Help Me Pick A Camera Please

[The_Drunken_Dj]

well, first off i would like to say hello to everybody here on the forums. i have done a search for the information i am about to ask for but have failed to find any. please forgive my ignorance. **now back to my question**

i am looking for a camera that i can take with me to the club (portable) and very importantly, can take fotos in dark enviroments (like a club or discoteque) with relative ease..... i have primarily been looking at the canon s400 and s50. but i am not sure how they will fair in dark situations. do you think something like a G5 or G3 is more appropriate? if so why? and relatively, how do they all compare in size (s400, s50, G5).

i will be buying a camera soon and i am really trying find the camera that best suits my needs.

thank you

[MiG82]

If you don't want to use flash then you can forget about the non SLR cameras like the powershot series (all of them).
If a powerful flash would be useful then get one of the G cameras because they have a hotshoe which allows you to mount a decent external flash unit.

Or if it is within your budget and size limit you could get one of the EOS SLR cameras. These can mount an external flash and allow you to use much higher sensitivities (ISO), so a flash might not even be needed depending on the amount of ambient light.

Using a flash will drown out the interesting lighting that is usually present in clubs.

If you just want to take close up photos of people with flash (say, around 2 meters), then one of the more basic cameras like the S series will suffice.

[The_Drunken_Dj]

thank you mig82 for the response ;)

i think the eos series will too big for me to have with me in the club :(

the s400 and s50 a both relatively small, which do you feel is an overall better camera, and better deal to purchase? i guess what i am asking is what would you pick? and why?

[dog010]

I'd say both take good pictures; the S50 would be slightly bigger than the S400 but it also offers manual control over its exposure settings; shutter speeds, apertures, manual focussing as well as auto exposure. the S400 only offers auto exposure so it remains a dedicated point-and-shoot camera.

For non-flash situations in the night club you can try turning the sensitivity up to ISO400 and shooting (keep as still as you can) and then run the images through noise reduction software afterwards to reduce the visible noise. I have done this with my G3 in darkened halls and the results have been very good (you lose a little sharpness but not much).

I think anything bigger than the S-series would turn you into a photographer as you'll be worried about your camera most of the time as it's too big to pocket.

[The_Drunken_Dj]

Thank You Dog010, I have made the decision to go with the S400. I am looking for something compact. and the s50 was a little bigger than I probably would like. I appreciate your help. Now I will search for info to help maximize the quality of my shots in darker situations. When I get some time I will post some fotos, then maybe I can get some comments as to what I can do to better improve the shots.

thanks DDJ