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Please help choose a digital camera!

The Pentax Optio S5i is $350 Canadian so with taxes and memory card it's going to be more than I can afford.

runninmac: Try dpreview.com and dcresource.com recommended by
jared_kipe. These really helped me narrow down my list.

Any other feedback to narrow the list down even more?
 
I have also gotten a lot of feedback recently regarding the exceptional quality of the Fuji Finepix A345.

In comparison with the Canon SD200 and A510 would it rank higher, lower or the same? Also between the Canon's which one is better?

Finally, I was wondering if anyone had any feedback for the Pentax Optio S50, Samsung Digimax A400, Olympus D-545 or the Panasonic DSC-LS1 Lumix 4.0MP Digital Camera? Which one of these is better in low-light conditions?

Thanks again for the feedback and help.
 
Has anyone here heard of the Panasonic DSC-LS1 Lumix digital camera? Any reviews on it?

I am thinking these 3 are the best from the list that I had posted. Anyone have any reviews on the pentax optio 50? Thanks for all the feedback.

Canon PowerShot A510 A510 3.3MP Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot SD200 3.2MP Digital Camera
Pentax Optio 50 5.0MP Digital Camera
 
Just wanted to add my two cents to this topic. I have always been fond of the Sony cameras - they do a great job in low level light....but my purpose was not to add to your confusion/choice.

Hopefully this will help: http://www.steves-digicams.com

They have camera reviews with sample pictures, etc for darn near every model. I've used them when purchasing my last two digital cameras and couldn't be happier.

Peace,
- Eric
 
I have basically decided on buying one of the three. I am leaning towards the Canon SD200 but am unsure which is better, the A510 or SD200. Any opinions?

Canon PowerShot A510 A510 3.3MP Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot SD200 3.2MP Digital Camera
Pentax Optio 50 5.0MP Digital Camera

Thanks for the input on the Sony cameras. :eek: More confusion. :) I used a review site which compared Canon to Sony and other brands and found that the Sony pictures were darker than the others. I have heard a lot of good feedback on the Canon and was told that if I don't want to buy another camera for a while to choose a Canon. I am hopeful that all this research pays off.

I want to thank the forums for the continued feedback. I have tried many other forums and this has been the most helpful. The forums have provided many opinions and have stayed within my budget for choosing cameras and have given me feedback about the cameras on my list. :)

Now I am almost at the end of a marathon and must choose between these cameras. Any further opinions?
 
MusicMonkey said:
I have basically decided on buying one of the three. I am leaning towards the Canon SD200 but am unsure which is better, the A510 or SD200. Any opinions?
Click to expand...

I've got a Canon A510 and I couldn't be happier with it so I'd say go with that one. Have you seen pictures taken with it? If you'd like me to email you some samples, let me know. I chose it because a friend had one and it's just got manual settings galore as well as auto settings.

Not to mention it takes amazing pictures!
 
MusicMonkey said:
I was reading some reviews on the SD200 and they have been having a lot of customer complaints of a defect in the LCD screen. Has anyone had this problem?

I have also heard that the SD200 will not be good for low-light pictures from some people and I am getting even more confused than I was in the beginning.

Canon Powershot A400 3.2MP Digital Camera
Olympus D-535 Zoom 3.2MP Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot A510 A510 3.3MP Digital Camera
Canon PowerShot SD200 3.2MP Digital Camera
Fuji Finepix A345 4.1MP Digital Camera
Samsung Digimax A400 4.0MP Digital Camera
Olympus D-545 4.0MP Digital Camera
Sony Cyber-shot DSCS40 4.1MP Digital Camera
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S60 4.1MP Digital Camera
Panasonic DSC-LS1 Lumix 4.0MP Digital Camera
Pentax Optio 50 5.0MP Digital Camera
Fuji FinePix E510 5.2MP Digital Camera

Can anyone narrow down the choices on this list to the best for low-light images and great picture quality in day time as well? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I have the Fuuji FinePix F601zoom and I am really not impressed with it. It is pretty bad in low light and awkward to hold and shoot with. The picture quality in good light, however, is very impressive. I don't know - i'd probably cross the fujis off the list.
 
Does anyone have any advice on the Pentax Optio 50?

I was a little worried about the Canon A510 because they said at higher ISO's the pictures become incredibly noisy and as far as I know, you need to use higher ISO's when taking night pictures. I am interested in taking night skyline shots and landscape shots with city lights as the only lighting, as well as the flash.

I have heard a lot of good feedback about both these Canon brands and am now trying to choose the camera I will purchase. Thanks for all the feedback.
 
