Point and shoot: Any other suggestions?
1956054
I just returned a Panasonic ZS5. The zoom was nice and outside pictures ok but indoors were just bad. I took repeated photos within seconds of each other with same settings same lighting etc. and one would be ok and the next had a strong red tone to it. I tried differet settings and it was the same, the photos were not consistant and half or more were bad. Also the camea has a red flash first then the regular flash went off and then about a 1/2 second or more after that the flash went off again and the camera would then take the picture. as a result the photos were blurred as everyone thought the picture was taken at the first flash. The shutter speed wth the flash is slow adding to blurred photos. On top of that the led display started getting vertical lines in it after only 10 - 15 minutes of use. Granted the camera is likely defective but some of the issues I have seen in other reviews. I used my ten year old Kodak Easyshare for christmas photos and as usual no problems. Good Luck
952525
It's a point and shoot, BUT I can't recomend it. Toomuch plastic AND it take too long time from you press the button - until it takes the photo.Sorry look for another cameraJE
1356326
You cannot get a quality point and shoot digital with a long wide angle zoom that has a viewfinder. In fact, you can hardly get any point and shoot with a viewfinder. I really miss having this feature for several reasons: (1) I wear reading glasses. With a viewfinder (especially one that allows an optic adjustment) I can see details of the shot I want to take (is my subject smiling?). With the largest LCD screen, I cannot always see the detail I want. I sometimes have to put my glasses on to take a picture. Not easy when you are wearing goggles on a ski slope. A pain anywhere. (2) In bright sun, forget it. Just "point and shoot" and hope for the best. (3) Holding the camera up toward your eye and slightly against your face provides a more stable base and results in much less shake than holding a camera out from your body. I don't know why manufacturers stopped making viewfinders--economy? weight? --but I sorely miss them. I'm afraid it's a lost cause.
755318
buy a canon. This camera is not a point and shoot. Its also terrible for shooting kids!!!
1946228
Check out the D300s - if it's beyond your budget, get the D90, not the D300- It's outdated. The D90 is an awesome camera. I have it.With the extra cash left, you can buy a lens ;)
529194
Thanks so much for your suggestions! As I mentioned in my previous post, I've used locking pre-focus when shooting sports, and that works fine. For grandchildren, though, it doesn't work--their direction (especially distance to or from the camera) is likely to change wildly, so pre-focus doesn't work as well. If they're running toward you, for example, I've tried using the AF Tracking, but getting that first lock on their faces is a real challenge. 8O
244853
The A2500 is pretty great! My friend and my sister both have it and they love it! It actually has a lot of features/modes if you search through the camera. At first glance, it doesn't look like it can do much, but there are so many cool settings and functions--a lot like my canon powershot A470
842596
I'm off to Tatry mountains May 3rd and will stick with my Pentax k10 kit and one prime, TBD, plus Canon SD880. Not exactly a light package :-)
1274617
Thanks for the response. In the interim from posting and now I actually purchased a Canon as the gift, but I found a lot of solid information about photo formats and more at CNet.
845334
IMHO no point & shoot camera is good enough for kids. I have bought and tried many of these and none come even close to the speed of a SLR when it comes to kids. Frankly if you want to preserve great memories, please invest in a SLR
774987
Hi Mr. Hewitt (I wonder if we have any relation?) Anyway, for a true beginner (as in you've never used anything but a point-and-shoot) I'd recommend you get a Nikon D40 and an 18-200 VR. Keep the 18-55 kit lens, you'll find it lighter when your just taking snapshots of the family or whatever. The D40 is an excellent starter camera, it has almost all the tweaks of this much more expensive camera without the weight and cost. The D300 has many advantages over it, but I really feel you'll learn a lot faster with a simpler camera, and step up to this when your ready. I actually started out with a D40 a bit over a year ago, it made starting out quite fun. The 18-200VR will follow you as a great lens on the D300 too, and you can use any newer AF-S lenses on it. If you have older AF-D Nikon lenses lying around that you want to use, a D80 is also a good place to start. It's easier to make the custom tweaks you'll learn about in your photography classes on the D80, but it still has Auto modes as well to get you started. Checkout www.kenrockwell.com, especially his recommended camera page. He's a bit more eloquent than I am. And I wouldn't be so fast to recommend the D60 to anyone, it's just the D40x's guts (plus active D-Lighting, but without the other enhancements of the D300/D3) with a different name stamped on it. I wouldn't recommend the D40x or D60 to anyone, they exist to fill a price point to compete with Canon. If your eyeballing either, jump to the D80 and don't look back.
846064
The Olympus EE-1 is your best bet for a camera. Or if you're feeling crafty you can get a hot shoe to tripod adapter and some picatinny rail and mount a gun sight on there Olympus Dot Sight EE-1
1586491
As mr. Cassatt already said, not really point and shoot, all three of them. They share the same sensor and all offer outstanding image quality. If you intend to go more into photography, they are all good choices, if all you want is point and shoot look elsewhere, sony nex then might be a better sytem
2179927
Consider your final use.I think we all need to really carefully consider what 80% of our photo taking will be and then buy the camera that best fits that need. For the other 20% (for me anyway), a compact point and shoot and a DSLR work. So, as the the old 80-20 rule applies, for me the best practical option is the P100.
1535152
Video, ya. It's just a simple point and shoot though so I wouldn't buy it for taking pictures of fast moving stuff. Get one of the newer ones with the faster processor and intelligent IS in my opinion.
909791
I does have a viewfinder, it's small but useful for situations you describe. The LCD screen is very good also, about 1 million pixels vs 250 to 400 thousand for most point & Shoot cameras. The shutter to picture time (or Delay) is excellent, with a good UHS Class1 card, it's as quick as you can get w/o going to a full size DSLR.
2021449
Yes and no, most point and shoot cameras have pre-set features, the S9100 it's not the exception. Yes, you can adjust it, but only to the extent permitted by the preset features, meaning that only those settings programmed by the manufacturer will be available. There is no way to customize any setting. You would probably be better off with a more advance camera such as Fujifilm or Canon Rebel that are capable of using different lenses. Those cameras would probably cost more but are worth the price for those interested in advanced photography.