looking for a point-and-shoot, been out of the loop for a few years

J

jamsomito

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My wife's birthday is coming up and she is in need of a decent point-and-shoot camera. Hers works just fine, except for the flash. She usually has it set on dummy-mode (fully auto), so when it decides it needs to use the flash, it won't take a pic :confused:. I don't remember the exact model number, but it's a Canon Powershot A... something or other. It's about 3 or 4 years old.

I've been loyal to Canon over the years; they make great products and I've found them to have good customer service. However, I'd be willing to branch out if another company has best bang for the buck. I'm looking for something that will be decent in low-light situations, and has a flash that works :p. Budget is $100-$150, max $200.

Can anyone recommend me something?
 
I would save up and get a old S90 or new S95.. best P&S camera that I have ever owned.. it's small, the f/2.0 lens is a gem and the HD video is great.

For budget I would suggest PowerShot ELPH 500 HS or PowerShot ELPH 100 HS.
 
So I asked around, and somebody sent me a review with the following cameras... not sure where this came from.

Best Teeny-Tiny Camera: $180 - Canon SD1400 IS
Excellent All-Around Camera: $130 - Canon SD1300 IS
Inexpensive Camera: $120 - Canon A 3100 IS
Cheapest Idea: $70 Refurb - Canon A480
 
darktiger said:
I would save up and get a old S90 or new S95.. best P&S camera that I have ever owned.. it's small, the f/2.0 lens is a gem and the HD video is great.

For budget I would suggest PowerShot ELPH 500 HS or PowerShot ELPH 100 HS.
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I appreciate you bringing up the S90 and S95; I'm all about buying quality and having it last forever. However, this is almost double my budget so until my boss promotes me to CEO I think I'll have to wait on this one :( If that were to happen though I'd get a Powershot G9, ha.

The ELPH 100HS is in the budget though. Maybe I'll look into that one. I could maybe get something better if I purchased refurbished, which I have nothing against. Does anyone know anything about Canon's warranty on refurb units?

Also, is anyone familiar with any other brands? I my PAST experience, Canon's quality was always far superior (even if it was a bit more expensive), but maybe this has changed over the years?
 
I used to be a Canon loyalist also...so much so that I kept buying them even after the lens mechanisms became crap. Their retractable lenses are just horrible now, I have three frozen ones here. Its not like I rub them around in the sand, we're talking tiny amounts of dirt, like transferred off the inside of a pocket or a glove will bork these things. I don't have an actual recommendation...other than look for an internal lens.
 
I still like canon.. I jumped around a bit (sony, pentax, panasonic) but still found my way back to canon. I love my S95... my friend returned his Panasonic LX5 after playing around with the S95. You can look and see what camera's are on the Canon Loyalty program.. you can usually snag a good camera for a lot less
 
I can second the s90 or s95. I used to use a dslr to take product photos for R&D use, but now I just whip that out. The other smaller cameras just don't cut it in office lit situations.
 
I have a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS and it's great. Has HD video. It's a few years old so I'm sure there's a newer version of it there. My dad liked it so much he bought one too. It's really compact, though, so if you have big hands it might not work well for you.
 
novadude said:
Check out the canon loyalty program too.
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So I looked into this a little bit. This thread from fatwallet.com (just came up in a google search) indicates that this person was able to select a G9 for ~$250 back in 2008. Isn't that when that camera was still $400? At 63% off, that would definitely put an S90 or S95 into the price range. I'm still uncertain if they give you options close to the "range" of camera you return to them (i.e. they won't give you the choice of a DSLR if you're returning a cheap P&S), or if they only have 3 options in all. Apparently the options available change pretty frequently.


thepirat said:
I have a Canon PowerShot SD780 IS and it's great. Has HD video. It's a few years old so I'm sure there's a newer version of it there. My dad liked it so much he bought one too. It's really compact, though, so if you have big hands it might not work well for you.
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Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it. I do have fairly large hands, but the camera is for my wife, who would be fine with something smaller.


Rix2357 said:
I can second the s90 or s95. I used to use a dslr to take product photos for R&D use, but now I just whip that out. The other smaller cameras just don't cut it in office lit situations.
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So this has come up more and more. It seems like the s90 and s95 are quality investments. As a matter of fact, my dad (hobbyist) just bought an s95 for my mom to use, go figure! He liked the ability to shoot raw files, and he as well said the f2.0 lens was excellent.
 
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Ok, just got off the phone with a Canon loyalty program rep. They have about 10 DSLR's and 4 P&S. The DSLR's are all out of my range, and aren't what I'm looking for right now anyway. As far as the point and shoots go, here's what they have available:

A1100
SD1200
SD960
G11 (probably out of budget too)

Does anybody have any experience with these specific cameras, or know anything about them?
 
Ended up going with a Canon PowerShot A2200. Everything "better" than it wasn't worth the increase in cost. There were minor differences like a metal body instead of plastic, slightly larger screen on the back of the camera, brighter screen, etc. The picture quality was the same as a $200 Canon unit, so I figured since that's really what matters I'd save some money.

I wish I could bump up to the $200-$300 range so I could afford a refurb S90 :(. Oh well. I'm happy with the decision. Maybe next time... :D

EDIT: BTW, thanks so much for the help, everyone. It is greatly appreciated.
 
I am looking for a new camara as well. Currently I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-V1 5MP from several years back. It takes some good pics but the thing is half the time they are blurry. If you move just a smidge it goes out of focus. I am a complete noobie to camaras and know nothing about photography. What is a good one that is $300 or less and takes good pics easily (image stabilization?) has good battery life and would be good for a vacation type camara.


Here is an example of what I mean by a good shot and a fuzzy shot...I held the thing about the same.

battleofalcatraz1.jpg


fuzzy:
battleofalcatraz2.jpg



One cool thing about the Sony I have now is it will take nightshots. I got a good pic of the utility cooridor in Alcatraz that the guys tunneled into:

utilitycorridor.jpg
 
If you're ok with refurb units, check out a refurbished Canon S90. My parents just picked up the newer S95 and they love it. Seems like (from the comments in this thread) one of these two is really the way to go, all things considered. If I had a bit more to spend, I would have gone this route too.
 
I did pick an S95 up from Amazon with a 32gb sd card and extra battery. I used the Sony for a long time and it takes nice pics but it is just to darn easy to get fuzzy ones. Everywhere I looked it seemed people were recommending it.
 
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All that side... I love my S95... great value for what you get....
 
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