MusicMonkey said:
I was a little worried about the Canon A510 because they said at higher ISO's the pictures become incredibly noisy and as far as I know, you need to use higher ISO's when taking night pictures. I am interested in taking night skyline shots and landscape shots with city lights as the only lighting, as well as the flash.
Click to expand...

I don't know if this will help but I just went outside and took a night shot on my Canon A510. It's a 200kb file. It's here.

This is of the tallest building in my city (Hobart, TAS, Australia) which stands an a massive 18 floors!! (yes, it's a small city). I took it on a beach with no light around. So much so that I couldn't adjust the settings because I couldn't see! It's the brightest building in the city.

SETTINGS (which were pretty extreme):
ISO - 400
Aperture - F4.0

I hope this in some way helps answer your query.
 
cooknwitha: Thanks for the sample picture. The picture seems really clear to
me.

I was just wondering if it would be better to buy the digital elph because it is a highly rated camera and one that I will not have to replace in a long time, or is it better to buy the A510. I am still a little confused between the two because I have been unable to compare them.

I do not know a lot of the terminologies therefore the camera comparisons don't really help me. I can post the comparisons for the remaining three cameras on here if someone can help me interpret what it means. Thanks in advance for the continued feedback.
 
I don't know anything about the cameras in question, but I will put a good word in for Nikon. They make brilliant cameras, and I love my 5200 (5mpix) which has 3x optical zoom which I think is all you need, impressive macro, and produces good quality photos.

I would just want to advise anyone that they don't buy a camera based on its digital zoom, as this decreases the quality of the photo.

Music Monkey, I would be happy to help explain any details you do not understand.

Hope this helps.
::20ROGERSC::
 
Canon A510

Aperture Range F/2.6 – 8.0 (W), F/5.5 – 8.0 (T)
Autofocus System 9-Point AiAF/1-Point AF
Burst Mode Approx. 2.3 Shots/Sec.
Digital Media Type Secure Digital, MultiMedia Card
Digital Sensor Size 3.3MP
Digital Zoom 3.2X
Effective Image Size of Digital Sensor 3.2MP
Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV On 1/3 Step Increment
Exposure Metering System Evaluative, Centre Weighted Or Spot
Flash Range 1.5' - 14'
Focus Range 2.0" - 1.5', 1.5' - Infinity
Interface USB
ISO Rating Auto/50/100/200/400
Optical Zoom 4.0X
Shutter Speed 15 - 1/2000 Seconds
Viewfinder Type Optical

Canon SD200
35mm Equivalent Zoom 35 (W) - 105 (T) mm (What are the W and T for?)
Aperture Range f/2.8 - 5.6(W), f/4.9 - 10.0(T)
Autofocus System 9 Point AiAF, 1 Point AF
Digital Media Type Secure Digital Card
Digital Sensor Size Approx 3.2MP
Digital Zoom 3.2X
Effective Image Size of Digital Sensor 640 x 480, 1024 x 768
Exposure Compensation +/- 2 EV On 1/3 Step Increment
Exposure Metering System Evaluative, Centre-Weight Average, Spot
Focus Range 1.0" - 1.5', 1.0' - Infinity
Interface USB
ISO Rating Auto/50/100/200/400
Optical Zoom 3X
Shutter Speed 15 - 1/1500 Seconds
Viewfinder Type Optical
Flash: Auto, Manual, On/Off, Slow Sync, Red Eye Reduction

The feature I like about the SD200 is that it has an AF assist lamp but I am not sure what the flash range is for this camera. Also, how much of a difference do the 3X and 4X optica zoom make?

Pentax Optio 50
35mm Equivalent Zoom 32 - 96mm
Aperture Range f2.8 - 4.8
Autofocus System TTL Contrast Detection
Digital Media Type SD
Digital Sensor Size 5.19MP
Digital Zoom 1X - 4X
Effective Image Size of Digital Sensor 5.0 MP
Exposure Compensation +/- 2EV In 1/3 Steps
Exposure Metering System TTL, Centre-Weighted, Spot
File Formats JPEG (Exif 2.2), DCF, DPOF, AVI
Flash Range 1.6' - 8.2', 5.44mm At Sensitivity Auto
Focus Range 0.1m - Infinity
Interface AV Output, USB, DC Input Terminal
ISO Rating Auto, 50/100/200 Standard
Optical Zoom 3X
Shutter Speed Approx. 1/1000 Seconds To 1/2 Seconds
Viewfinder Type Actual-Image Zoom


20rogersc: Thanks for the input on the Nikon, unfortunately no Nikon camera falls into my price range. Also, thanks for offering to make sense of all this.

