G10 alternative

I want to buy a decent P&S for casual shooting. It's mainly used for taking picture of my baby indoor or party pics. Also, my wife is going to use it for traveling pictures too while I carry my 30D.

I've been looking around and seems like G10 is the best you can get for a P&S. It's a little bit too bulky & heavy. My wife wants something smaller and lighter.

I've Looked at Panasonic LX3. It's good but I hope to find one with longer zoom. I have a 17-55mm for my 30D. I hope the P&S will have a longer zoom range to complement my 30D.

Summary:
P&S with zoom range at least around 28-105mm.
Decent indoor low-light quality (close to G10).
Decent video.
Reliable (Can be non-Canon but have to be reliable).

What is my best option?

thanks in advance!!!

btw. NO Sony. I hate memory stick. I hate the way Sony makes people use their proprietary stuff.

I'm in about the same situation. I like the looks and specs of the SX10 IS.

jr_senator wrote in post #7902584
I'm in about the same situation. I like the looks and specs of the SX10 IS.

That's a little bit too big. I would carry my 30D instead.
I'm still looking for a more portable solution for my wife taking baby pics.

I am in the same boat myself...

Want a G10, but its too big for the lady...

What I have narrowed it down to is either a Canon SX200 IS or a Panasonic TZ7.

Both are around the £270 mark, but canon are offering £40 cashback to UK customers.

The Panasonic gets better reviews, but the Canon has the PASM (Manual Options) which is drawing me.

*(I have just noticed your in the States, so the UK pricing is irrelevant) [The TZ7 = ZS3 in the States]*

Still have not decided which one to go for..

A590 IS. Best $120 you'll ever spend on one whole digital camera.

My wife and I went to the store last night. She likes the look of Canon PowerShot SD960 IS. How well does it work in low light?

I've been reading lots of reviews. Seems like SD880 IS is a better camera than SD960 IS.
The price different is not much but SD880 IS is discontinued. Would you get a older model?

I just found another candidate, fuji F100fd.
Any idea on how well the video is compare to Canon SD880 or SD960?

viodea wrote in post #7917543
I just found another candidate, fuji F100fd.
Any idea on how well the video is compare to Canon SD880 or SD960?

Look at the newest -- Fuji F200 EXR. It's got 5X zoom, wide angle, pretty good low light and dynamic range boost. The only issue w/Fujis is the menu system is a bit confusing, and overall ease of use is not near to Canons.

On the F100 -- you can get them, I am sure, pretty inexpensively, but they have a known "pink banding" issue. If you Google "pink banding f100" you'll see what I mean.

I don't have the F200, but I've read a lot about it. I have the LX3 instead, as that better fits what I want (fast lens and wide angle), but if my Canon SD800 died, I would seriously consider the F200.

I bought my wife the G10 for her 50th birthday a few weeks ago. She used to have a Nikon Coolpix 2MByte pixel camera. You are right about the G10 being a bit bigger and heavier, but she loves the G10 and it even fits into the camera pouch she carried the Nikon in. She has never mentioned or complained about the size or weight difference.

Al

leroy_sunset wrote in post #7904560
A590 IS. Best $120 you'll ever spend on one whole digital camera.

+1

It's small, but easy to handle because of the grip and takes AA batteries.

WT21 wrote in post #7919266
Look at the newest -- Fuji F200 EXR. It's got 5X zoom, wide angle, pretty good low light and dynamic range boost. The only issue w/Fujis is the menu system is a bit confusing, and overall ease of use is not near to Canons.

On the F100 -- you can get them, I am sure, pretty inexpensively, but they have a known "pink banding" issue. If you Google "pink banding f100" you'll see what I mean.

I don't have the F200, but I've read a lot about it. I have the LX3 instead, as that better fits what I want (fast lens and wide angle), but if my Canon SD800 died, I would seriously consider the F200.

I was thinking about getting the F100 because I only need to pay around $150 to get a brand new one after $100 rebate. That's pretty good deal.
I've read something about the pink banding. I thought it's only isolated issue. I need to do more research about it.

viodea wrote in post #7920692
I was thinking about getting the F100 because I only need to pay around $150 to get a brand new one after $100 rebate. That's pretty good deal.
I've read something about the pink banding. I thought it's only isolated issue. I need to do more research about it.

That's a good price, and worth the risk!

I think the pink banding is mainly in high ISOs with dark pictures, and is not present in every camera, and also could easily be cropped out. For only $150, it might be worth it!

I'm running in a circle now.
I'm back to 3 models to choose from.
Panasonic DMC-ZS3 ~$400
Canon SX200 ~$350 - can be $315 (local discount)
Fuji F200EXR ~$360

Pros:
Panasonic - Best full auto. Best LCD.
Canon - Good features like face self-timer and iContrast.
Fuji - I like the Dynamic range. Not sure how well the low light quality really as good as claimed.

Cons:
Panasonic - Proprietary battery with chips. I've heard there are eBay knock-off but not sure.
Canon - Purple fringe. Is this only at longest zoom or through out the range? Could be a deal breaker.
Fuji - Sometimes unexpected artifact due to the special sensor. No real aperture control (widest + ND filter).

I'm leaning toward Canon both due to the look, price & performance ratio. The only draw back is the purple fringing issue. If happens only on high power zoom, it's not too bad. If it's through out the range, it's going to be a big problem.

I really like the wide dynamic range on the Fuji. I can definitely see many vacation photos will be benefited by this. Even so, it's only a small portion of my pictures. Most of them will be baby pics indoor. I've heard Fuji is good at low light but not convinced the last time I played with it.

Panasonic seems nothing really stand out but overall is the best. I've read this is as P&S as you can get. Set to auto and let it do it's job. This will be create for my wife.