Best pocket shooter?

[Kaido]

I'm going to be doing a lot of biking this year (road & mountain) and I want to pick up a small, slim camera to take pictures on the way. I'm looking at the Canon PowerShot SD890 IS right now:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consu...ryid=145&modelid=16719

Features:
-Small
-5x optical zoom
-Image Stabilizer
-Big 2.5" screen
-10 megapixels

Video review on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI1HzQkjzR8

Buy.com has it for $359 with free shipping: (Newegg has it for about the same price too)

http://www.buy.com/prod/canon-...loc/111/207643194.html

I'll have to save up a bit because it's pretty pricey for a slim camera, but I want something that has really excellent quality and that will last a long time. I have a small Gorillapod for mounting it in odd locations. One my complaints is that is has a custom battery (NB-5L) so I can't just use basic rechargable AAs or AAAs, but I guess that's a trade-off for having a tiny camera.

As far as accessories go, my plan is to pick up a durable carrying case to put in my pack bag, an 8gb SDHC card, and a couple generic spare batteries with a travel charger. Oh, and a screen protector.

Is this my best option? It's hard to find a small camera with a good zoom; the 5x optical is something I really like. I just want it to take great pictures and last a long time, and be small and quick to use

 

[dug777]

Why not? It will produce very adequate pictures assuming you stick to the very low end of the ISO scale, and they're excellently built & packaged little cameras, Canon certainly know what they are doing there.

For the package, they're great

EDIT: I'm just jaded I suppose, and the P&S market seems to be going the wrong way to me

 

[andylawcc]

second the Canon.

but allow me to throw in Sony T200 or T300. I've tried a previous T-model and the Image Stablization is legendary.

 

[punchkin]

I would by far prefer to buy the Canon G9 for that kind of money. Until Thursday you can get it at Dell for $412 after $12 "FatCash" back. It will be much more physically robust and offer full manual controls, as well as better final image quality. The lens IIRC is 35-210 35mm equivalent.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: punchkin
I would by far prefer to buy the Canon G9 for that kind of money. Until Thursday you can get it at Dell for $412 after $12 "FatCash" back. It will be much more physically robust and offer full manual controls, as well as better final image quality. The lens IIRC is 35-210 35mm equivalent.

yeah, but sometimes you want something just to slide in your pocket, which the SD890 is far easier to do than the G9. I personally would put a cap at ~$200 for that kind of camera, but that's me.

And that dell deal is indeed intriguing... must.. not.. spend.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: punchkin
I would by far prefer to buy the Canon G9 for that kind of money. Until Thursday you can get it at Dell for $412 after $12 "FatCash" back. It will be much more physically robust and offer full manual controls, as well as better final image quality. The lens IIRC is 35-210 35mm equivalent.

yeah, but sometimes you want something just to slide in your pocket, which the SD890 is far easier to do than the G9. I personally would put a cap at ~$200 for that kind of camera, but that's me.

And that dell deal is indeed intriguing... must.. not.. spend.

I agree. I just wanted to suggest the G9 for the OP to consider, since he'd be able to throw it in a small bag while biking etc. and it's still pretty small and light, the case is rugged, and it has good resolving power.

I bought the f50fd for my wife a month ago, and the image quality is really pretty good on that one for about $200, though I don't think it has a 5X zoom. I would also consider the A650IS (around $300 for the same sensor as the G9, 6X zoom and CHDK support for RAW IIRC) and the A590IS (great value at under $150, good image quality at base ISO and decent manual controls, with a 4X zoom).

 

[Kelvrick]

Got the Sony T200 for the GF for her birthday. Its the one we usually always have with us. Noise is well, horrible, but pictures are pictures. I've never had to think twice about whether dragging a Canon 20d with a tamron 17-50 is going to make it a little awkward when we're going to bars/clubs.

 

[Mojoed]

I've also been thinking about the Canon 890IS.

Then I saw the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 which seems pretty slick.

Now I'm pretty confused. I love the 10x optical zoom on the Panny.

Which would you guys prefer? Please be easy on me, I'm a total camera noob.

Sorry for the derail!

