Ultra Compact Digtial Camera Recommendations?

[edesignuk]

I've just come back from holiday and while there a mate I went with showed me his Sony Cyber-shot U ultra compact digital camera. It was great to have such a tiny point and shoot camera at hand, and now I want one! :D This (http://www.sony.co.uk/PageView.do?site=odw_en_GB&page=ProductHome&section=en_GB_Products&productmodel=%2FDigital+Photography%2FDPH+Point+%26+Shoot%2FDSC-U40&productcategory=%2FDigital+Photography%2FDPH+Point+%26+Shoot&productsku=DSCU40L.CEH) is the current model of the camera he has. Yes, it's only 2MP, but that really isn't too important, if I want best quality I'll pinch my dads Fuji S602 ;) The Sony is just SOOOO small, it's great!

Before I buy though, I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions about any other cameras in this sort of segment?

So, to sum up, what I'm looking for is an ultra compact (like the Sony) digicam, minimum 2MP, for around £200 (I can stretch if it's worth it though!)

Thanks!

BTW, the Sony I can get with an extra 128MB memory for £164.99.

[revenuee]

I've just come back from holiday and while there a mate I went with showed me his Sony Cyber-shot U ultra compact digital camera. It was great to have such a tiny point and shoot camera at hand, and now I want one! :D This (http://www.sony.co.uk/PageView.do?site=odw_en_GB&page=ProductHome&section=en_GB_Products&productmodel=%2FDigital+Photography%2FDPH+Point+%26+Shoot%2FDSC-U40&productcategory=%2FDigital+Photography%2FDPH+Point+%26+Shoot&productsku=DSCU40L.CEH) is the current model of the camera he has. Yes, it's only 2MP, but that really isn't too important, if I want best quality I'll pinch my dads Fuji S602 ;) The Sony is just SOOOO small, it's great!

Before I buy though, I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions about any other cameras in this sort of segment?

So, to sum up, what I'm looking for is an ultra compact (like the Sony) digicam, minimum 2MP, for around £200 (I can stretch if it's worth it though!)

Thanks!

BTW, the Sony I can get with an extra 128MB memory for £164.99.


i have the DSC - U20 myself -- bought it for the same reasons you did ultra compact

umm the Pentax S4i --- the camera is the size of a deck of cards, 4MP, 3x optical Zoom --- that camera is about to be discontinued, it costs 450$ Canadian, umm when it goes out of production it'll probably drop down to like 400$ canadian --- i'm thinking of buying this camera after my D70 comes in, since i don't want to carry that around with me everywhere

[edesignuk]

umm the Pentax S4i --- the camera is the size of a deck of cards, 4MP, 3x optical Zoom --- that camera is about to be discontinued, it costs 450$ Canadian, umm when it goes out of production it'll probably drop down to like 400$ canadian --- i'm thinking of buying this camera after my D70 comes in, since i don't want to carry that around with me everywhereThanks for the suggestion. It does look to be a very nice little camera, but the cheapest I can find it for is £275, the Sony I can get for £119 :cool:. Now I know the Pentax has quite a significantly better spec, but as I said I have access to a Fuji S602 for the serious stuff.

Decisions, decisions...keep any ideas coming folks...:)

[revenuee]

Thanks for the suggestion. It does look to be a very nice little camera, but the cheapest I can find it for is £275, the Sony I can get for £119 :cool:. Now I know the Pentax has quite a significantly better spec, but as I said I have access to a Fuji S602 for the serious stuff.

Decisions, decisions...keep any ideas coming folks...:)

ya ... i quoted Canadian prices ... i had no idea what the EU prices would be

well the other one is the PowerShot SD10 Digital ELPH 4MP and only a digital zoom ... umm no idea of price though --- but it is tiny

and lest i forget ... the Casio EXILIM series of cameras all very petit across the board

[scottwat]

I think its the sony cybershot t1. But we got it for a vaction and loved it. Its about 5 MP 3x optical zoom. You are stuck with the memory stick duo format (why can't sony just use SD, its somewhat standard!!!!) Anyways, this thing is about the size of a deck of cards, or an ipod or whatever, I liked that it has the cover over the lens. I have seen alot of cameras that just have a thin piece of metal or something over the lens. Well in your pocket with keys, change, a pen, whatever, that isnt much protection. I like this camera, I dont like having to use a dock to transfer the pics, but I think you can pay some extra to get a special USB cable. But it isnt terrible and its so easy to use. its ready right then you just slide down the cover and in about a second and a half you are ready to snap a pic. I actually think it is more usable than my canon 10D. Especially as far as convenience. We got the T1 for I think 428$ a month or so back.

[edesignuk]

Now also looking at the Canon IXUS i (http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital/Digital_IXUS_i/), any opinions on this camera?

edit: hmmmm...the IXUS i and the PowerShot SD10 look to be the same thing...

[Veldek]

Now also looking at the Canon IXUS i (http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital/Digital_IXUS_i/), any opinions on this camera?

edit: hmmmm...the IXUS i and the PowerShot SD10 look to be the same thing...

