Buying a P and S ????

[Hipgrncln]

Having just switched from Nikon to Canon am loving my Rebel XT and will move up in a while. I find myself on occation to travel, hike, bike,kayak etc and not really want to bring my DSLR for various reasons. Should I buy a P and S and if so whitch one??? What do you all do???? I often take a vacation to shoot pictures and will always bring my DSLR and Gear but other times just want to document the event and thats all. Will post this on the P and S site also. Want something very durable and compact.


Bob J

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Powershot Pro 1 is a nice choice, as is the S2 IS If you're looking for something a bit more compact, maybe the SD550 is the way to go.

[KevC]

I'd go ultra compact and get an SD20. Fixed focal length, use your feet! Sharper than zooms =) I found that my zoom in my PnS is pretty much worthless anyway.

If you want a Zoom then pick up an A510.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

SD20??? Now THAT'S a compromise in my book. If you're gonna go with that, you might as well go dslr. If you're going p&s, you're probably not worried about that tiny bit of added sharpness. If you were that picky about your shots, you'd have an slr. Some P&s cameras have nice zooms!

[DocFrankenstein]

I'd go for ultra compact also. I find S1 IS and Pro1 are way too expensive and LARGE for a DSLR substitute.

If you're serious about the pics, then grab your dslr

If you're taking them for "memories" then get a PnS and it won't interfere with fun.

Cheers

[Ronald S. Jr.]

but the SD500/550 is tiny! I'd call it "ultra compact" anyway. Anything I can put into my pocket and not see it bulging out is pretty darn tiny in my book. Imagine trying to shove my 20D with my 24-70L and a 580EX into a pocket...even a CLOWN couldn't do that!

[pcasciola]

I have to agree with Doc and KevC on this one. The XT is pretty small as it is, and the S2 IS is not really that much smaller. I've always had a tiny P&S even before I had a dSLR for those times when I wanted something to just stick in the front pocket of my jeans and go. Outdoors most of them work just fine, and many have the added capability of movie mode. The largest I would probably go for hiking, kyaking, etc. is an SD550, but I might lean more toward the Sony T7 or Casio EX-550 if you are willing to sacrifice a little picture quality for something that will really go almost unnoticed in your pocket.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Yeah, I played with that Sony T7 in Circuit City yesterday...I felt like I was gonna snap it, it was so thin. It was about half as thick as my Treo650 cell. Anyway, have I missed something? Does everyone feel that the SD550 is just huge? I guess I'm just comparing to our dslr's. Huge to me is my 20D, 580, 24-70, and Custom Bracket all together. that's huge. However, I still "lug" around an SD400. It's super tiny. I actually considered getting an Olympus Verve at one point, because it's the smallest thing I've ever seen for the quality it puts out. Unfortunately, I hate olympus, and decided against it.

[pcasciola]

The SD550 is not huge, but I don't consider ultra compact. It's not much narrower than my Digital ELPH, which is not very comfortable in my pants pockets. The really tiny cameras can fit in your front pocket and you would not even know it was there. I used to carry around an Exilim EX-S3 which was the smallest decent P&S I've even owned, and I literally used to forget I had it in my pocket because it was so small and thin.

[zakabog]

I'm looking at the SD550 and that looks really really small. I've had a Powershot A20 that I'd carry around in my pockets all the time. It was pretty comfortable too, and from these pictures it looks smaller than that. I wouldn't want to keep that SD550 in my pocket with anything else cause that huge screen might get scratched, but I think it'd fit comfortable in your pants (or you need baggier pants.)

[pcasciola]

I guess people have different comfort levels, but I know a lot of people with cameras of the SD550s form factor who say they are not nearly as comfortable to carry in a pocket as a credit card sized point and shoot, most of which are half the thickness of the SD550. Nothing against that camera, just not a true "pocket" camera in my opinion, at over 1" thick. Maybe I do just need bigger pants. :D

[zakabog]

Yeah, it might just be that I've only had the A20, the G3 (which I sometimes kept in my pocket when my pants could fit it) and then the Rebel. And I think the rebel is tiny, so my standards of small are a little off.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

My SD400 was pretty darn small. If it weren't for the bit of weight the metal body adds, I'd forget it was in my pants as well. More than once I've dropped my keys (ouch) or my cell phone in my pocket right on top of it. I guess I'm just used to carrying around a treo 650 in my pocket. I had no idea the SD550 was over 1" thick. You sure you're not thinking of the S50? The SD series, as I know it, are all quite thin. An inch seems like an awful lot =\

[pcasciola]

Yes. The SD550 is 3.52×2.24×1.08 in. I'm not saying that's BIG, but I have a Digitial ELPH that is that size, and I usually leave it in my camera bag as a backup but never in my pocket unless I'm wearing a coat. It's not as rounded as the SD550 on the edges, so maybe that is the problem with mine. The SD550 will definitely take superior pictures to any of those ultra tiny camera, though, there's no doubt about that.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Wow...my other SD camera wasn't that thick at ALL! Forget that!

[pcasciola]

I didn't realize the SD550 was that much larger than the SD400 either, but you're right, it is. The SD400 is only .8 inches, which is over 25% thinner than the SD550. .8 inches is definitely below my threshold for a chubby camera. :D

One problem was, when I had my Exilim, EVERYTHING seemed fat. That camera was around 1/3 of an inch thick if I remember correctly.

[Hipgrncln]

Thanks for all the help so far. I am leaning towards the SD550 mostly because I want the quality of the photos. This will be used as a travel camera when zi just do not want to lug around all my stuff. Day hikes, mountain or rooad bike rides, snowshoeing etc and will probubly sit in a pack bag or ???? Is it a good choice for quality and ruggedness?????

Bob J

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Very durable. Nice strong durable metal body. GREAT photos. At 7.1MP, you can't really go wrong. Not bad price, either.

[nation]

Definitely go a P&S. Nowadays those cameras are no slouches on the performance front and are small enough to take anywhere. I'm usually carrying a bag of some sort when I leave the house so it's no hassle to throw a tiny P&S in there just to capture anything interesting that pops up during the day.

If you're happy to stick with Canon then you should also take a look at the Canon A series cameras. The A510 and A520 have just been replaced by the A610 and A620 (5 and 7 MP respectively) and should be on the market now. These are compact cameras but not as pocketable as the SD550 i.e. unless you're a homey you're going to struggle getting them into your pants :confused: The A series would be fine in a winter jacket pocket. Unlike the flat design of the SD550 the A series has a bulge on the right side that forms almost a mini grip. The benefit of this is that it allows you to hold the camera with just that little bit more stability. The A series also have a decent sized viewfinder versus the SD so you can actually take pictures the proper way. Also in addition to full manual and program modes the A series also offer Av and Tv modes just to give you more options in case you're feeling creative.

I have the A80 which was released a couple of years back and it's a great camera. The only downside I find with it is the slow start times (3 or 4 seconds) and the slow recycle time after taking a shot (about a second or 2). I know the former hasn't improved much with the current models, not sure of the latter. But apart from that it has served me well even though it gets banged about in a bag full of other stuff.