would like to hear the valued opinions of others on this forum as to the best available choice on the market.

Thanks

Mark

mark

Peter G said:

Seems simple enough for a child to use, but maybe I live in an
isolated community of photo-geniouses.

Peter

Mike K said:

mark said:

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out
there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection
makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but
want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know
much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features
etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the
best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints
(nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be
open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

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I have seen much talk about the G1 not being ideal for Auto mode, but I really haven't noticed much about the G2 and that issues. You really don't pay anything extra for the features (depending where you are). The G2 is $100 less than the Sony s85 in Canada.

The s30 is going to be very inexpensive and feature packed. The big drawback as compared to the G2 is the Lens. The G2 will capture better when there is less light. This is a big issue since digital cameras have weaknesses in low light.

The new 4mp casio may be another contender. The same lens as the G2 with a lower price.

Peter

mark said:

The G2 indeed sounds like a great camera and was my first choice
until I started reading a few posts on this forum about some folks
being unhappy with the G2 in the Auto setting. This is a concern
since virtually all my shots will be done in the auro mode.

The other concern is theat the G2 has so many features that I would
not tend to use, I thought perhaps the money could be better spent
on a simpler camera with less functions - but one that delivers
better pics from the auto setting.

size, price, and complex functions are not an issue to me - only
simplicity of use with highest quality pictures. This may be
asking too much, but I would like to hear the valued opinions of
others on this forum as to the best available choice on the market.

Thanks

Mark

mark

Peter G said:

Seems simple enough for a child to use, but maybe I live in an
isolated community of photo-geniouses.

Peter

Mike K said:

mark said:

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out
there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection
makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but
want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know
much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features
etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the
best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints
(nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be
open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

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Perhaps the postings about G2 problems in the point & shoot mode are people rather than camera related? Sounds like most are very happy with their G2s, but most are probably experienced photographers who would not use this mode.

Still wonder about the G2 for my requirements?

Thanks for your feedback

Peter G said:

The s30 is going to be very inexpensive and feature packed. The big
drawback as compared to the G2 is the Lens. The G2 will capture
better when there is less light. This is a big issue since digital
cameras have weaknesses in low light.

The new 4mp casio may be another contender. The same lens as the G2
with a lower price.

Peter

mark said:

The G2 indeed sounds like a great camera and was my first choice
until I started reading a few posts on this forum about some folks
being unhappy with the G2 in the Auto setting. This is a concern
since virtually all my shots will be done in the auro mode.

The other concern is theat the G2 has so many features that I would
not tend to use, I thought perhaps the money could be better spent
on a simpler camera with less functions - but one that delivers
better pics from the auto setting.

size, price, and complex functions are not an issue to me - only
simplicity of use with highest quality pictures. This may be
asking too much, but I would like to hear the valued opinions of
others on this forum as to the best available choice on the market.

Thanks

Mark

mark

Peter G said:

Seems simple enough for a child to use, but maybe I live in an
isolated community of photo-geniouses.

Peter

Mike K said:

mark said:

I would welcome the opinion of the knowledgable forum readers out
there on the top quality point & shoot digital camera.

Having never owned a digital before - the tremendous selection
makes the choice difficult. I don't mind paying good money - but
want a camera that will produce great quality shots.

The new camera would be used a lot when traveling. I don't know
much about cameras, and do not care about manual or movie features
etc.

I simply want a top quality point and shoot that will produce the
best quality shots (many of which I intend to have made into prints
(nothing larger than 8x10)

Although I would like to purchase a Canon camera, I would also be
open to other brands if they were the better choice.

Would appreciate any feedback if you have the time.

Thankyou

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