That's the camera I plan to buy in the next two weeks. The reviews I read were 90-95% positive and it is said to have excellent image quality. Only downside (and could be a big one) is that it's missing an optical zoom. It's 239 EUR at the moment at Amazon, which is about the cheapest I could find. Don't know about the price in Pounds.

Oh, and I read some reviews that said the camera has some problems with red eyes.

[edesignuk]

I think I am leaning towards the IXUS i now, the image quality looks great (see here (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=SampleImagesAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=9478), and here (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/SD10_samples.html)).

[Elan0204]

I have the Minolta DiMAGE Xt (http://www.minoltausa.com/eprise/main/MinoltaUSA/MUSAContent/CPG/CPGProducts?NS=true&cname=dig&fname=dig_ps&Mname=DiMAGE_Xt), and I think it is great. It is very small, has great startup and shot to shot time, and excellent battery life. It is a 3.2 megapixel camera, and has 3x optical zoom. I also like that it has a metal body, so it is very durable. I don't believe this is the latest model anymore, though. I think it goes for around $200 USD right now, which isn't much less than I paid for it last December. I don't know any price sites for the U.K., so you'll have to let me know how much it costs in £.

[Mac2004]

Definitely get the Canon Elph S500 compact camera. They are rated VERY good on a lot of review web sites. You can't go wrong with a Canon.

[evil_santa]

Now also looking at the Canon IXUS i (http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/digital/Digital_IXUS_i/), any opinions on this camera?

edit: hmmmm...the IXUS i and the PowerShot SD10 look to be the same thing...

I use a Ixus II 3.2mp as my everyday camera, it is a nice size and take good photos. It will just about print up to A4 & I get good 6x4 prints at my local mini lab. I will post some shots.

[brap]

Don't go for the IXUS 1 - there's no optical zoom (IIRC) - they also look fairly crappy in real life. I decided upon the S400 (IXUS 400 here in UK, sir) because it's tiny, it's sexy and it's really fairly cool. I'm still working out how to use the manual adjustment, but it takes really good photos out of the box on auto. Go for the S500 (IXUS 500), you won't go wrong. Only problem I have is you can only set the shutter speed in ISO settings, and such. Still for a point n' shoot it's well tasty.

BTW, got mine from Ebuyer - I got the US model because it was a lot cheaper. Check them out, I think they had the DiMage too... also cheap flash memory.

[edesignuk]

Thanks for the help guys. I've just placed my order for a "Canon IXUS i" (also known as the PowerShot SD10 :confused: ) and an additional 256MB high-speed SD card :cool:. Can't wait for it to arrive!

http://upload.edesignuk.net/uploaded_data/smilies/cheering.gif

edit: dammit brap, I didn't wanna read that!!! :eek: lol. it has a 1x optical & 5.7 digital (digital is ***** i know, but anyway...). As I say, I wanted a tiny point 'n shoot, and I think I got that with this one.

edit 2: That IXUS 400 is £276 at best, I just got the IXUS i for £169, that's a huge difference!

[Elan0204]

Just out of curiosity edesignuk, what was the price in £ for the Canon IXUS i you went with? Did you look up a UK price for the Minolta I recommended above, and if so, can you post it too?

[edesignuk]

Just out of curiosity edesignuk, what was the price in £ for the Canon IXUS i you went with?;)edit 2: That IXUS 400 is £276 at best, I just got the IXUS i for £169, that's a huge difference!Did you look up a UK price for the Minolta I recommended above, and if so, can you post it too?Just looked it up now for you, £169, same as the Canon I just ordered.

[Elan0204]

;)

Grrr...I hate when people post/make edits at the same time I'm posting. :)

At least I had a question that you hadn't already answered in your edit.

[brap]

edit: dammit brap, I didn't wanna read that!!! :eek: lol. it has a 1x optical & 5.7 digital (digital is ***** i know, but anyway...). As I say, I wanted a tiny point 'n shoot, and I think I got that with this one.
This is true, although I went with the thought that I'd be as careful with a £170 camera as with a £300 (it was a long time ago!) camera... plus 'twas for my 21st party[ies].
edit 2: That IXUS 400 is £276 at best, I just got the IXUS i for £169, that's a huge difference!
Yeah, I paid waaay too much. That's just over a month's Canterbury rent... *sobbing*. Best of luck!

[edesignuk]

I went with the black one by the way. You can get it in Silver, Bronze, White or Black.

Silver - Most small cameras are silver, boring!
Bronze - Yuck!
White - How grubby would that look after a week or two? :rolleyes:
Black (& still with silver) - Ah, that'll do nicely thank you! :cool: :D

http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/canonixusi.jpg

[Joeytpg]

i have the minolta dimage x20 GREAT GREAT camara!...the quality is amazing.......you can even use it as webcam.......it rocks!

[djkny]

having it as a fashion accessory is one thing, but the camera's got NO OPTICAL ZOOM.

I guess if you want to move up everytime near the subject just to take a snap, be my guest.

i think the SD10 is one of the least economical cams out there --- at the very least, consider Canon's SD110 or S410.

