Small Camera Recommendations

[new girl on the bloc]

Hi,

I have a G3 and a Rebel. But I often find myself not wanting to lug them around with me, esp. the rebel, but even the G3. I am considering getting a ultra small camera (to take everywhere) but only if the size does not compromise quality. i don't want to spend a bundle either. any suggestions?

much appreciated :wink:

[Chris1le]

Have you looked at the A series cameras from Canon? I bought my girlfriend an A70 and it actually focuses much faster than my G3. Nice little camera. I also recommended the A80 to a friend of mine and he likes it alot.

[iphoto]

If you are okay to go for non canon one I would recomend Sony V1. Its very light weight and having nearly ALL features of Canon G series camera.

I often carry V1 when G5 becomes little heavy for me :)

[new girl on the bloc]

although i am a canon girl, i would purchase another brand if it was a good reliable camera. what i want is something very, very small. as small as they get while still having capability.

[Andy_T]

Take a look at the S series ... similar to the G series, but a more compact package ... though no 'miniature' cameras, either.

Good thing is that they have all that the G series has, namely P,T,A,M mode, RAW, etc. Main differences are f/2.8 instead of f/2.0 lenses, missing flash hot shoe and adapter thread for conversion lenses.

Best regards,
Andy

[pcasciola]

I used to have a Casio Exilim 3MP with no zoom. It's about the smallest camera out there that takes decent pictures. You can comfortably put it in the front pocket of your jeans. I was really happy with it for a pocket camera. I loaned it to someone who dropped it and cracked the LCD.

I am now looking to replace it with the Kyocera SL400R, which is around $300. It's really tiny, about the same size as the smallest Exilim, can fill a memory card faster than any EOS digital, and supports several video movie modes including one HD mode (1280x720x15 fps I think). Also, with the twist body design like the older Coolpix used to have, it can retain the ultra small size while still providing a decent optical zoom.

[new girl on the bloc]

i found this tidbit about the Kyocera by a reviewer:

Image Quality - this is the one area that is somewhat disappointing, especially because it's really just a compression issue. The jpeg compresssion used, even at the "Fine" setting, is unnecessarily severe. The images show a little too much compression-artifacting, which is too bad, because the pixel resolution is decent, and the lens seems good as well. The affordability of large memory cards really makes such high degrees of compression pointless. The flip side of this - set the ASA to 800 and shoot some intensely grainy images that look like early color photograph technology!

other than that it sounds like a great teeny camera!

[new girl on the bloc]

anyone know about the canon a85? is it as small as some of the others mentioned here?

steve recommends it:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/a85.html

steve's list of Ultra Compact - Pocketable recommendations: (anyone have personal opinion of any of these?)

Casio Exilim EX-S100

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Xt

Canon S500 Digital ELPH

Casio Exilim EX-Z40

Sony Cybershot P100

Canon SD110 Digital ELPH

Pentax Optio S4i

Olympus Stylus Digital 410

[Chris1le]

Like I saikd earlier. I've used both the A70 and the A80. Both nice small cameras. The A80 and above offer the swing out LCD. The 5MP A95 is also available.

[maderito]

anyone know about the canon a85? is it as small as some of the others mentioned here?

steve recommends it:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/a85.html

I just picked up the A95, the 5MP version of the A85. The A95 is larger but lighter. I suspect both are bigger than what you're looking for. But take a close look at both - excellent controls and menus; comprehensive features; and superb images under favorable lighting conditions.

[tpinchback]

Canon S500 Digital ELPH

Very good camera, long battery life, great quailty, compact flash, and a very small camera. This would be my choice

[new girl on the bloc]

Canon S500 Digital ELPH

Very good camera, long battery life, great quailty, compact flash, and a very small camera. This would be my choice

it gets rave consumer reviews too! It may be the "one".

[shiningstardv]

I would look at the new Canon SD300 as well. It's smaller, got a bigger LCD, looks cooler, and is faster. It's got 4.0 megapixels but that's plenty enough for a point and shoot camera. Any more than that and you just start wasting hard drive space.

