You just described Canon SD800IS (7MP, 3.8x wide-angle image-stabilized zoom, OVF, good IQ and batt.life, ultra-compact), albeit less zoom than R6. R6 though suffer from problem of purple fringing..
Wobble wrote:.
Hi everyone!.
I know you must all be really bored with this question, but I amlooking for a new camera, and would like some suggestions. I havebrowsed through the forum to see other threads on this subject, butI didn't find any that really matched my needs that well..
My story:.
I've already ordered a Ricoh Caplio R6 for myself, but it's takingages because it's out of stock. If the camera doesn't get here bythis weekend or so, I may be forced to buy another one and cancelmy order because I need a camera right now..
Now, I have a list of "requirements", and the R6 meets all of thoseexcept that it lacks an optical viewfinder. Here it is:.
- Very compact without lenses or other things sticking out (shouldgo in the pockets of my pants)- Fast burst mode (at least 2 fps or so, continuous shooting untilthe memory card is full)- At least 3x optical zoom, but more is a huge plus (R6!)- Uses SD memory cards (come on, why doesn't everyone use the samethese days?)- USB 2.0 (some apparently only use USB 1 to connect to my PC,which is too slow)- Optical viewfinder (saving battery by turning off the LCD isalways a good thing)- Wide angle lens- Image stabilizer (is an optical image stabilizer the way to go?)- The video must be of decent quality (640x480, 30 fps)- Good battery life.
I don't really care about manual settings, as I am more of a pointand shoot kind of person..
So I'm just looking around to see if there are other cameras thatmay suit my needs..
Some cameras I've considered include Sony W80 (and W90, and W55,etc.), Fujifilm F30/40, various Canon Ixus/Digital ELPH models, butthey all seem to fall short in some area. The Fuji cameras have aterrible burst mode, for example, and are a bit too big for mytaste, while Sony's cameras use Memory Stick Duo. Nikon S500 looksgreat in most other areas, but the battery life is really bad..
Now, something that might or might not sound strange:.
Do any modern (2006-2007) cameras focus on *picture quality* ratherthan cramming the highest possible number of megapixel in there? Iwould think that 5 megapixels would be more than enough, but thesecameras only seem to have between 7 and 10 these days!.
Sample pictures for all 6+ megapixel cameras seems to show somenoise and bad quality when "pixel-peeping" at 100%. Yeah, I know, Ishouldn't really do that, should I? But regardless,pixel-peeping on my old 3 megapixel camera worked fine....
Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for possible cameras ifthe R6 fails to arrive on time? In fact, maybe I'll get a secondcamera in addition to the R6 if I find the "perfect camera"....
Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..
Ajay0612 wrote:.
You just described Canon SD800IS (7MP, 3.8x wide-angleimage-stabilized zoom, OVF, good IQ and batt.life, ultra-compact),albeit less zoom than R6. R6 though suffer from problem of purplefringing..
Thanks for the response!.
Yes, in fact I forgot about the SD800 IS (Ixus 850 IS in my part of the world)!.
How is the image quality on the SD800 compared to the R6? Do you know?..
As already said, IQ of SD800IS is better due to sharp lens and minimal distortion/aberration. At high ISO too, SD800IS's grainy output is film-like, which is less offensive..
Wobble wrote:.
Ajay0612 wrote:.
You just described Canon SD800IS (7MP, 3.8x wide-angleimage-stabilized zoom, OVF, good IQ and batt.life, ultra-compact),albeit less zoom than R6. R6 though suffer from problem of purplefringing..
Thanks for the response!.
Yes, in fact I forgot about the SD800 IS (Ixus 850 IS in my part ofthe world)!.
How is the image quality on the SD800 compared to the R6? Do you know?.
Regards, Ajayhttp://picasaweb.google.com/ajay0612..
Is the Panasonic TZ3 too big for you? Perfect otherwise..
The FX30 has only 3.6x zoom but otherwise fulfils your requirements and has a sharper lens than the equivalent Canon..
Check out my FX01 pics if you're worried about noise and so on. I haven't been troubled by it, but then I use ISO80 most of the time. I reckon the quality of the images is better than my dad's new (not wide angle) Ixus, though perhaps not better than my old Ixus 400, but that was a 4MP camera..
Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..
Just having the R6 for three weeks, here my comments:http://forums.dpreview.com/...ms/readflat.asp?forum=1013&message=23562191.
I would recommend to wait for the R6 to arrive .....