Manual Exposure Control?

[aureliaecor]

What is "manual exposure control?"

I've been looking to buy a new digital camera because my old one was really bad, and then it died completely anyway! I have a toddler so I was just looking for one that didn't have such a horrible delay as my previous camera.

Now I decided to take an intro to photography course and we are required to buy a digital camera with manual exposure control (and at least 8 MP). I was already looking at Canon a590 and I THINK that has manual options, and I read reviews that say the Canon a1000 and a2100 and their upgrades a1100 and a2100 do NOT. I called Canon and asked which cameras have manual exposure control, and the woman said ALL Canon cameras have a manual mode. The owner must know how to put the camera in manual mode and people who write the reviews must not have read the user manual.... I don't know if she is correct about that. Well, I don't even know what manual exposure control IS! The funniest thing, though, is she put me on hold and then came back and said a tech guy told her the a1000 has the BEST manual mode and that I should get that one!

I am pretty much set on Canon since the reviews are so good compared to other brands. I want a camera under $200 (I know I know! I've already been told that getting a camera that cheap probably won't even hack it in a photo class, but I have to have the camera BEFORE the class starts and I won't have financial aid until AFTER, so I don't have any money really to spend a lot on a camera) Any ideas??? I can't find anywhere which cameras do or don't have this manual exposure control!!! Thanks!

[JustShootin']

Considering everything you have written, and the fact that you want to keep it under $200, I don't see how you could go wrong with the Canon A590IS. What's called manual mode on some of the compacts only means you can control the ISO, not the shutter speed, F stop etc. The 590 has full manual controls, and takes dang good pictures. If your photo class won't accept this camera as a good learning tool, then they'tre not trying very hard to teach!

[Jon]

Manual controls mean that you'll be able to set shutter speed and aperture (and ISO) by yourself in at least one shooting mode. The Canon A590, SD990, G10 and the various SX models all offer this. Other current PowerShot (compact/point and shoot) models don't. The A590 is about the only one of those that'll meet your price level, especially since you need a memory card and rechargeable AA batteries for it as well.

[aureliaecor]

Thank you so much!!! So between the a590 and the sx110, which is a better camera?

[Jon]

I think the SX110 has more bells and whistles and a better zoom range, but the A590 has an optical viewfinder, which can help if you're trying to follow action, and a slightly better flash range. If I were going to spend more than the A590 costs on just the camera, I think I'd push up to at least the SX10. If you got the A590 you'd have some spare cash on hand to get a reasonably good tripod (which you'll probably find a need for somewhere in your class) and maybe an external "slave" flash, that can be triggered by your camera's flash as well as the necessary memory card and batteries.

[CameraLens]

I would try to get a camera that has at least:

full manual mode
a viewfinder
a tripod mount, prefereably metal (unlike many of the skanky Canons)
f/2.8 aperture at the short end
image stabilizer
uses AA batteries

Very few compact cameras fit this bill.

[JustShootin']

I would try to get a camera that has at least:

full manual mode
a viewfinder
a tripod mount, prefereably metal (unlike many of the skanky Canons)
f/2.8 aperture at the short end
image stabilizer
uses AA batteries

Very few compact cameras fit this bill.

Remember, the OP is trying to keep the price under $200. A memory card, and a set of rechargable batteries will have to be purchased to go with the camera. So I doubt that a camera with all the specs you mentioned will cross her/his path for that price.

[bishoy]

A590IS fulfill all of these (but the metal mount) and with the card and the batteries I think it is still under 200$

Going lower to A570IS refurbished you can get it for 80$ from Adorama and won't miss much from the 590.

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