[edesignuk]

having it as a fashion accessory is one thing, but the camera's got NO OPTICAL ZOOM.I KNOW IT HAS NO OPTICAL ZOOM! We've already been over that :rolleyes:

[BakedBeans]

you got a good camera there mate.... love canons... im getting a 20d when i can get my grubby ( clean;) ) mitts on one... slight price diff though... unfortunately :(

[Diatribe]

I went with the black one by the way. You can get it in Silver, Bronze, White or Black.

Silver - Most small cameras are silver, boring!
Bronze - Yuck!
White - How grubby would that look after a week or two? :rolleyes:
Black (& still with silver) - Ah, that'll do nicely thank you! :cool: :D


You do not by chance have a bigger pic of that cam? :D
Some people are on dial-up here :D

I have the Ixus 400 and am really happy with it(Canon's just make awesome pictures). The only thing I could constantly smack Canon for is the lack of a battery meter. Someone should go over there and smack the **** out their dev team or whoever made that decision to still not implement this.

[edesignuk]

You do not by chance have a bigger pic of that cam? :D
Some people are on dial-up here :Dlol, sorry :D Google image search works wonders you know ;)

It's so bloody small!

http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/images/ixusi_inhand.jpg

[aswitcher]

Pretty nice for a go everywhere snapper camera.

I wish they would hurry up and put 3-4 megapixel cameras like this into mobile phones...

[Champale]

Yeah but it has no optical zoom.

Hehe.

Actually, you made a great choice. I have sold three friends on the Canon s400 and my dad just bought the s500. Not only have my pics been great but I find Canon to be extremely compatible with Macs. They just updated some of their ImageBrowser software to a newer version for OS X.

Enjoy the camera, sans optical zoom and all!

:)

[edesignuk]

w00t! It arrived today! haven't actually been able to use it yet (battery needs a charge) but i can't believe that a camera this small can produce 4MP :eek: :D It looks so cool!

Here it is next to my mouse, not bad eh? :D
http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/mouse_ixus.jpg

[Inkmonkey]

Holy cow that is small!!! I'd be afraid I'd inhale it. ;)

So how does this compare to the s400/410? Just the available zoom on the 400/410? Been thinking of getting a 410. I have a Kodak DX6490 right now. It's a great camera but it's a little too large to carry everywhere. My buddy had the Canon 400 on a recent trip to Vegas and I thought his pics turned out much better than mine. Especially at night.

[Chip NoVaMac]

having it as a fashion accessory is one thing, but the camera's got NO OPTICAL ZOOM.

I guess if you want to move up everytime near the subject just to take a snap, be my guest.

i think the SD10 is one of the least economical cams out there --- at the very least, consider Canon's SD110 or S410.

As a photographer that has been around for awhile, I am amazed at how much we have fallen for zooms. Many years ago zooms were the toys for the rich.

Having a single focal length is not as convenient as zoom, for sure. But not having a zoom also allows the photographer to look at things in different ways.

[evil_santa]

As a photographer that has been around for awhile, I am amazed at how much we have fallen for zooms. Many years ago zooms were the toys for the rich.

Having a single focal length is not as convenient as zoom, for sure. But not having a zoom also allows the photographer to look at things in different ways.

I used a Nikon AF 600 for years before I got my Ixus 2. No problem not having a zoom. All my 35mm kit is fixed focal length as well. :D
http://www.exanova.com/sale/nikon_af600d.jpg
I was always impressed with the quality of the shots from the Nikon.

[evil_santa]

The only thing I could constantly smack Canon for is the lack of a battery meter. Someone should go over there and smack the **** out their dev team or whoever made that decision to still not implement this.

The lack of battery meter is a pain, I ended up getting a second battery & rotate them.

[Chip NoVaMac]

I used a Nikon AF 600 for years before I got my Ixus 2. No problem not having a zoom. All my 35mm kit is fixed focal length as well. :D
http://www.exanova.com/sale/nikon_af600d.jpg
I was always impressed with the quality of the shots from the Nikon.

I'll admit am a bit biased here. I shoot with Leica M series rangefinder cameras. For the most part the lenses are single focal lengths (there is a quasi-zoom with the Tri Elmar that has 28-35-50 single focal lengths in one lens).

For me I would love a super compact digital that had a 28mm equiv. lens, and very fast shutter response.

[EJBasile]

I have the sony dsc-p73 4mp digital camera and love it

[noel4r]

I just ordered the Konica-Minolta Dimage X50. It's not as small but it has more features, I got it for $350.00. The Dimage series always gets good reviews, hopefully this one doesn't disappoint.

[edesignuk]

Finally got a couple of test shots in the light of day this morning...and I'm very happy with them. These were taken at the highest quality this camera is capable of (click thumbs for full size), with everything fully auto. Point and shoot, I love this thing! :D

http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/IXUS_i_Test_1_thumb.jpg (http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/IXUS_i_Test_1.JPG)http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/IXUS_i_Test_2_thumb.jpg (http://upload.yo-momma.net/uploads/forums/IXUS_i_Test_2.JPG)