Camera Labs

Hello Everybody,

I'm planning to gift my friend a Digi cam.
She is a new entrant to photography.
I'm planning to gift her a medium level digi cam with which she can learn photography.
So i have kept my budget limit as 200$, i'm not sure whether i would be able to get a "Better" P&S even though not a "Best" P&S....

It will be helpful if you can guys can say me any model or brand that is good nowadays....



thanks
Swami

I think the Canon A720 might be worth considering. I think it qualifies as a 'better' compact camera with not just full auto. So someone who wants to learn a bit about photography and take more control over the camera can do so.

Ben

@Ben,
Thanks for your reply.
I would consider that for buying it.

Any idea about nikon P60....????

Even though it is approximately near my budget.

Thanks,
Swami

The P60 doesn't appear to have the level of manual control the A720 has. The A720 also has a brighter lens (f2.8 vs. f3.6). It also has such nice little things as an orientation sensor and closer macro properties. It also has a slightly larger zoom range.

I base this on info from here. Which is a very useful feature at dpreview. There are some mistakes and omissions in their database though so you should check any important specification on the website of the manufacturer.

Between these two I'm inclined to go for the Canon.

Ben

Yes, Ben I would agree with you.

just while across the link you gave i look at "Canon PowerShot SX100 IS"
I dont mind spending a few bucks extra if it is worth.

What is ur take on the above model?

Thanks,
Swami

They are fairly close in most specifications. The SX100IS has a 10x zoom against 6x for the A720 which is nice. But personally I'm not a fan of the trend to ditch the viewfinder as is done on the SX100IS. To me that would be a major disadvantage. I take 98% of the photos I make using the viewfinder. I only use the LCD when I need to hold the camera in a position in which I cannot easily look through the viewfinder. The position in which you stand when using the LCD is inherently less stable (more camera shake) than with the camera against your head and your upper arms against your body.

The optical viewfinder will not give you all the information overlaid on the image but if you have set the camera the way you want using the LCD you can then use the viewfinder to frame the shot in a more stable fashion and press the shutter.

An Electronic View Finder, as I have on my superzoom, gives the option to see everything that’s also on the LCD while using the view finder. Some compacts now also have EVFs.

Ben

Yes Ben,
what ever you have quoted is perfectly correct.
I too go with your words.

reason for choosing that model is 10x Zoom.
I'm sure my friend is not in a position to take photos with VF....

The 10x might amaze her and she might start using the camera instead of the normal 3-4x.....

As all the members say here I would better go to a store and start looking at these models and order one of them immediately.....

Ben, Thanks for the reply.

thanks,
Swami

Hi,
After a bit of research at pricegrabber in CL, i have shortlisted the following cameras close to my budget.
Can somebody help me which would win the race.
With my budget i totally rely which has comparitively "better" battery life and which captures good images.
the cameras are:
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS Black Digital Camera
Fuji Fuji FinePix S700 Black Digital Camera
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4S Silver Digital Camera

I'm more inclined to choose between Fuji and canon.
Canon does not have the viewfinder and fuji does.

So i'm not sure about their quality.
It would be a great help if you guys can give me pros n cons of the above three.
On getting the details, i would immediately order it.

Waiting eagerly for the replies......

thanks,
swami

The S700 is the alternate name for the S5700 isn't it? I used to have the s5700. Pictures are great if you can stick to low ISO. Nice zoom range and macro. With rechargeable NiMH batteries, I get around 200 shots a set using the screen. You might get more using the viewfinder but I never used that. The negative I'd give against the camera is the lack of any built in image stabilisation. Although it has an anti-shake mode, it is a cheat that works by jacking up the ISO. On a quick scan, the other cameras appear to have some sort of stabilisation and generally similar spec, so might be better overall.

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.