[Closed] Which Compact Camera?

Might also be worth considering slightly more robust options

such as

Sony TX5
Olympus "tough" (various model numbers)
Pentax Optio W90
Panasonic FT3

these are all shockproof/waterproof to varying degrees

if thats not a requirement (more durability) also look at the Fuji X10 and Olympus XZ1

Not sure of all of your cameras you have on your shortlist but I am really enjoying my Canon SX230 HS.

I recall a big test some months back in a magazine I didn't buy, but read enough to make my mind up that the canon suited me best out of the lot. I also think it won the test but if it didn't it was a close second.

mad zoom on it and GPS thingy is handy for uploading to tinterweb photo sites.

Having sold my Nikon D70 and D300 cos I can't be arsed lugging SLR's around any more, its fair to say I was used to a fair bit of speed and quality from my cameras. The Canon has not disappointed.

I'd actually say it takes better photos than the D300 simply because it gets taken out to take photos where as the D300 didn't.

Thanks Luke, heard good things about the Cannon and interested to see that you rate it up with a decent SLR. I have read a few online reviews and to be honest seems that it is difficult to find a bad camera now. The Sony appears to come on top in the majority but I guess it is down to user preference. Always useful to get real peoples opinions.
Conqueror: Not usre I need to go that tough as itt will live in a padded puch and not planning anything too extreme, besides the cold will destroy battery life so it wont be out for long. I will have a look at the Fuji and Olympus.

Thanks again and any more advice?

Canon S95 / S100?

TZ20 based on my looking about, but the TZ 18 might be good enough.

For me it's Canon S95 (or similar) every time. Such a great little camera. I find it tends to overexpose things on auto though if it's a bright day, you may need to use manual to get the best out of it.

Another recommendation for the S95, especially if you want to get creative, especially if you have some experience of photography or want to learn.

One of the smallest cameras with 'real' camera features. If you want more than a point and click for snapshots, the functions allow you to take full control of the shot and get what you want rather than what the camera wants - but you can stick it in a 'scene' or auto mode if you want too.

For example, I took this at night in near pitch black using a 15 second exposure:

[img] [/img]

Thanks for all the replies. I will have a closer look at the S95 as the S100 is just a little out of budget. Strange how all the tests have not mentioned this camera but it could possibly be down to the other alternatives having more features.

Gravity that is an excellent image and I am hoping to have some user input into the camera. If I could justify it I would look at teh SLR route but not just yet.

Thanks for all the help so far and my friend has a TZ20 and raves about it but not sure about the new touch scren feature.. Mentioned the Sony as it is the favourite on a few reviews. Any further help would be appreciated as the choice is staggering

Sony TX-5 is my tough camera of choice that i can stick in my backpack, bibshorts or whatever. small shock and waterproof with a decent enough picture

Have you looked at the Nikon p300? I am currently looking at the Nikon P7100 & P300. The p300 is a slightly lower spec version of the Canon S95. It can be had for about £200. It has a smaller sensor than the S95, but is meant to be a good camera. I had a fiddle with one on Saturday & it was intuitive to use & pretty quick.
Ideally I'd like the p7100 but think it is perhaps a bit bulky & too expensive as a second "take everywhere" camera.

Fuji x10

I bought a sony hx9v a few weeks ago and i really like it. The pics are good and the 16 times optical zoom is great. The video is excellent, there may be a 2 sec delay before it starts video recording but i use that time to steady the camera. Panorama shots are good fun, handheld twilight is also a good feature. Build quality is nice and the silly pop up flash is easy to get used to. The sony picture motion browser software is pretty good (i've limited experience of other software tho). All in all I like it alot.

Rick

Canon G series are very robust & compact size. Not cheap though.

the picture looks good , but it not only depend on the camera ,but also who take it !

[img] [/img]

Yep I was going to buy a TZ20 but looking at reviews and test shots it didn't quite seem to have the quality I expected for a £200+ camera. Most reviews then went to recommend the Sony Hx9V. This was more expensive but the test shots and reviews seemed to be much better. It should've been £300 but pcworld had a voucher and Sony were doing £40 cashback (came last week) then a bit of quidco.

Took it to Canada in September and thought it was great, much better than my old casio exilim but obviously not quite as good as a DSLR. Only downside really is the lack of manual controls but then the auto stuff gives good results anyway.

Oh yeah and the HD movie in 50i is great, get a gorilla pod and take some nice bike footage (it's obviously not as robust as a go pro though).

JonBurns,

Have you noticed a delay in the Video? 2 Seconds as mentioned by retrorick seems a bit excessive. I honestly think it is qute a tight market but the TZ20 now has a touch screen and that just seems a bit wrong but then again I had my doubts about the iphone and thats been fine.

Right think I will have a closer look at the Canon S95 and the Sony HX9V... Both a little different and from what I have read the Sony is a bit more point and shoot.

Thanks for all the help so far

http://snapsort.com/ is good for comparing camera models although be careful as occasionally they get the facts wrong!

I too bought a Sony HX9V and have been very impressed with the quality of the photos and especially the video. If you want to get an understanding of just what the HX9V can do I have found this blogspot to be extremely useful. http://hx9v.blogspot.com/?zx=a3e7bcb7291e1d77

It is a bit more point and shoot which for a numpty like me was perfect and to be honest I liked the idea of processing my own pictures but knew in reality it wouldn't happen.

Yeah bit of a PITA initially. First time I used the video function I had a mate coming down a trail in Whistler bike park. First glimpse of him I pressed the record button, after he passed it started filming 😕

After that I just set it recording and would just edit the first bit out later on.

Touchscreen of the TZ20, nice feature but fail to see how usable it is. My brother in law has a Lumix G3 and I thought the touchscreen was a bit hit and miss. I think the screen resolution on the sony is better the the panasonic?

Just bought myself a canon ixus 220hs . It is AMAZING in low light conditions. Also, with dixons 3 year no questions guarantee ( you can stamp on it and bring it back to the shop in bits and they will replace on the spot) you don't need to worry about it getting bashed about when biking...

I have a Canon G10, it takes extremely good photo's. But I'm considering changing it for a Canon S95/S100 so I can keep it in a pocket, rather than in my Camelbak, so it can be whipped out quickly!

Milkie - Member
I have a Canon G10, it takes extremely good photo's. But I'm considering changing it for a Canon S95/S100 so I can keep it in a pocket, rather than in my Camelbak, so it can be whipped out quickly!

Do you find the G10 too bulky then to put in a pouch attached to a rucsack strap or something similar?

This is the thing I am trying to weigh up at the moment; whether I should go for the Nikon P7100 (Canon G12 equivalent) for the picture quality/zoom/hotshoe/easy access to settings, or whether I should go for the P300 which is cheaper and a lot more compact but with a smaller sensor/no hot shoe/less easy-access settings, but in reality will probably do 99% of what I want a second camera for......

Apparently the S95 has the same sensor as the G10/11. It's really easy to use manually as well, and has a faster lens.

Do you find the G10 too bulky then to put in a pouch attached to a rucsack strap or something similar?

Cheers for that Milkie. I am erring towards the smaller Nikon now, I have to say.
I looked at the S95, but think I prefer the look of the Nikon P300. There are a few things about the Canon that would bug me (although there may well be niggles with the Nikon too), like quite a few reviews saying you can't select a focus point; it is fixed.
The P300 has a smaller sensor, but most reviews seem to think that it performs very well in terms of noise, for it's size.