Compact Camera Point & Shoot upgrade:::

[ladysith]

Hi guys, can anyone suggest a good compact camera to use for everyday photography? Preferably something good for taking photos of sights, landscapes etc.

I've been using a canon ixus60 for years now and am looking for an upgrade. Prior to that, I owned a Sony DSCP something (forgot now).

I've briefly used a Nikon D60 for 4 months before returning it to the seller. I'm just waiting for the D90 or the Canon EOS50D to go down in price before I buy them.

Sooooooooo.... I'm just after an upgrade to my beloved Canon p&s camera. As far as I'm aware, you can't take landscape pics on the canon p&s? Or do I need those wide lens cameras?

Any advice would be good. Thanks

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Ladysith

There are many possible answers to your fairly broad Q
I'm guessing that your Canon P&S is a "3x zoom, slip-in-the-pocket, auto & maybe semi-auto" camera that has done you sterling service for a number of years

I am unsure from your broad Q whether you want another P&S (I presume you do) prior to at-some-stage going to a dSLR. Canon (+ others) make some pretty nifty P&S compacts ... the G11 is a good one, 5x zoom lens (equiv 28-140mm). I would be reluctant to recommend the SX1,10,20 series as their electronlc viewfinders are some of the poorest I have ever viewed

If you are content to look beyond Canon, Panasonic have an excellent compact P&S in the FZ35, 18x zoom (equiv 24mm-430mm), features are dSLR-like - price in the $550-600 range (less from o'seas)

Whatever you choose, make sure the ergonomics suit you - hands, fingers on buttons, eyepiece & viewfinder are usable for your eyesight, shortcut buttons / menus make sense, etc etc

Hope this helps a bit
Regards, Phil

[Mr Lensbaby]

You should be able to find a second hand/new Panaosonic LX3 for $600

[couchie]

Have you checked out the new fujifilm finepix Hs10, it is a 30 x zoom.
It is from $500 to $600 mark. Just do a google on it, there are some great pics
taken with this.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day all

Yes - there are some P&S compacts on the market that do have some "pretty powerful zooms" and I [as a UZ user & adherent] certainly have taken a lot of interest in them

However, lens testing I have done (& viewed others' tests) give me some concerns when zoomed at over 20x ... so I would personally keep my UZ lenses to less than 20x

Otherwise Coochie, your suggestion is quite okay

Regards, Phil

[ladysith]

Thanks for the responses, guys. Yeah I'm buying a DSLR next year but I just want to upgrade my Canon Ixus60. I've had fun times with it, took so many great memories but I think it's time for me to get a new one.

[soulman]

I really like the G11 and S90 Canons. Neither are cheap but they both do RAW and have full manual control if you want it. Very similar cameras, except the S90 has no viewfinder and is basically the size of an IXUS. Have played extensively with both and I think I prefer the G11. I don't have huge hands but I find the S90 a bit fiddly and I miss having a viewfinder.

[wattsgallery]

There are too many p&s cameras to claim to know which is best (and I am a bit of a dslr snob) but I second the S90 Canon option. It is a quality camera, is small and will complement a DSLR later rather than being redundant. Good luck.
Cheers
Josh

[ladysith]

Oohh interesting... s90... I saw this site claiming it to be the world's best camera

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s90.htm

**edit... Yikes! Just saw the price tag... $500-600AUD!!!!!!!

Saw the sample shots for it though, it looked good for a P&S. Are there other cameras out there takes photos with something close to this quality with a cheaper price? Coz then it makes me just want to save more and buy a DSLR.

[wattsgallery]

Hmmm...someone might know of an exception but you generally get what you pay for. The same will apply when you move to a DSLR (and more importantly lens). You dont have to spend a fortune but if you go too low you will quickly want to upgrade and then end up spending more - just my view.

[nhutty]

we got the canon S90 and its great so far.

bought it from HN which have it on sale now for $447, great price for a great camera

[ladysith]

Oh wow! $447, that's cheap. Yeah I went to the mall yesterday and just had a feel for the camera, see if it's something I can get used to. I love the timed multishot features! ^_^

Just wondering if it'll allow for a sweeping panoramic shots... anyone?

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Ladysith

Most of 'em these days will allow the pano-joining of 2-3 images, no worries

May I also suggest that, if you're planning on spending $450-ish on an "intermediate" camera, have a look at the panasonic FZ35 - it may surprise you in its capabilities

Regards, Phil

[Phil Rayner]

Ladysith, greetings.
Stick with the Canon IXUS. Great camera range and importantly, the menu system etc will be the same as your old one, so no new learning curve.

[n1une]

I have the lx3 myself and love it. It should also be coming down in price as the lx5 is coming out. A down side to this camera for me overseas was the zoom, only 2.8x. My friend on the otherhand had the Panasonic TZ10 and that's got 12x zoom and produces great pics.

The alternative i would have gone for instead of the lx3 would be the Canon S90, it's more pocketable as there isnt a lens poking out. What won me over with the lx3 is that you can get many attachments for it and it looks the goods

[old dog]

I`d buy a second hand DSLR if I were you. There are so many on the market.

[ladysith]

I was at Camera House today and one of the sales rep advised me of an upcoming sale on the Olympus Pen EP-1. He was practically gushing about it so I decided to google it but couldn't really find much reviews from other photographers. Perhaps someone here will be able to shed some light??? As far as I can see, it's the smallest DSLR around?

He also showed me a 2-month old LX3 and was selling it for around $475-500. I don't know if I want a 2nd hand camera - what if there's something wrong with it?

I'm now tossing up between the S90 and the LX3.

Thanks in advance for your response ^_^

[peterb666]

Canon G11 and S90 are good choices as is the Panasonic LX3 and soon to the market LX5 (may be worth the wait).

As for the Olympus E-P1, I have one and it is a great travel camera as it gives you most of the versatility of a dSLR in a package around the same size as a Canon G11 (provided the Olympus is fitted with a pancake lens). I took one with the kit zoom (14-42), 20mm f/1.7 and 45-200mm zoom around NZ earlier this year. I packed all of that in a backpack with a gorillapod, Cokin filters, flash, chargers and batteries, cleaning gear and other stuff and it still only weighed in at 3.5kg.

[kyteflyer]

Being as how you are in Melbourne, do yourself a favour and go to Digital Camera Warehouse. Their prices are much cheaper than Camera House, usually, and they do have Aussie stock, not grey imports. Shopfront in Melb, Bris and Syd. I've bought from them online, excellent service. Another option is to buy from Adorama or B&H PhotoVideo in the US, both of which have good reputation amongst the people here, from what I can gather. I recently bought a 35mm Macro lens for my Pentax from B&H and couldnt be happier. They were fast, too, and I got it for ~$300 cheaper than buying in Oz. Dollar exchange is not so good as it was then, but there are probably still savings to be made as long as you keep your total buy under $1000 (then you wont have to pay import duty)

[natalie]

I haven't shopped there personally (yet) but Michaels in melbourne (Eliz st) has been highly recommended to me by a pro. Good rep apparently, they have a site too... http://www.michaels.com.au/
happy shopping