recommendations for a cheap p&s

[jamesw]

howdy all,

i am finding more and more that i am riding from place to place, rather than driving. this makes carrying my (very, very) heavy backpack prohibitive, and i often find myself wanting to take a snapshot of something or someone. not critical pieces, just moments that i'd like to remember.

i'm looking for a cheap, small p&s. i don't really know where to start, i'm not going to be picky over what brand it is, but i'd like it to check off a few points:

- not be much more than a few hundred bucks
- reasonable lens range with a reasonable wide end
- large-ish lcd
- perhaps have an aperature and shutter priority mode but i dont know if thats availible at the price point i want
- be reasonably small. not too much bigger than an average wallet.

there is a really nice leica i like (d-lux 3 i think?) but its a bit expensive for what i want it for, plus a bit on the large side.

opinions would be great! i'm going to scan through b&h and see what i can find.

[who]

Seriously consider the Canon S5 IS.... I have the S1 IS back from 2004 and I still consider it good to use, even though it is only 3.2mp....

Has a broad range of focal lengths (the S1 was up to 10x zoom, but fairly wide to start with) The S5 is even more from memory.

S5 can also take a Canon speedlight flash if desired too.

[shutterbug]

I like the Ixus 75 and canon G9 and also Fuji F40fd

[jamesw]

I really like the canon G9. It is a touch out of the ballpark, price wise, though. (also, i would say that it is basically as large a camera as i would want to go.). i had a look on B&H, the G5 and G7 look pretty attractive at sub $300USD.

I am not fussed abotu going older models with lesser megapixels. For one, this is not critical work... and two... anything to keep transfer times dwon.

The S5 / S Series is too big for my intended purpose.

[Antsl]

Have a look at the Nikon P50 http://www.nikon.com.au/productitem.php?pid=1211-69104d494c
I bought one for my other half but I am spending just as much time using it. It has a 28-105mm equiv. lens along with AA battery supply (easy to find anywhere), optical veiwfinder and a few cute features that include panorama assist, vibration reduction and good low light performance. It will cost about $350 which I think is good value. The camera was released by Nikon last September so it is reasonably new.

[jamesw]

Thanks Antsl,

The P50 is looking good, I am into the feature set. I will go into Teds and try it out and make sure i can cope with the size... The last thing I would want is to buy one and then decide its still too big for what i want! They have it market at $350 which is cheaper than some ebay retailers.

At $350 the price is right, too.

[gstark]

Not yet available (maybe February, which is really just a few days away) but the Fujifilm S100FS looks to have some very interesting design features and specs. Won't be cheap, but looks to be a very competent PHD

[Myrtle]

My two cents worth:
I used to have a Nikon Coolpix4500, it took excellent pics and the scene modes were a god send for quick set up, point and shoot situations. Did look at getting the P50 before going dslr.

Linda

[dm_td5]

Depending on your needs have a look at the Olympus 790 SW. I think its just been updated to a new SW model though. Water resistent to 10m, withstand 1.5m drop, dust proof etc. For a P&S pictures are quiet good and I know a few people with them that are impressed by their ability to withstand a bit of abuse.

[jamesw]

Thanks all,

I had a look at the Olympus, and it does look good. I am worried about noted image quality issues that I have read in interviews. Nonetheless, I will check it out for myself and see what it's like. The idea of taking underwater photos appeals to me.

The Fujifilm S100FS is too big and clunky for me, I think. I can't imagine it being much smaller than a D40 w/18-70 or similar lens on the front. I really want a camera that I can put in my modest daypack (I think it's about 600ci) and forget about, taking it out when need be.

[jamesw]

I might also add that the P50 is US$200 inc shipping from B&H. Very nice price.

Now its a matter of going somewhere to actually try the cameras out (I think it is really between the P50 and the Olympus) and seeing what i prefer. I have a feeling that I will like the P50 more - I am flirting with that idea of underwater photos

[jamesw]

I ended up buying the P50 from B&H. Got it for $210 delivered, with a 1gb Sandisk Ultra II SD card. The thing even came with a couple of AA's, i thought that was nice in this 'batteries not included' age.

I ordered it on Friday afternoon, paying on CC, and it came in the mail today (Monday). Impressive.

My initial reaction to the camera were that it is small, clean, and a little bit cutsie. It will definitely find a permenant place in my daypack, that I take basically everywhere...