Looking for a great point and shoot that also offers full manual.

Yes they should be at full wide, f/2.8 is f/2.8 after all. But if you have a zoom, wouldnt you like to be able to use it indoors without loosing 3/4 of the light being collected?

Peter Marina

Jack Michaud said:

Peter Marina said:

Hi Jack,
yes it is deffinately larger in size and less pocketable but still
a better camera for indoor shots. The C-4000 lens is brighter when
you zoom in. The S45 shrinks to f/4.9 while the C-4000 stays
constant at f/2.8 even a maximum zoom. That mean the S45 CCD get
hit by 1/4 of the light that the C-4000's CCD receives when at
maximum zoom. I dont think this is a negligable difference,
specialy for indoor use. An other bonus of the C-4000 is the
minimum aperture of f/11 ( S45 is limited to f/8) witch enables
longer exposure for more creative photography.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Peter Marina

'...I sometimes try to help the humans...' Cosmo Kramer.

Heh - don't ask me that. My 30-day trial period ends in 3 days, and I am otherwise very happy with the S45 - I've gotten some great results. I like the pocketability very much too. I guess Enrico needs to decide what weighs more, low light telephoto, or portability.

Peter Marina said:

Yes they should be at full wide, f/2.8 is f/2.8 after all. But if
you have a zoom, wouldnt you like to be able to use it indoors
without loosing 3/4 of the light being collected?

Click to expand...

LOL,

Well the there is still time and hope for you to return your S45 and get a C-4000 then? ;-)

Peter Marina

Jack Michaud said:

Peter Marina said:

Yes they should be at full wide, f/2.8 is f/2.8 after all. But if
you have a zoom, wouldnt you like to be able to use it indoors
without loosing 3/4 of the light being collected?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Peter Marina

'...I sometimes try to help the humans...' Cosmo Kramer.

Thanks Alf

I do however want at least 4mp since my last camera had 3mp and i want to feel i'm upgrading. Although, after the coolpix 885, anything will be an upgrade.

I am still looking at the c-4000 and debating between the Canons. It seems all of these cameras will perform if you know how to use them. I just need to figure out which one will also allow my wife to get good shots of my 1&1/2 year old running through our dimly lit house. With the coolpix i was able to sometimes get good photos by tweaking the manual settings but all of the candid shots my wife took of our daughter came out terriblly. I thought it would be easier to get another camera instead of another wife but with all these options i'm not so sure.
The truth is the cp885 is a real bomb. (Nikon should be embarrased)
Thanks again.

Alf B. said:

Hi Enricco

The C-730 ultrazoom. It is the same size and ergonamic style as the
C-4000 but it also has a fantastic 10x optical zoom, allowing easy
wildlife shots but its also has a super macro setting, down to
100mm. It has 3.2 megapixels but the zoom can make this equivalent
to a 15 megapixels, on some shots.

Its also robust, unlike the huge, bulky Fuji S602, because the
power switches have a tendancy to fall off. Best of all is the
price £399.

http://www.angelfire.com/film/digital_pics/index.html

Alf B.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input guys...Maybe i'll just flip a coin. I've spent more time researching cameras then i did when I bought my house!!

Peter Marina said:

Peter Marina

Jack Michaud said:

Peter Marina said:

Yes they should be at full wide, f/2.8 is f/2.8 after all. But if
you have a zoom, wouldnt you like to be able to use it indoors
without loosing 3/4 of the light being collected?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
Peter Marina

'...I sometimes try to help the humans...' Cosmo Kramer.

Click to expand...

enricco_palazzo said:

but all of the candid shots my wife
took of our daughter came out terriblly.

Click to expand...

hey when your wife uses the camera indoors, do you use forced flash (flash set to the ON position and not set to auto)? i found that just by turining my flash to on and not to auto i got GREAT indoor shots on most occasions. until i got my digital id always just used auto settings and found this trade secret quite useful. let your wife try some shots using auto focus, etc but force that flash on. i betcha youll find you dont need to trade that wife in after all! ) good luck!!!

enricco_palazzo said:

Thanks for the input guys...Maybe i'll just flip a coin. I've spent
more time researching cameras then i did when I bought my house!!

Click to expand...

I know, it is agonizing! And guess what, as soon as you buy something, something else better and cheaper will come along within 6 months.

But I'm sticking with my S45, I love it. I love the portability too. It's the latest and greatest of the pocket sized cameras. Just read Phil's glowing review here. The C-4000 does not look very pocketable - coat pocket maybe. But then if you start considering the C-4000, then you've also got to weigh in the Canon G2.

I too researched cameras for about two weeks before pulling the trigger. I am quite confident in my decision of the S45 over the Sony P9, Sony S85, Canon G2, Nikon 4300, Olympus C-40, and Minolta F100, each of which I also researched for this purchase.
-Jack

enricco_palazzo said:

I just need to figure out which one will also allow my wife
to get good shots of my 1&1/2 year old running through our dimly
lit house.

Click to expand...

Judging from this, you should heavily consider the Canon G2, if pocketability is not a factor. F/2.0, and a bigger lens will give you more lattitude indoors. I think you should be able to find them for around $500. Or if price is no object, then it's simple - put this all to rest and get the G3 ($800).

Thanks Jack

I think now i'll just watch the prices and see which of the G2&G3 I can fit into the budget. Thanks again.

Jack Michaud said:

Jack Michaud said:

I just need to figure out which one will also allow my wife
to get good shots of my 1&1/2 year old running through our dimly
lit house.

Click to expand...

Judging from this, you should heavily consider the Canon G2, if
pocketability is not a factor. F/2.0, and a bigger lens will give
you more lattitude indoors. I think you should be able to find
them for around $500. Or if price is no object, then it's simple -
put this all to rest and get the G3 ($800).

Click to expand...

whew, thought i was the only one in that boat.

enricco_palazzo said:

Thanks for the input guys...Maybe i'll just flip a coin. I've spent
more time researching cameras then i did when I bought my house!!

Click to expand...

Thank you all. With your help i have concluded that the G2 will afford me the best value while satisfying all of my requirements in a digital camera. I appreciate all of your input - thanks.

enricco_palazzo said:

I think now i'll just watch the prices and see which of the G2&G3 I
can fit into the budget. Thanks again.

Jack Michaud said:

enricco_palazzo said:

I just need to figure out which one will also allow my wife
to get good shots of my 1&1/2 year old running through our dimly
lit house.

Click to expand...

Judging from this, you should heavily consider the Canon G2, if
pocketability is not a factor. F/2.0, and a bigger lens will give
you more lattitude indoors. I think you should be able to find
them for around $500. Or if price is no object, then it's simple -
put this all to rest and get the G3 ($800).

Click to expand...

Click to expand...