Newbie needs help w/camera selection

I’m a complete photography novice looking to purchase my first digital camera, and I’m asking for some help with my decision. I’ve been reading different reviews and while they’ve been helpful, they’ve also been confusing. So, I’m coming to all of you for help in making this decision!

I don’t know squat about the technical aspects of photography (f-stops, etc.), but I’m looking to learn. I’ve never used a digital camera before. I currently have an Olympus Infinity Stylus Epic point and shoot 35mm, and while I have been happy with the quality of pictures that the camera produces, I’m looking for something that gives me much more manual control so that I can start learning to take better pictures. I figure that since I can see the results quickly, a DC will be a good tool for me to learn more about photography.

I’m looking to purchase a 4MP digital camera. I’ve been reading different reviews, and I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to 4 contenders: the Canon G2, S40, S45, or the Nikon CP4500.
I will be emailing pictures as well as printing them out, which is why I went with a 4MP camera. I mostly use my camera to take pictures while traveling (people and scenery/landscapes) and for events/parties/special occasions, etc. My wife and I are expecting and this is the main reason driving us to buy a digital camera.

These are the top things that are important to me in a DC:
1. Picture quality—once again, I’m not an expert by any means, and I won’t be zooming in at 300x looking for imperfections, but I want to have a really good image when viewed under “normal� circumstances.
2. Value/Functionality—​price is somewhat of an issue (I’d like to spend $400-$600 if possible), but I’m more concerned about value than price. If there are features that are actually useful, I’d be willing to pay more for it.
3. “Point & Shoot-ability�—even though I want a camera that has lots of manual adjustability, I don’t want to miss a shot because it takes me forever to get the camera set up correctly. I’d like there to be a decent enough fully auto mode that I can use to take pictures quickly.
4. Build quality—if I’m shelling out hundreds of dollars, I’d like it to last more than a few months.
5. Portability/Ergonomics​—one of the reasons I got my Olympus was it’s small size. I will admit that I have just begun my search and haven’t yet gone to the store to actually play with them. It’s on my list to do though.

Here’s what I’ve gathered from researching each of my choices. The prices in parentheses are a reference point from Amazon.com. Please let me know if my impressions are incorrect:

G2 ($649): First off, the reason that the G3 isn’t one of my choices is that I read a list of all the changes between the G2 and G3, and out of the 15 things, I only thought 5 were really useful. This didn’t seem to be worth the extra $200 to me (if I’m wrong, let me know!). The G2 has gotten good reviews regarding its picture quality. It has a better built-in flash than the others. I like that I can get an external flash and additional lenses. It is supposed to be faster in operation than the S40 and CP4500. I’ve heard about the diagonal jaggies, but they don’t seem to be a big problem unless you go looking for them. My concerns are centered around the auto-focus problem and the noise at ISO100 and above. With regards to the AF problem, how bad is it really? Can’t you tell from the viewfinder/LCD that you’re out of focus before you take the picture? Wouldn’t you just adjust it manually? I know that this wouldn’t apply to spontaneous action shots—if I do tend to take action/spontaneous shots, will I have a problem? Does the CP4500 perform noticeably better in this area? As for the ISO 100 noise, this really comes down to my lack of knowledge. The ISO50 mode seems to be excellent—how much will this impact my day-to-day use? Can I just keep the camera in the ISO50 mode? It doesn’t seem that the noise would be that noticeable unless you really zoomed in—is that a true statement?

S40 ($499): This seems to be a compact version of the G2. Besides the fact that you can’t add on lenses/flash, the shorter battery life, and that the screen doesn’t have an anti-reflective glare, what am I losing out on by not selecting the G2? I’ve heard that the S40 has a “slower� lens than the G2. What does this mean? Is it something that is noticeable? How much difference is there in picture quality between the G2 and S40? It doesn’t seem like there’s much at all.