Canon SD300 (http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=145&mode lid=10599)

I have the Canon Digital Elph s400 and the SD300 is just the s400 reworked and improved. BTW, I LOVE the s400. That little thing is amazing and takes wonderful pictures.

[Nolz]

A month ago i bought a little Canon IXUS 430 for my sister. my uncle has the ixus 500 so i was already a big fan of its size features and quality. if you do a quick search on the net you may come across a comparison between the 500 and 430, and if i do recall correctly, the 430 comes out on top in terms of picture quality!....somethign to do with the sensor being teh same size on both cams but with the 500, because they had to cram in the extra 1 megapixal the result is that the pictures are a tad noisier. Real life differences may not even be noticable but i chose the 430 as it was $100 cheaper (AUD) and the 500 had a bunch of features i KNOW wont be readily used.

[Andy_T]

New girl ...

before you buy any of these cameras, do check out if they have the shooting modes you consider a given on the 10D!

I assume that being limited to 'sports', 'night' and 'auto' mode with no possibility to set a shutter speed or aperture on the Digital Elph sucks big time. It sure does for me when I use my wifes Kodak digicam other than taking a casual snapshot. But your requirements might differ.

Best regards,
Andy

[tumb]

I have an Exilim ex-Z40. It is very tiny, takes sharp pictures but has a noise problem above ISO 200. Nearly every picture I've taken has been easily fixed though. I carry it with me on hiking trips and mtn bike trips. Here are some resized only pics that will give you an idea of the image quality (or lack of):

http://www.geocities.com/mdwsr/colorado.html

(all but the top pic were taken with the Casio)

[abel]

i wanted a small cam i could use instead of my 10d so i bought a s400. it is nice but i really wish i had manual controls on it.

the s50 s60 etc are nice cams with manual controls but i found the s400 to be more compact. i just carry it around with me very easily..

[Claytonian]

new girl....

I was in the same situation as you recently. One of the features I was looking for in addition to being small, good quality, etc. was weather-proofing. I wanted to be able to throw this little camera in my pocket and not have to worry about it getting wet or dirty in the rain, at the pool, etc. I have a toddler who loves to play in water, so I wanted to be able to get some shots in places where I normally would not feel comfortable taking my G2, and now my 10D. If this aspect is of interest to you as well, you may want to look at the Pentax Optio 33WR or 43WR. They are very small square cameras that can survive being submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. They do not recommend actually using the camera under water, but it can get wet or dirty all you want and you can just rinse it off. I have been very happy with it. The only real difference between the two models I listed above is the 33WR is 3.2 MP and the 43WR is 4 MP. Take a look at them. The picture quality I have gotten from the 3.2MP is quite good. Have fun!

[new girl on the bloc]

so many new responses that open up a whole lotta research! thanks for all of the info out there :wink:

[new girl on the bloc]

New girl ...

before you buy any of these cameras, do check out if they have the shooting modes you consider a given on the 10D!

I assume that being limited to 'sports', 'night' and 'auto' mode with no possibility to set a shutter speed or aperture on the Digital Elph sucks big time. It sure does for me when I use my wifes Kodak digicam other than taking a casual snapshot. But your requirements might differ.

Best regards,
Andy

looks like the canon s400 has a lot of these modes, andy. good consideration, thanks!

[new girl on the bloc]

i wanted a small cam i could use instead of my 10d so i bought a s400. it is nice but i really wish i had manual controls on it.

the s50 s60 etc are nice cams with manual controls but i found the s400 to be more compact. i just carry it around with me very easily..

yeah, the 50 and 60 are way bigger than what i want.

[Jesper]

If you already have a G3 and a Digital Rebel, which use Compact Flash cards, you might want to look for a small camera that also takes CF, otherwise you'll have to buy other memory cards as well for your small camera.

The Sony cameras are nice, but unfortunately they only take Memory Sticks, which is a stupid Sony proprietary type of memory card.

The Canon two-digit S-series PowerShot cameras (S60, S70) are very good, they have many advanced options like RAW, and take CF cards. Another advantage of the S60 and S70 is that they have wide angle zoom lenses down to 28mm - most compact cameras don't go wider than 35mm, which isn't really wide. One disadvantage is that they're not the smallest cameras, but at least they're a lot smaller than the G3 and Digital Rebel.