In the end of these comparisons which camera is the best for low-light and outdoors. Thanks.
 
Just a quick follow up to the specifications listed above. There are more specifications on the following links for both the Canon SD200 and A510. Thanks for the continued help and feedback.

Canon SD200

Canon A510
 
Can anyone please explain the details in the posted comparisons? :confused:

I am trying to figure out in the end which camera is better suited for low-light images primarily concert and night pictures and also which camera would be good for outdoor pictures with enough light. Thanks for all the help and feedback.
 
Sorry this is a bit late!

35mm Equivalent Zoom: this is the zoom of the digital camera if compared to a 35mm camera
Aperture Range: this is the size of the opening in the lens, which controls the amount of light that falls on to the 'sensor'. The smaller the number, the larger the opening, so for night time conditions, a smaller number is appropriate.
Digital Media Type: the type of memory card that it uses, as there are a few different types, so if purchasing a new one, make sure you buy the right type.
Digital Sensor Size: this is how many megapixels the sensor has, the larger this is, the larger the picture, and the better the quality.
Digital Zoom: this is how many times the camera can zoom in digitally, however, unlike optical zoom, this decreases the quality, and I would reccomend not to use this feature.
Exposure Compensation: this allows you to change the amount of light coming into the sensor, and increasing by one lets in double the amount of light.
Exposure Metering System: this is how the camera automatically adjusts the amount of light coming into the sensor by a particular place, center-weighted being the object in the middle, or spot being a certain place selected by the user.
File Formats: this is what the camera saves the images/movies as.
Focus Range: how close an object can be to focus in on it
Interface: how you get the images off of the camera, onto the computer by USB, or can view pictures on a TV through AV.
ISO Rating: this is the sensitivity to light, the lower the number the better the quality, and auto means that this is adjusted for you.
Optical Zoom: how far you can zoom with the lens, not including digital zoom.
Shutter Speed Approx: this is how long the sensor is exposed to light, the shorter the time, the less 'blur'.

This is my understanding of these meanings, but I am not 100% sure whether they are correct. Please could others edit these if they feel I have explained this wrong, thanks. I hope this has helped.

For concerts I would reccomend the Canon A510 due to its 4x optical zoom, as you would want close pictures.

::20ROGERSC::
 
Thanks for all the information! :) I am down to two choices:
Canon SD200 and Canon A510

One of the main reasons I am still considering the Canon SD200 is because it has the ability to record movies until the memory card fills up.
The Canon A510 is appealing due to its 4x zoom.

Anyone else used either one of the cameras and has any advice?
 
I have found that the sony digital cameras are the best I am currently on my 5th one I have the DSC-P200 which is a 7.2 megapixel. Not a bad price and what you can do with it is awesome! They also sell this thing that goes over the body which allows you to have other lense choices which was something i was really wanting i have a wide lense, a good zoom lense 10x i think tinted lenses, and some effect ones that really have taken my digital photography top the next level I was starting to stray from sony until these accessories came out check it out

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INT...dcc_DIDigitalCameras_Cyber-shotDigitalCameras
 
Hi,

I'm glad that I have helped you.

With your decision now you will have to decide what you want, whether it is photos, or photos and movies. Both have their advantages, but think about which you'll use more. I do enjoy having the abilty to shoot film on my camera, however, it takes up a lot of room on a memory card if you want it in a large size. If you are thinkin about the one with movie ability, I would reccomend that you buy a larger memory card straight away, as film does take up a lot of room.

::20ROGERSC::
 
Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I am almost 100% sure that I will be buying the SD200 because of the additional unlimited video capability. Thanks again!
 
Wait!!!!

Contrary to what I've read about the Canon A510 and recording movies (30 second limt??) mine does not do that! For example, I hit record before replying to this thread and right now it's at 45 seconds. Let's give it a bit longer.......

60 seconds........

90 seconds .......

120 seconds .......

150 seconds ...

Damn it!! My batteries just died. I knew they were on their last legs! Anyway, I hope this shows that the limit the A510 is supposed to have is not true! Does anyone else have an A510 and can say their's does the same?

I just thought I'd point that out!
 
The top quality video capability of the Canon A510 takes videos up to 30 seconds while medium quality takes up to 3 minutes.

I hope I'm making the right choice with the SD200. I think I am because it seems that it does well in low-light conditions and is a good, reliable camera.
 
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