I'm in need of a point and shoot for my new father in law. I'd like to get him something that will take a good range of pics...outdoor, indoor, nature. No sports or fast action.
I know nothing about point and shoot cameras, so any help here would be greatly appreciated.
Preferably canon, but will go with whatever is best. Budget of no more than $300, preferably closer to $200. No more than 8 megapixel...but no less than 5 in case he want to print something out bigger than he usually does.
Do you care what type of battery it uses? Some cameras, like the canon sd770 use a non-standard rechargable battery while others, like the canon a590 use standard AA batteries. I have seen great performance out of each type (though I use rechargable AAs).
I have used both of the afore mentioned models as well as an sd800. All three of these offer impressive pictures with decent light (or a tripod) and do video. The sd770 has a 1fps video mode for time lapse type video.
Ani and I bought an S60 Canon and the door on it got broken. Not wanting to pack the dSLR all the time, I researched Canon (being a Canon person since February 1967!) I ended up with the Canon SX100 IS. It uses 2 AA batteries. I REALLY like that feature, can buy batteries for it in any store! It is 8MP and takes wonderful photos. Has a video option that is sharp too. The IS really works great and last, but not least, it has 10X optical zoom. 10X with glass! $200-$250. I was so impressed, two of my friends bought one too. Just a great little P&S.
The AA's are really important for me. It lays around and all of the sudden a guy wants to go shoot photos. It is grab a couple of extra AA's vs uhh, we have to wait for an hour while I charge up the camera battery. The S60 was that way. Bought an extra battery off e-bay for it, but what a hassle. For P&S I want AA's, available anywhere.
My wife's been using an SX100 since about the first of the year, and it's been great for her. A few months later I saw them on sale for ~$180 and bought one for each of my 2 sisters. Everyone's very happy. A bit large for a pocket, but it's much easier to handle than the tiny SD-series Canon's.
Also, a pair of Eneloop AA's is good for several hundred shots.
Thanks for the responses folks. I'm torn between the sx100is and the a590is. Does anyone have experience with both? Aside from the zoom, which I don't think that will come into play that much, is there something else that I'm missing that sets these two apart so much?
Can you even still buy the SX100? They change their models so quickly, and I recall that it was "new" about a year ago. If not, there's surely a very similar replacement with an incrementally higher model number. dpreview.com has reviews on all that stuff.
Micah Burns wrote:
Thanks for the responses folks. I'm torn between the sx100is and the a590is. Does anyone have experience with both? Aside from the zoom, which I don't think that will come into play that much, is there something else that I'm missing that sets these two apart so much?
I am guessing the sx110is is the updated version. Looking quickly and dpreview, the a590 has an optical viewfinder, the sx110 has none. I think the major difference is about $100.
