Best Budget Point and Shoot?

A

awdark

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 22, 2003
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I was wondering if you guys have any recommendations on a good budget point and shoot with a pocket-able form factor. Budget being below $200...

As a dslr user, I can wish for raw or hot shoe/pc sync but that isn't being realistic at a budget of $200 or less. The G9/10 still cost too much.

Two features I do want is image stabilizer and a manual mode.

Of course the factors of image quality and noise will have strong priority and finding a camera that will balance all those features is overwhelming me right now.

The closest so far was a Fujifilm F70exr where it has a lot of the features I want, low shutter lag, and very ISO performance but those positive traits were overshadowed by its poor lens plagued with fringing and chromatic abrasions.
 
If you can stretch your budget by $100, you can pick up a used G9 for under $300. Otherwise I'm a big fan of the Canon Powershot Elph series. Don't be fooled by the model numbers though; the 1000/1100/1200 aren't as nice as the 700/800/900 series. My SD870IS has served me quite well - Just make sure you manually set the ISO to avoid noise above ISO 800.
 
like ive learned from many photographers its not the camera its the person who takes the photo that makes a beautiful photo.
 
Filter said:
like ive learned from many photographers its not the camera its the person who takes the photo that makes a beautiful photo.
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yah that's very Zen of you but he still needs a camera and a good one won't hurt, otherwise we'd all still run around with big clunky lightboxes.
 
I'm a firm believer in using the right tools for the job. While I'm sure I could put together a pinhole camera using popsicle sticks and construction paper, I'd much rather walk around with some quality glass and absolute control over the camera's settings.
 
Filter said:
like ive learned from many photographers its not the camera its the person who takes the photo that makes a beautiful photo.
Click to expand...
to some extant that is true (camera won't frame the shot for you), but at some point you'll need the right tools for the job. nothing wrong with making your life easier.

to the OP: anything by Canon, and ScYcS' suggestion for the SD780IS is a good one.
 
So most of you would not go for the route of panasonic, nikon, etc in terms of point and shoots?
Interesting

As far as canon goes, the SX110/120 seems like another possible one where it has the manual mode already and the 110 does have chdk as an option. I will try to dl the manual for the SD780 and take a look at what modes it offers as well.

Yeah, I know its not all about the gear and if carrying around my Canon XT everywhere was convenient that's obviously the best choice. But a dslr is bulky and imo draws too much attention and sometimes you just want to travel light. Right now I either bring dslr, sony point and shoot from 2004 with no IS, or cell phone which leaves much to be desired so I want it to be nicer than the sony (maxes out at ISO800 with a lot of grain starting at 400)
 
^I use Nikon DSLR gear exclusively and swear by it, but when it comes to P&S grade cameras I always recommend Canon products. Panasonic would be my second suggestion but I wouldn't be able to say which model. To be honest P&S cameras change way too often to keep track of them all.
 
northrop said:
^I use Nikon DSLR gear exclusively and swear by it, but when it comes to P&S grade cameras I always recommend Canon products. Panasonic would be my second suggestion but I wouldn't be able to say which model. To be honest P&S cameras change way too often to keep track of them all.
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+1

Point and shoots are all getting better all the time, and most of them are going to have the same strengths and weaknesses. I'd say just get something relatively new, and make sure you get something with a Manual mode - that way you can start learning what the different settings do and maybe what features you'll want to look for in your next camera.

Filter said:
like ive learned from many photographers its not the camera its the person who takes the photo that makes a beautiful photo.
Click to expand...

It is true that the photographer takes the photo, not the camera; this is mostly refering to post-processing technique, be it in a Dark-Room or in PhotoShop. Whatever quality images your camera turns out, you can always make it look a lot better after the fact if you really know what you're doing. Having the right gear before that point just means it will take less effort to fix your images later on. It's also critical to have a firm handle on composition theory, focusing technique, and exposure - takes a lot of practice and usually a good bit of visual training to master any of these.

The main thing is to just get some kind of camera and start shooting! You can learn the rest as you go.
 
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^Yeah basically that's the hard part, can't find too many Canon point and shoot cameras with manual mode. I venture to say, not a single SD series canon has manual mode within the last 3 generations. Want manual + IS and ill try to deal with the rest.
 
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