[sheps]

Chaps,

Missus wants a new point and shoot camera for Christmas (please, no grief about leaving it to lastminute.com)

Looking to spend about £150 but happy to spend more if that buys additional features she'll actually use.

She's currently got a Sony which has been a great little camera for the past 7 years or so, but by modern standards it's lacking in megapixels (7.2)

Who has what, or who can make a recommendation? Is there anything new or exciting that's been launched?

Cheers,

Si

[zanth119]

Check out the Canon ELPH 510 HS / IXUS 1100 HS, ultra compact, great zoom, good quality photos, HD video, touch screen.

[misterS3]

canon s95.. in at £220 as s100 released. worth looking at.

[kaishang]

> She's currently got a Sony which has been a great little camera for the past 7 years or so, but by modern standards it's lacking in megapixels (7.2)

You know that to print out a standard 4 x 6 print at the full resolution avaiable at any photo lab, you only need 2 megapixels.....

[sheps]

Originally Posted by kaishang

You know that to print out a standard 4 x 6 print at the full resolution avaiable at any photo lab, you only need 2 megapixels.....

Yup, but as a graphic designer by trade she does a lot of post-shot "fiddling" with them and tends to use them for all sorts so the larger the better I think. Besides, storage is so cheap now, so i figure why not take larger pics?

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by kaishang

You know that to print out a standard 4 x 6 print at the full resolution avaiable at any photo lab, you only need 2 megapixels.....

Absolutely right - too many people get bamboozled by hype into thinking that pixel count is everything.
Each and every pixel creates it's own 'noise', which has to be controlled by the processor. Therefore larger sensors and better processors will always give better results, particularly in low light conditions.
OP, an excellent site for reviews and advice here: http://www.dpreview.com/

[kaishang]

At least it looks like the "more pixels so this camera is better" war between manufactureres seems to have stopped now. You can even buy large-ish 1/1.8" sensor point and shoot cameras with "only" 10 megapixels.

I think consumers have woken up and looked at their photos and said "Why is there so much noise?" Or they probably don't know what noise is, they wonder why their pics didn't look as good as the camera they had 2 years earlier...

[Jon D]

Originally Posted by kaishang

At least it looks like the "more pixels so this camera is better" war between manufactureres seems to have stopped now. You can even buy large-ish 1/1.8" sensor point and shoot cameras with "only" 10 megapixels.

I think consumers have woken up and looked at their photos and said "Why is there so much noise?" Or they probably don't know what noise is, they wonder why their pics didn't look as good as the camera they had 2 years earlier...

Quite so; look no further that Nikon's professional D3S or their low-light star, the D700, both of which have just 12mp on a 34mm full frame sensor. I can't be bothered to do the math right now, but that's probably equivalent to less than 2mp on the average point-and-shoot - it's all down to pixel quality as opposed to quantity; and, of course, the processor.

[burtface]

I agree with MisterS3, go with the S95! Best point and shoot camera in the market. You wont be dissapointed with its quality and low light picture quality.

[CHG]

Originally Posted by misterS3

canon s95.. in at £220 as s100 released. worth looking at.

+1

[Route 16]

+1 Canon S95, I have it, many features, it's like a miniature DSLR.

[R12ax7]

The S95 is definitely the way to go, just be aware there is a known issue where the lens randomly fails and the camera is essentially fried (see, Amazon or flicker or just google "S95 lens error" to see how prevalent the issue is) and Canon reserves the right to give you a refurbished replacement. If the prospect of a refurbished replacement is a non-starter, you may want to consider the slightly older, slightly less feature filled, but more reliable S90. This lens error issue may explain why the older model is actually going for more on most websites than the S95.

[marlie]

Originally Posted by misterS3

canon s95.. in at £220 as s100 released. worth looking at.

£220? haven't seen it that cheap?

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by marlie

£220? haven't seen it that cheap?

It can be had for £220 from websites like buyacamera.co.uk but they are all Grey Imports or white box products, and as such don't have a UK Canon warranty. You are totally reliant on the 'warranty' that the shop provides, and to say that this is a bit 'unreliable' is an understatement....

Buyer beware...


Genuine UK stock (and for the S95 I would only buy genuine UK stock) it's around £320

[misterS3]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

It can be had for £220 from websites like buyacamera.co.uk but they are all Grey Imports or white box products, and as such don't have a UK Canon warranty. You are totally reliant on the 'warranty' that the shop provides, and to say that this is a bit 'unreliable' is an understatement....

Buyer beware...


Genuine UK stock (and for the S95 I would only buy genuine UK stock) it's around £320

Agreed...i bought it white box from buyacamera

Thing is my folks took it on hols straight away so i've not seen the camera.

What is 'WHITE BOX' - Items that are classed as 'WHITE BOX' are very common in the consumer electronics marketplace, in this instance they are split from camera/printer combo kits and then re-boxed in a plain white box ! They are brand new and have the full manufacturer warranty plus box contents as listed above. These are sold on a first come first served basis as often we cannot repeat this deal.