Point and shoot camera help

[shah269 0]

Guys and Gals,
I'm in the market for a new digital camera to take with me on my upcoming trip to China (not fun) and Vietnam (too much fun)
I'm looking to spend no more than $250-$300
These are the two cameras I am thinking of.
Samsung CL80 Digital Camera (Black)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673088-REG/Samsung_EC_CL80ZZBPBUS_CL80_Digital_Camera_Black_.html

Canon Powershot Sx210 Is Point & Shoot Digital Camera - 14.1 Megapixel
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/683001-REG/Canon_4246B001_PowerShot_SX210_IS_Digital.html

Thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[DSE 5]

IMO, I'd take the Canon.
The DIGIC processor is recognized by most at the semi-pro and pro level as being the cleanest image (low light noise suppression) and Canon just 'does' this stuff well.
Samsung is a great brand, but optics aren't their strong suit.

[shah269 0]

Also in the running.
Panasonic DMC-FX580K Lumix 12.1 Megapixel Compact Digital Camera,
http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=512246&site=GOGL

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[skycamefalling 0]

I say go with the Canon Powershot. I have one that is about a year old or so and love how well it works. The quality of the pics turn out very well.

Speedracer~I predict that Michael Jackson will rise from the dead.
And that a giant radioactive duck will emerge from the ocean and eat Baltimore.

[PhreeZone 20]

Powershot is OK but expand and look at the G10/G11 if you can. Lots of photojournalists are using them for a second camera now and the image is great.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[ltdiver 3]

I have a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS. Love it and actually cart it around alot more that my DSLR now.

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[skyrider 0]

Hard to go wrong with any of the "big name" P/S cameras..but Canon is always the safe bet!

[ltdiver 3]

This is always a good web site to consult as well:
http://dpreview.com/

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

[murrays 0]

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Powershot is OK but expand and look at the G10/G11 if you can. Lots of photojournalists are using them for a second camera now and the image is great.

If you do that, get the Canon S95. I have the S90 which has the same lens and it is a great little camera...especially in low light due to the fast lens (f 2.0) and the sensor that they optimized for low noise.

read about it at kenrockwell.com.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[skydiverbob 0]

I've got a nice Leica that took some pretty good shots up in the sticks in I Corp back in '70.

Who Dares Wins

[skyrider 0]

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I've got a nice Leica that took some pretty good shots up in the sticks in I Corp back in '70.

You just went wayyyy over the head of 60 percent of yoru audience!

[skyrider 0]

BTW, I still have 2 Leica's!

[Andy0689 0]

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BTW, I still have 2 Leica's!

Did someone say Leicas? Still have them? I've always wanted a Leica. Their new updated digitals are crazy expensive.

To contribue here for Shah. Consider a dSLR. In my opinion, generally speaking, 90% of point and shoot cameras suck. I've been through a handful of compacts in the past few years and can't find anything that I'm happy with for longer than a year. I've shot Canon, Sony, Olympus and Kodak. Even being a die-hard Nikon fan, I'm not very fond of their Coolpix line and I have been through 3 of those. Anything shot at ISO 800 or higher is too noisy (grainy) to print and looks like shit on a computer display.

Take a look at some of the new compacts that have bigger sensors (APS-C or four thirds) which will likely produce much better images. Even Leica is making a compact with an APS-C. With it, you get legendary Leica glass at legendary Leica prices. Sony, Panasonic and Samsung also make them. They'll cost you a little more but it's probably worth it. Give it time and eventually all cameras will have sensors that are 35mm equivalent.

Someone mentioned dpreview.com as a source for reviews. Excellent site with in-depth reviews. PM me if you want some specifics or have more specific questions and I'll be glad to help.

Andy
I'll believe it when I see it on YouTube!

[JohnMitchell 16]

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Even being a die-hard Nikon fan, I'm not very fond of their Coolpix line and I have been through 3 of those.

That's exactly what I have and it does fine for me. I, however, take snapshots on vacation. I'm not a picky photographer. I like it 'cause it fits in a pocket easily and takes regular batteries and SD cards.