[WestFalcon]

I am a huge Canon SLR fan but I don't like their point and shoots very well. I've had two and both had problems. I really like the point and shoot Fuji's and people that have them seem very pleased. That's what I sould get if I needed a small point and shoot.

[new girl on the bloc]

If you already have a G3 and a Digital Rebel, which use Compact Flash cards, you might want to look for a small camera that also takes CF, otherwise you'll have to buy other memory cards as well for your small camera.

The Sony cameras are nice, but unfortunately they only take Memory Sticks, which is a stupid Sony proprietary type of memory card.

The Canon two-digit S-series PowerShot cameras (S60, S70) are very good, they have many advanced options like RAW, and take CF cards. Another advantage of the S60 and S70 is that they have wide angle zoom lenses down to 28mm - most compact cameras don't go wider than 35mm, which isn't really wide. One disadvantage is that they're not the smallest cameras, but at least they're a lot smaller than the G3 and Digital Rebel.

these are certainly worthy considerations. i looked at the s60 (despite wanting something smaller), which looks like a decent camera, with not too bad of a price tag. thanks jesper.

[shiningstardv]

I'm sure you looked here already, but just in case you haven't, we do have an entire forum dedicated to small compact cameras. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=31) I know sometimes I tend to get stuck here in the EOS forum and forget about the other informative sources we have here too.

[new girl on the bloc]

A month ago i bought a little Canon IXUS 430 for my sister. my uncle has the ixus 500 so i was already a big fan of its size features and quality. if you do a quick search on the net you may come across a comparison between the 500 and 430, and if i do recall correctly, the 430 comes out on top in terms of picture quality!....somethign to do with the sensor being teh same size on both cams but with the 500, because they had to cram in the extra 1 megapixal the result is that the pictures are a tad noisier. Real life differences may not even be noticable but i chose the 430 as it was $100 cheaper (AUD) and the 500 had a bunch of features i KNOW wont be readily used.

in the U.S. called the Canon S410. Also looks good!

[new girl on the bloc]

I'm sure you looked here already, but just in case you haven't, we do have an entire forum dedicated to small compact cameras. (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=31)

umm, no, i had not looked there. more info! thanks for pointing me there. why are there so many of the seemingly very similar cameras out there? :roll:

[Nolz]

so what have you decided on? :)

[new girl on the bloc]

so what have you decided on? :)

now, my head is swimming, so i am going to make a list of features i want, photo quality being no. 1, of course, and price being at the top of that list too, and then do the grand comparison. this feels harder than picking out my g3 and rebel? :?

[hlp]

have you made your choice.....after all that advice...lol

[new girl on the bloc]

actually, the canon A95 looks pretty good, and while not considered a pocket camera, (guess it depends on how big your pocket is :wink: ) it's not that much bigger than those that are. it has that flip out screen, and a lot of other great features. still researching and thinking...

[hlp]

go with the A-95 you won't regret it i guarantee it....taking picture can be fun and has complex has you want it.....when you buy it i can show you how to program it so it's a point and shoot cam, no lag time just great picture......let me now ....take care

[new girl on the bloc]

go with the A-95 you won't regret it i guarantee it....taking picture can be fun and has complex has you want it.....when you buy it i can show you how to program it so it's a point and shoot cam, no lag time just great picture......let me now ....take care

so you have one of these? i'll be jumpin here soon :lol:

[Fooj]

I have an S500, and love it. My wife, however, has a Nikon 5200 (her 10D doesn't fit in her purse . . .). I like it a lot. It's not as heavy as the S500, and because of that, it doesn't feel quite as solid . . . may just be my imagination. The 5200 does seem quite well constructed.

The 5200 output is impressive. I can't say that I like the S500 better. The 5200 is faster in multi-shot mode, and has many more canned profiles than the S500. The 5200 is also is in the same size class as the S500, but the body is sculpted, and as a result, feels better in your hand.

I do a lot of business with Canon, so I like to show loyalty by buying their products (besides the point that they're impressive). Even so, the 5200 would be my choice if business was not a factor.