CP4500 ($649): The main thing that attracts me to this camera is its excellent macro ability. I don’t know how often I’d use it, but it seems like a nice feature to have. How is the macro performance of the other cameras? I’ve heard that the picture quality is pretty close to the Canons’. I have heard that navigating the menus can be a pain. Others have mentioned that it has a long shutter lag, which could cause me to miss some shots. My big concern however is the clipping of the highlights. I saw the pictures in Phil’s review and I did not like that at all. How often does this occur? I would be willing to give up the macro ability for the better picture from the other cameras (assuming that their macro mode isn’t totally useless).

S45 ($549): Is this a compact version of the G3? It looks like it has all the added features of the G3. I’ve heard that the G3 is faster in operation than the G2. Does this apply as well for the S45 (vs. the G2 and S40?) Also, does the S45’s LCD screen have the anti-reflective coating on it?

My gut is telling me that the CP4500 is out of the running because of the clipping issue. The S45 seems to be the best compromise of price vs. features. It has the benefits of the G3, but costs less than the G2, and the premium of $50 over the S40 is worth it. That being said, it’s probably better to get the S45 over the S40. However, I’d be losing out on the ability to get add-on lenses and flashes if I didn’t go with the G2. The flash on the S45 doesn’t seem that great and there wouldn’t be anything I could do about it (w/respect to the camera itself).

The bottom line: Assuming my impressions are correct; it has come down to the S45 vs. G2.

Any help, information, suggestions, corrections, etc. that you guys can provide will be much appreciated! Sorry for the long post, but I think it helps to see where I’m coming from. Thanks again in advanced!

The slower lens is one of the biggest differences between the S40/S45 and the G2. The S40 and S45 share the same lens with a maxium aperture of F2.8 while the G2 has a maximum setting of F2.0. In practice this means the G2 needs less light for a good exposure, thus rendering it a better camera if you're shooting in dim lit conditions or fast pace action shots.

Apart from that, the S40/45 is a pretty good compact version of the G2/G3 if you're willing to give up the option of the flash hot-shoe and lens adapter.

Gowan,

Thanks for the response. So the faster lens translates into better low light performance then. When you say it's better for fast pace action shots, does that mean that you're able to take the picture quickly i.e. there's not a lot of lag time between pressing the button and the picture being taken, or does it mean that the shutter itself is not open for long, which translates into less potential for blurring?

Flash performance

Also, do you know how the built-in flash of the S45 performs?

I am leaning towards the G2 because of its expandability. I can add an external slave flash and there are lens adapters for the S40/45--while I don't think that I would be needing to add a flash/lens that often, trying to adapt the S40/45 seems a lot more cumbersome. The extra features of the S45 would be nice, but I don't think they are all that necessary, which is why I'm not really looking at the G3.

Like I've said, my main concern is picture quality, and I don't get the impression that the S45 is really better than the G2.

Shutter speed and lag

Because it needs less light for good exposure it can use a higher shutter speed, thus minimizing blurring of the image.

For the G2 the figures would look as per below:
Shutter speed - f.stop
1/640 - f/2.8~f/3.5 to f/8
1/800 - f/3.5~f/5.0 to f/8
1/1000 - f/8 only

As for shutter lag and startup time the S40/45 outperforms the G2.

G2:
Startup time (time to first shot): 7.2 s
Shutter lag, full AF: 0.9-1.3 s (wide-tele)
Shutter lag, manual focus: 0.55 s

S40:
Startup time: 4.4 s
Shutter lag, full AF: 0.7-x.x s
Shutter lag, manual focus: 0.41 s

S45:
Startup time: 4.2 s
Shutter lag, full AF: 0.8-1.2 s
Shutter lag, manual focus: NA

The S40/45 is a very quick camera but the G2 still has the benefit of a faster lens. Though the S40/45 has slightly lower shutter lag times it doesn't beat the G2 by far. The shutter lag for the S40 is probably in the 1.0-1.2 region in tele mode (couldn't find a figure to confirm this).

No personal experience of the S45 flash but according to dpreview.com it has average flash performance.


The slim flash built into the S45 is rated with a range of 0.35 to 4.8 m at Wide and 0.35 - 3.0 m at Tele (all at Auto ISO).


A nice feature is the option to manually set the flash output to 1/3, 2/3 or full.

Nothing spectacular in other words, but it does its job for a compact.