FOAK: New camera requirements

Different from the other thread, my Mrs wants a small point & shoot
camera. I guess they're all pretty simple to use these days, she doesn't
want any manual override stuff to confuse her. A very good auto mode
would be most welcome. Needs to cope well in contrasting / difficult
light, and about all take very good pictures.

I offered her my TZ5 so I could upgrade, but it's a bit bigger than she'd
like, which appears to be the only downside. Plus she doesn't want to buy
mine and force me to upgrade. :-|

Budget is around £150.

 

ogden will be along shortly to recommend what he's got. I can't
remember - Canon Ixus maybe?

 

Not sure I should be handing out camera advice, but my old Nikon Coolpix
L18 would probably fit that bill. Apart from the size, its not much
smaller than the TZ.

It sounds like she wants a camera on her phone

 

Canon Ixus 100 IS

 

Just been reading up on the Ixus 110 IS. Seems to have some minor
fringing issues, but then I'm picky.

 

That might be a good idea actually.

 

I just bought a Panasonic Lumix GF1 that I can just about wedge in a
jacket pocket. It's pretty amazing quality for a P&S. Micro 4/3
sensor, 12MP. 20 mm 1.7 lens.Pretty expensive.

Problem with choosing one, I found, was finding one that did
everything that I wanted. Because they don't. They seem to fill little
niches spanning the whole gamut and there are always trade offs
involved. Need to decide whether it's portability, speed and/or ease
of use, quality, robustitude or any other factors that are the
priotity.

You can read good reviews at Dpreview.com

Note how I disregarded your points regarding budget, etc. Really if
she doesn't care you can get her any old tat.

 

In a similar vein I've just taken delivery of a Canon S90.

Ixus sized camera, but with a full range of SLR type manual controls.
It's got the 35mm equivalent of a 28-105mm lens that's F2 at the wide
end. So far looks great but I've not shot anything in anger yet.

 

I ruled out the G11 and similar as I don't see that they give me any
advantage over carrying around my 400d SLR. The S90 is certainly
pocket sized. Can comfortably put it in trouser pockets as well.

I've taken a few test shots this morning. Initial impressions are the
wheel thingy on the front is great. You can set it to replicate
various functions in the different modes, so I've gone for zoom so
it's like using an SLR.

The auto mode is actually excellent. The auto focus is very
intelligent, and has clever little things like it will detect faces in
a scene and auto focus on them, or even display a warning if someone
closes their eyes when taking a picture. The image stabilisation is
also very good, low light shooting without the flash at a low ISO is
very possible.

Actual shots to me appear a bit noisy and not too sharp but I put that
down to me purely using an SLR for the last 2 years. Comparing them
to some taken with my wife's older Ixus 60, they're a lot less noisy
and sharper. So the lens in there is pretty good for a tiny compact.

I think for a general use compact that you can carry with you
anywhere, but that gives you the option to set anything you like, it's
spot on.

 

I love my Lumix, it's a DMC something. Fits in my pocket, is light
and was pretty easy to use straight out of the box (some day I'll find
out what all the other stuff does).

 

What's the build quality like? The Lumix is so robust you really could
use it in anger, like to club someone to death with.

Now those would be some interestings shots.

 

That ease-of-use is important to me. I spend enough time fiddling
around in manual mode with my big boy's cameras, if I'm casual enough
to just want to grab a shot when I'm out and about I don't really want
to mess around with settings. I usually leave it in AV mode with a
shallow depth of field and if there's a situation when I would need to
change that I just ignore it until it goes away

Having said that they're good for learning the ropes if you ever
wanted to upgrade. Kind of like a gateaway drug.

 

If I want to grab a casual shot, I use the phone.

 

I didn't mean *that* casual. The difference between a 1/4" sensor and
a 4/3" is like the difference between a miniature elephant and a much,
much larger elephant. If you want to pick up matchsticks then use the
miniature elephant. But if you need to move tree trunks use the big
one. Or maybe a bulldozer. Or even cut them into easily managed chunks
with a chainsaw. But don't try and use a camera phone, that would be
ridiculous.

I hope I haven't confused you with the theory.

 

She's a gurl, looks and simplicity are major factors.

 

It's not bad. Lens is very solid, body feels light but better once
the battery was in. I think the body is aluminium, doesn't feel like
plastic.

You couldn't beat anyone to death with it. More, wave it
ineffectually at them.

 

ha! that's my mate Mike. He used to work in stop motion and had the
skills to do all that makeup himself.

Thanks mate.

 

Doesn't seem to work in Firefox 3.5 on Windows XP. Any plugins required
porl? I can see the home page, and can select the galleries, once into
the gallery itself, I just get the title, some buttons at the top and a
shaded background.

 

Works in my 3.6.2 and XP. FF ought to tell you if plug-ins are
required.

 

I don't know what to tell you, it should be ok. Smugmug are a pretty
renowned host, if that's the right term.

Sorry. I'm clueless, me :/

You could try the blog, but that's pretty much just chicks and/or
flash lighting (PPphotoblog.com)