[Andy_T]

New girl ...

guess you'll have to venture out of your cozy den and visit a real-life camera store to check these all out :lol:

Nothing can beat a test ride where you really take some shots with the camera and look at them on your PC later.

Also ... important note ... be prepared for awesome shutter lag, CF write times and real slow focusing on a digicam (compared to the 10D you're used to)!

If you don't bear that in mind before and find it out after you bought your camera, it might spoil your day. On the other hand, there are some cameras that do better in that respect than others. It might be wise looking for those in reviews, e.g. at DPReview.

Best regards,
Andy

[new girl on the bloc]

New girl ...

If you don't bear that in mind before and find it out after you bought your camera, it might spoil your day. On the other hand, there are some cameras that do better in that respect than others. It might be wise looking for those in reviews, e.g. at DPReview.

Best regards,
Andy

i've been doing tons of research; of which there is a plethora of out there. one of my biggest concerns is the shutter lag.

[new girl on the bloc]

today i went out and had a look at the canon elph 500. i was not completely impressed with it. that lcd screen is so tiny! i want something small but this thing seems almost too small.

the sony w1 is considered to be a lot like the s500, but from what i can tell is superior, for a couple of reasons. it has a large lcd (2.5)! it also has a quicker start up time and less shutter lag, (apparently one of the best in it's category) two really important issues for me. it takes AA batteries, which is very convenient, and the picture quality is said to be great! oh, and the camera also can be equipped with lenses and such, with an extender. it just seems to have more options.

anyone have any experience with this camera.

[Fooj]

so what have you decided on? :)

now, my head is swimming, so i am going to make a list of features i want, photo quality being no. 1, of course, and price being at the top of that list too, and then do the grand comparison. this feels harder than picking out my g3 and rebel? :?

absolutely agree. The subcompact digicam market is incredibly crowded, and it's really tough to sort out the field. A good friend of mine just went with the Nikon 5200. I think she said that the price has dropped way down to $359 at Best Buy. It was at $499 just 6 weeks ago!

[pradeep1]

Hi,

I have a G3 and a Rebel. But I often find myself not wanting to lug them around with me, esp. the rebel, but even the G3. I am considering getting a ultra small camera (to take everywhere) but only if the size does not compromise quality. i don't want to spend a bundle either. any suggestions?

much appreciated :wink:

Once they start implanting 50 MP CMOS sensors directly to your retina, you won't have to lug around heavy cameras. Of course, we can only imagine where they'd put the compact flash card slot. :P :wink:

[new girl on the bloc]

Hi,

I have a G3 and a Rebel. But I often find myself not wanting to lug them around with me, esp. the rebel, but even the G3. I am considering getting a ultra small camera (to take everywhere) but only if the size does not compromise quality. i don't want to spend a bundle either. any suggestions?

much appreciated :wink:

Once they start implanting 50 MP CMOS sensors directly to your retina, you won't have to lug around heavy cameras. Of course, we can only imagine where they'd put the compact flash card slot. :P :wink:

many times i have wished for the ability to take a photo with the blink of my eye; i miss soooo many cool shots!

[Moniphoto]

I have the Canon A96 is not heavy is good and I go with the cam everywhere 8) .

:P
__________________________________________________ _____________
Moniphoto

[LowTechMan]

This is an extremely informative thread. Big thumbs up to all who contributed. I have an S40 and an S50. Am fairly pleased with those and was on the fence about going with a new S70 or switching to another style. I also like a small camera and though it's not as small as some of the others the size is acceptaple for me. I'll do some more looking around but I'll probably buy an S70 before the end of the year.

One problem I have with my S50 is the auto focus at fairly close range in low light situations, like at a party with dim lights or in a bar. Until recently, I thought the problem was me and it probably still is. More than likely I should have it set on another mode than just 'auto.' Many times even if you wait till it tells you it's focused the pics some out blurry. Pics taken at longer range in low light seem to focus better. I didn't see anything in any reviews about the S70 auto focus. Sorry for rambling.....comments welcome.... :lol:

[Jon]

One problem I have with my S50 is the auto focus at fairly close range in low light situations, like at a party with dim lights or in a bar. Until recently, I thought the problem was me and it probably still is. More than likely I should have it set on another mode than just 'auto.' Many times even if you wait till it tells you it's focused the pics some out blurry. Pics taken at longer range in low light seem to focus better. I didn't see anything in any reviews about the S70 auto focus. Sorry for rambling.....comments welcome.... :lol:

Do you see this with flash pictures or just with available dimness shots? You may be seeing camera shake rather than poor autofocus.

