picture quality poll (right one)

[OceanRider]

Other specs aside, which series of P&S have the best quality in your opinion?

[etaf]

DSLR will provide better quality then a compact for a whole load of reasons which have been given here and on other sites, size of sensor, noise in sensor, lack of lag, see optically, bla bla bla.
having said all that - (i)whats the reason for the question? (ii)whats your photographic requirements? (iii)whats your budget?
I have a EOS5, EOS600, 28-105lens, 135mm 2.8, 50 1.8mm, 75-300, 28-80mm, 550EX, 430EZ, 2x converter, extension tubes, sekonic light meter, etc etc etc
But, I purchased a Pro1 because I wanted a small compact camera that i could sling over my shoulder and take around with me easily. So quality was a secondry consideration

[Jon]

Other specs aside. . .
Well, they never are/can be, can they? You're not going to ignore size, price, battery life, recording media you may already use, ISO range, lens zoom range, metering and exposure modes available, "movie" capabilities, macro modes, . . . in deciding, are you? f you want absolute quality and hang the expense, get a Hassie and digital back, or a Linhof 4x5 and shoot sheet film.

[griff2]

Not in your poll but I'd say the G series - these cameras lured me away from film, 'till DSLRs became affordable.

[OceanRider]

The reason for question is I want a very small camera to carry round with *everywhere* my big 20D and 580EX is just a little big for many day-to-day operations.

I miss a tremendious number of pics in day to day life without a camera attached to my hip, but I just cant lug that beast round with me. A big, fast camera is not always needed to take great pics. I was watching a tv fashion show the other day and this photographer shott all his stuff with a cheapo point and shoot! And they looked great.


So....I want a small, but GOOD quality camera that could be blown up to at least 8x10 (4 mega pixel?) if necessary. Price is important but not key. The SD series is defininly small and cheap, BUT it has no manual functions which are fun and needed some times. The A-series is great but a little too big for real portability, but has everything. So hence the question. Which of the two (SD or A) has the best quality? I would prefer the SD, as it awesomely small....but the manual functions of the A is nice too. So who has the better quality?

Joel

[etaf]

is there a reason you have short listed those camera Price is important but not key.- the pro1 has a lot of features you are used to on the 20D and therefore you may not get so frustrated with the camera. Plus the zoom range is 28-200 rather than just a 3x range 35mm-105mm. its also 8Mb so an 8x10 will be no problem - including RAW so you can manipulate colour balance etc after the fact, if you get that vital shot.
your answer was exactly why I went for the Pro1 + I had an external flash to work with it - If the Nikon 8800 had been out at the time I purchased I may have bought Nikon 35-350mm lens , Vibration control etc - a mate has one and its a nice camera. However, the control layout on the pro1 was also the same as my EOS's

[Jon]

I went with the A series even though they're bigger. I didn't look primarily at image quality, rather at media type (A80 uses CF like the D60), battery type (AA are easy to deal with and I already use them - no chasing down (more) oddball proprietary sizes beyond what I already need - a factor that also influenced my DV selection - the ZR70 uses a BP-511 like my D60), and more comprehensive controls. I figured image quality wasn't going to be significantly different for what I'd be doing with it. The A80 won't fit in a shirt pocket, and only in a pants pocket if the pants are very baggy, but it fits in a coat pocket, or I can throw it in my backpack and not worry about it. It also, and I learned to appreciate this after the fact, has a swing/twist out LCD for taking those shots from odd angles (very good for catching small dogs at their best).