looking for small P&SD...advice?

[zacker]

I usually shoot with my 30D but im looking for a good little p&s to carry in my pocket.. i was looking at them in staples and walmart but wasnt impressed... i want a big lcd, macro capabilities, at least 8 MP's, IS, something new, with the DIGIC III in it, but SMALL enough to carry around in my shirt pocket if need be. i want to have this with me at all times, like my cell phone..lol anything like this available?

[linuxguy]

"but SMALL enough to carry around in my shirt pocket if need be. i want to have this with me at all times, like my cell phone..lol anything like this available?"

Sure, there are lots of cameras like that. But they don't have the control and image quality that a G series camera has. A G series camera won't fit comfortably in your shirt pocket and its a lot larger and heavier than a cell phone.

Currently the laws of physics still rule the image quality of cameras. And for the most part the smaller you go the worse the quality. Thus one doesn't get DSLR quality images from a cell phone.

I think the best quality output from a small camera is the Fuji F20/30/50 series. But they are still larger than a cell phone. I've never owned one, just going by what I have read.

Good luck.

[condyk]

I had a panasonic TZ3 for a while and that is outstanding, but no RAW and mpretty much auto. The G9 is a step up in those respects but not so much in IQ. I was happy with it in the main. My G9 just about fits in a shirt pocket and it is actually smaller than I expected.

[zacker]

thanks guys.. i see all these thin little canons and other brands out there and im wondering if any of them have great IQ and raw.. they are small enough.. the G( doesnt look that big to me but i have never seen one in real life, only on the net. it would prolly fit my pocket better than my pro1 would (its about the size of the s3is) and what i like about the G9 or 7 is the Hotshoe.. but, i will be doing more outdoors type shooting so its not terribly important. one things for sure, i wish canon would stop making such confusing names for there PNS cams... i mean all these numbers and letters.. its tough to keep track of.

[linuxguy]

The Pro1 had a 2004 rating of "Recommended". The G9 has a 2007 rating of "Highly Recommended". I think that is about all that needs to be said about that.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonPro1/page20.asp



As far as other cameras go, start reading and comparing over at www.dpreview.com. www.imagingresource.com has good reviews too. Lots of reading + in store camera handling = a good choice for you.

[zacker]

I wouls also guess that being 3 years newer, the G9 is leaps ahead of the Pro1 .. i think the S1 IS was actually the "Pro2" lol.

Im looking then, more and more harder @ the G9.. I wonder if I can get enough $$$ for my mint Pro1 to get the G9?

[linuxguy]

"I wonder if I can get enough $$$ for my mint Pro1 to get the G9?"

I don't mean to be rude but to me the Pro1 would be worth about half of what a G9 is worth. The G9 has so much more going for it, including better IQ (lower noise), higher resolution, fast, usable raw mode, etc.

Looking back at the Pro1 review reminded me as to how far digital cameras have come in the last few (3) years.

Its really interesting that the Pro1 sold for $1000. You can nearly buy a 40D for that ! Just like the Nikon Coolpix 950 used to sell for $800 ish. Now you can buy a G9 for around $400 ! Progress !

[Citizensmith]

For small P&S my recommendation is something from the Olympus SW series. Optically no better than any other P&S of the same size. The body though is water proof (to 10 feet, and I tested it), shock proof, crush proof, frost proof. Possibly some other proofs I'm forgetting. Basically its a P&S you can put in your pocket and not worry about sitting on, getting rained on, dropping in the snow, etc.