[LowTechMan]

One problem I have with my S50 is the auto focus at fairly close range in low light situations, like at a party with dim lights or in a bar. Until recently, I thought the problem was me and it probably still is. More than likely I should have it set on another mode than just 'auto.' Many times even if you wait till it tells you it's focused the pics some out blurry. Pics taken at longer range in low light seem to focus better. I didn't see anything in any reviews about the S70 auto focus. Sorry for rambling.....comments welcome.... :lol:

Do you see this with flash pictures or just with available dimness shots? You may be seeing camera shake rather than poor autofocus.

Since I'm using 'auto' mode in dim light the focus problem occurs with the flash. I really don't think its camera shake, I could always pick those out in a heartbeat...... or at least I could on a film camera. I can post one of the blurred ones and you can tell me what you think??? :)

[xdjoynerx]

get an s70

see my last post here

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46665

this camera is nothing short of amazing.

well im really looking for an all around package. i want a 300d or 10d, but i want a camera that i can take with me every where i go.

im also looking at the s70 now. it seems like an even better over all package for me. and its not significantly more money (maybe a hundred bucks?)

i wont have the swivel, which i loved with my g2.

but with the image quality and features of a g6 i think ill be alright :wink:

s70 left, g6 right (the exposure is slightly different, and the s70 has less aggressive sharpening, so ignore that)

the image quality, resolution, and detailed captured are identical. :)

50 iso

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/7038/s70g650.jpg

pretty amazing they can achieve this kinda image quality and pack so many features in such a small package.

[xdjoynerx]

One problem I have with my S50 is the auto focus at fairly close range in low light situations, like at a party with dim lights or in a bar. Until recently, I thought the problem was me and it probably still is. More than likely I should have it set on another mode than just 'auto.' Many times even if you wait till it tells you it's focused the pics some out blurry. Pics taken at longer range in low light seem to focus better. I didn't see anything in any reviews about the S70 auto focus. Sorry for rambling.....comments welcome.... :lol:

Do you see this with flash pictures or just with available dimness shots? You may be seeing camera shake rather than poor autofocus.

Since I'm using 'auto' mode in dim light the focus problem occurs with the flash. I really don't think its camera shake, I could always pick those out in a heartbeat...... or at least I could on a film camera. I can post one of the blurred ones and you can tell me what you think??? :)

the s50 does have poor af... i have a hard time focusing with mine in non day light situations, even with the af beam.

[PKoonz]

I just bought my wife an SD200. This camera is an amazing camera in a tiny package (I's smaller than my cell phone). The startup time is almost instantaneous. The shutter lag hardly noticeable. Nine-point AF. DIGIC II processor.....

It's amazing (have I said that yet?)

[Jethro790]

PKoonz Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:18 pm Post subject: SD200

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just bought my wife an SD200. This camera is an amazing camera in a tiny package (I's smaller than my cell phone). The startup time is almost instantaneous. The shutter lag hardly noticeable. Nine-point AF. DIGIC II processor.....

It's amazing (have I said that yet?)

I was going to the bottom of this post to recommend this very camera! This camera is awesome, I just got it last week. It is tiny, really easy to pack along on any outing, and it takes awesome pics. I can snap over 20 photos in less than 8 seconds! The DIGIC II processor makes a difference- this camera takes better pics than my SD110 and I was impressed with that simple little thing.

Another solid vote for the SD200!!!

[shiningstardv]

PKoonz Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:18 pm Post subject: SD200

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just bought my wife an SD200. This camera is an amazing camera in a tiny package (I's smaller than my cell phone). The startup time is almost instantaneous. The shutter lag hardly noticeable. Nine-point AF. DIGIC II processor.....

It's amazing (have I said that yet?)