[Andy0689 0]

Very nice, John. They do perform well in good lighting and this one is exposed nicely. Can't comment on how soft it looks because it had to have been resized for posting here. In fact, I'll bet there wouldn't be much difference between that shot and one from a dSLR in the same light. Dim the lights to evening or night and then you'll see a big difference. Even the built in flashes don't help much.

I'm cursed with being one of the picky ones. It's an expensive pain in the ass a lot of the time. If I'm going anywhere in the daytime and know I'll be taking pictures, I'll grab my coolpix but if I know the lighting is gonna suck, I grab the dSLR and speedlight.

The attached photo here was taken on a cloudy day at my kid's school with my dSLR. The original looks much much better. I had to crush it way down to meet the 150kb limit for posting. Nice, grey Washington in early September. You know the kind. Anyway, I shot it at ISO 2000 with a speedlight to get a 1/250 shutter speed. Probably could have shot it at a lower ISO but I wanted to keep the background nice and bright because, believe it or not, it adds context for the school. At that ISO, a compact would have had so much noise or grain that the picture would have been crap. Mine shows no noise even after compression for posting. At a lower ISO that a compact could handle, the flash would have lit the subject nicely but the background would have been much darker and unbalanced lighting-wise. With a dSLR, I was able to get a really decent picture of my son's first day of school with evenly balanced light in the front and back that's a little more than just a snapshot. Might seem a bit complicated for the discussion going on here about compacts but I just wanted to explain the ISO issue a little.

Andy
I'll believe it when I see it on YouTube!

[wildcard451 0]

What were you shooting with? Your D3?

[thrillstalker 0]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Digital-Cameras/ci/991/N/4291645412

this is a very good place to buy camera equipment. all the professionals use it or at least have used it. if you cant find what you need, you dont need it

"Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

[Andy0689 0]

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What were you shooting with? Your D3?

That's beside the point. I didn't want to mention my camera body because most dSLR can handle higher ISO especially the ones with CMOS sensors. The D3 just happens to be able to deal with noise issues quite well. For that same reason, I'd actually avoid some of the Nikon dSLRs like the older D40 and D60. Their newer bodies are using CMOS sensors.

Andy
I'll believe it when I see it on YouTube!

[wildcard451 0]

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What were you shooting with? Your D3?

That's beside the point. Most dSLR can handle higher ISO especially the ones with CMOS sensors.

True, but the higher end ones will have a significant difference in the noise at higher ISOs. Although most modern pro-sumer ones do handle it well.

However, for traveling to other countries, if space is an issue, then a P/S is probably a better bet, and if you're wanting more control, the Canon G10/11 is an excellent option, while not being unweildy. And I am a Nikon person at heart.

[shropshire 0]

Once Mr DSE has give his advice - I'd take it and look no further.. He knows his stuff - Big Time.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[shah269 0]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS6 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens
Just saw it at Costco for $219 with case and 2 gigs of memory! NICE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAqZeYjqy0A

Samsung CL80
At Best buy $280...naked. No extra memory no case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3d_9bpU2c8
Yeah I'm trendy but $50+ trendy?

I'm sorry I just can't find the Canon and I really want to "play" and see how it fits in my hands before I blow the cash.
I have to say both of these fit perfectly in an adult dudes hand.
BUT.....and this is a huge BUT...the CL80 is really tricked out!
Think if your I pod and your camera had a child, this would be IT.

But when it's said and sone you guys are right, no matter the brains if the camera has a bad lens no matter the brain crap in is crap out.

How did we dudes ever shop before there was the net?

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[Nightingale 0]

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Also in the running.
Panasonic DMC-FX580K Lumix 12.1 Megapixel Compact Digital Camera,
http://www.datavis.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prrfnbr=512246&site=GOGL

THAT ONE.

I have a Lumix. It rocks. Love the Leica lens. (actually, I have two Lumixes... Lumii? whatever.) A point and shoot pocket camera, and a great one with a zoom lens.)

I'd really suggest you take a good look at a few others in the Lumix line, though.

DMC-ZS7
DMC-TZ6
DMC-TZ7
DMC-TZ8

I've noticed that when I travel, what I tend to appreciate most is a great zoom lens, and the ones listed above have an amazing 12x OPTICAL zoom lens and gyrostabilization. Often, you have to stand so far back from fascinating things that you can't get great shots without good zoom.