mersea said:
My major concern is picture quality, I don't want any noise, and I want crisp colours. So basically what I'm asking is what resolution (?) would do me best and any reccomendations? (Oh, and of course I don't want to spend too much money...)
This is something that is somewhat difficult to grasp about digital cameras (was for me), but, especially at 5 MP or more, the resolution is NOT the determining factor in picture quality. When my Powershot S50 (good, btw, for an all-in-one, but I am definitely getting a DSLR this summer, because I am too used to using primes and manual-everything) gets the focus and f/ratio right, and produces a sharp image, I can crop out a fairly small portion of it and still get a very detailed picture. Getting a sharp image, though, is the problem.
The hardware aspects of a camera that impact getting a good image are probably more like:
- Big lens / good optics -- the mid-grade cameras that have the physically large-diameter lenses will probably take better pictures in a lot of circumstances by virtue of collecting more light, again being able to get a good picture in a shorter exposure, etc.
- light sensitivity -- a camera that performs well at short shutter times / low ISO will take sharper pictures (esp. of people) by virtue of the fact that there will be less motion blur
- good autofocusing mechanism
I think you will find that most all-in-ones take really good pictures in bright lighting, telephoto, scenery kind of applications, but are a lot less good at indoors, people (esp if they're not posed), etc. So a lot of the question will depend on what you want to take pictures of. I've found myself recently mostly taking pictures of children I play with at camp, indoors, cinema verité, and point-and-shoot pocket cameras are really not the best for that.
OTOH, if its outdoors, bright light, scenery and people posing, the 5MP and above point-and-shoots, like anything in the Sxx range starting with the S50 (or even the S40 and 45 -- but you can easily get the S50 or up for a low price now, I think) will service you very well.
Anyway, if you are really concerned about picture quality in the sense of sharpness, I think you will be happier with a cheaper one of the non-pocket cameras (the ones that have big lens barrels, and don't fold together into a tiny shape like the Powershot Sxx or the Optios) that has a lower number of megapixels (4 or 5) than a Powershot S70 that has more resolution but optics that are not well-suited to as many challenges. Definitely, a Digital Rebel (6.3 MP) will take better pictures than an S70 (>7 MP) in almost any circumstance.
Anyway, I'm not an expert, but I think most of that is correct.
Hopefully MoxieMike or iGary or one of the other real pros will pop in here!