I was going to the bottom of this post to recommend this very camera! This camera is awesome, I just got it last week. It is tiny, really easy to pack along on any outing, and it takes awesome pics. I can snap over 20 photos in less than 8 seconds! The DIGIC II processor makes a difference- this camera takes better pics than my SD110 and I was impressed with that simple little thing.

Another solid vote for the SD200!!!

I just bought my mom a SD200 for her birthday, and I can say the same thing about it. It is the perfect point and shoot digital camera. She loves it and it takes wonderful pictures! Not to mention it is super small, really fast, and the 2.0 inch LCD is absolutely beautiful!

[WestFalcon]

I just bought an SD200 for my son and I printed a couple of 8x10's that surprised me with their quality. I use the big Canon slr's and I know good quality. This little camera is a winner...I agree with the two other posts recommending this camera....it is small and it is awesome. I would buy it at B&H...you can get it for $259 there.

[leonardhursh]

go with the A-95 you won't regret it i guarantee it....taking picture can be fun and has complex has you want it.....when you buy it i can show you how to program it so it's a point and shoot cam, no lag time just great picture......let me now ....take care

hlp, how do you get no lag time with an A-95? Will it work with any A-series camera?

[tommykjensen]

If this aspect is of interest to you as well, you may want to look at the Pentax Optio 33WR or 43WR. They are very small square cameras that can survive being submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. They do not recommend actually using the camera under water, but it can get wet or dirty all you want and you can just rinse it off. I have been very happy with it. The only real difference between the two models I listed above is the 33WR is 3.2 MP and the 43WR is 4 MP. Take a look at them. The picture quality I have gotten from the 3.2MP is quite good. Have fun!

I am also looking for a small compact camera that can handle to get water splashed onto it so I asked about the Pentax WR at the local photoshop just a few minutes ago.

They did not recommend it (slow shutterlag, poor autofocus...), instead they recommended the Sony TSC T3 with the leather proctective bag. I was told that this camera is used a lot on construction site where there is a lot of dust and dirt but with the leather bag there is no problems using the camera. Does anybody have this camera?

[Moppie]

I know someone who just got a T3 and is quite happy with it. But they are totaly ignorant of anything photographic.
They also mentioned it was pushed quite heavily on them by the sales guy, its possible sony has an incetive to push this camera in Europe.
Looking at dpreview spec list for its a pretty basic camera with a limited range of shutter speeds and only two apatures, one for wide angle, and one for zoom. (seems to be a trend with many new sonys).

[tommykjensen]

The purpose is just to have a second camera for those situations where I can't or won't bring my 20D. So it is not so important that it has full manual mode etc. Main concerns are: size, picture quality and some resistance to water splashes.

My biggest "problem" with a sony is the memorystick, I just hate when vendors have to squeeze the money machine for proprietary memory cards. Why can't they just use one of the established standards?

[Moppie]

Why can't they just use one of the established standards?
Because they wouldn't be sony :)
I have some experiance useing friends sonys, and I havn't liked any of them.
All were slow to focus, very very slow, and have very slow lens, requiring use of slow shutter speeds, or the flash, which is not that powerful.

The only good things I can say about is when useing AUTO mode the results with flash are much much better than anything Iv got with my A80 in any mode.
Clearly Sony spent a lot of time working on the flash, probobly being aware of the lens limitations in low light.
And the LCDs are very clear, and very bright, certianly much better than my A80.
However they also very slow, even a new W1 took half a second to fully resolve a photo in preview mode.
They are IMO dumb cameras. Marketing and extreme ease of use with little user control over settings take precedence over image quality and actualy functionality.

There are now several aftermarket memory sticks avliable, Sandisk makes some, but I have heard they are not yet fast enough to record movies to, so you still need a sony memory stick pro if you want a fast card.

Given that you already own a Canon, and have a plentiful supply of CF cards I would look at getting another Canon. Prehaps an S seires if you want something really compact. Iv never used one, but they seem to get excellent reviews, and there are some very nice photos posted from them on the forums.
My A80 and the A40 before both have recieve plenty of watar spashs, from rain, and shooting to close to the waters surface. Niether have suffered from it, I just give them a shake and blow water away from them.
I should imagine the S series is just as resiliant.