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick
I've never had to think twice about whether dragging a Canon 20d with a tamron 17-50 is going to make it a little awkward when we're going to bars/clubs.

on the contrary, chicks will think you are the event organizer and will put their pics on teh intr@w3b!

 

[dug777]

Get this:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0804/08042201ricohg600.asp

Way more manly.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
I've also been thinking about the Canon 890IS.

Then I saw the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 which seems pretty slick.

Now I'm pretty confused. I love the 10x optical zoom on the Panny.

Which would you guys prefer? Please be easy on me, I'm a total camera noob.

Sorry for the derail!

I found the Panasonic to be farily bulky, especially compared to the 890IS. But it does have a host of features like 720p video and that range. My main gripe is I've never been happy with Panasonic's IQ. It's always felt a hair behind the competition. I dunno about this new one though, just from the past samples.

 

[troytime]

i have a sony T9 (i think its a 9)
its a great camera. fits into the pocket better than other slims i've used (the way the edges are rouned and buttons are smooth makes a big difference)

noise isn't bad at all unless ISO is over 800

 

[Wekiva]

Kaido

I'm in the exact same boat as you...looking for high quality (or as high as possible) with a small form factor. I've been looking one step up at the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. I think the main difference is 12MP vs 10MP. I do wish the camera had shutter and/or aperture priority though.

The other camera I'm looking at is the Nikon P5100 which is a bit bigger but has a LOT more user control including shutter and aperture priority (it even has full manual).

One question...are there any small point/shoots that can shoot video w/ stereo sound? Are they all monaural? Obviously the sound won't be that great but video from a point/shoot is better than no video at all.

Report back once you buy the camera and let us know what you think.

 

[TheDrake]

I personally love the Sony T200 due to its size and the fact the lens does not come out. I do wish it was a little smaller, dont get me wrong its plenty small but it seems like having the touchscreen makes it thicker, but I guess if it had buttons it would be the same issue. Dont expect any good results from an ultra-compact in low light. I learned not to expect any decent results in low light for a ultra compact so I went with features and the sony's won it for me.

 

[FriedToast]

Just picked up an IXY 810IS this past weekend to replace my IXY 700 which has been thrashed to death. These lil Canons are bulletproof. Absolutely recommend 'em. When it comes to P&S, I'm sold on Canon. However, if we start talkin' BIG toys, then I'd have to say I'm with The Dark Side there Nikon D300 is my main camera - Canon fills in for the times when the D300 isn't necessary or is too big to use.

I've dropped my 700 on the cement an untold number of times at work (once from about 12 ft high and it's still pluggin' along (it looks like Frankenstein, but it can take a beatin'!)). So if you're biking, keep strength in mind, too. Just because you mean to take good care of it doesn't mean that it's not going to suffer a few dings along the way.

 

[Viper0329]

I have the Canon SD800 IS and I love it. No complaints here with mine. It fits in my pocket great, and batteries last for quite a while.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: FriedToast
Just picked up an IXY 810IS this past weekend to replace my IXY 700 which has been thrashed to death. These lil Canons are bulletproof. Absolutely recommend 'em. When it comes to P&S, I'm sold on Canon. However, if we start talkin' BIG toys, then I'd have to say I'm with The Dark Side there Nikon D300 is my main camera - Canon fills in for the times when the D300 isn't necessary or is too big to use.

I've dropped my 700 on the cement an untold number of times at work (once from about 12 ft high and it's still pluggin' along (it looks like Frankenstein, but it can take a beatin'!)). So if you're biking, keep strength in mind, too. Just because you mean to take good care of it doesn't mean that it's not going to suffer a few dings along the way.

Yeah that's why I've been eyeing the Canons. I've had extremely good luck with them in the past. I just have a small pack bag for the bike, so there's not a lot of room for my bigger stuff like our D70s. Something small & quick like the SD890 would be great because I could fit my phone, multi-tool, and a spare tube in the bag and put the cam in a shock case for protection. The bike itself is only 15-20 pounds so there's not a lot of room for me to add on storage:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5599/bikefe0.jpg

Right now I'll be using one of the triangle frame bags, but I think I'm going to switch to an under-saddle bag because I need to make room for a couple water bottles, a small CO2 pump, and a gel flask. Not a lot of room leftover for bigger toys