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Which of these Cameras are the Best?

Dec 01, 2008 by John J | Posted in Cameras

I have been looking around on the internet for a good digital camera to ask for for christmas, but I know nothing about cameras. I just wanted to know which camera is better between the Nikon Coolpix 600, the Nikon Coolpix 610, and the Canon Powershot SD790 IS. What exactly makes a good camera?
By the way, I which camera is better for taking action shots for sports games? Which is better for landscapes?
And what about the Nikon Coolpix 550?

All your examples are little P&S cameras, they are all rather similar.
Any of them will do quite well for landscapes, since a big DOF (depth of field) is important for that, and little P&S cameras are good at that (unlike shallow DOF for portraits, which they do NOT do well at all).

Action shots are another matter. Outside on a bright sunny day you'll probably do quite well. If it is inside,however, the light will be much dimmer. At that point you need a fast lens to achieve fast shutter speed, something P&Ss are not famous for.

Here is my usual answer to this sort of question, you might find something useful in this, too:

People so often ask: "Which one is a good camera to buy?"
Here is my 10 cents on the subject:

Point & Shoot cameras are wonderfully handy because of their small size.
When light conditions are ideal, they even take really nice photos - all of them do.

However, they all DO have limitations - they don't do very well in low light situations (i.e. noisy photos, hard to avoid blur, etc). The little onboard flash is very harsh at close range, and doesn't reach very far.
Many of them have no manual functions, so you are limited to only very basic photos, you can't compensate for unusual situations, or do many fun "tricks" and special effects.
P&S's also suffer from frustrating shutterlag and many of them chew through batteries rather quickly.

However, if you're ok with all those limitations, then go ahead and pick one, most of them (the same type and same price range) are rather similar. Personally I would pick either a Canon or a Nikon, and would certainly stay away from Kodak.

A higher end P&S will give you more manual options and better quality. Many of those even give you the option of adding a proper flash (which makes a big difference to your flash photos).

Don't worry too much about megapixels…. there is a limit to how many pixels you can squash into a tiny P&S sensor before you actually LOSE quality rather than gain it.

Decide which features are important to you, and look for cameras that have that feature.
Then go compare a few models on www.dpreview.com .

The very best thing you can do for your success is to borrow some books and learn about basic photography. A bit of knowledge will make a much bigger difference to your photos than your choice of P&S camera can.

For what it's worth - if I was in the market for a P&S camera right now, my choice would be a Canon Powershot SX10 IS http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=17630

I need someone experienced with digital cameras to help me narrow down my choices..?

Nov 26, 2006 by heavenlyapprentice | Posted in Cameras

I'm not a professional - only 14 - but I have a serious passion for graphic design, and so therefore want a camera with excellent image quality as to make them easier to work with in Photoshop. Great macro shots and night shots would be nice, but in particular, I want something you can recommend with your full confidence.

But it can't be too pricey either - I don't think I'll be able to spend more than 500-600, though one of the cameras I've narrowed it down to is in the 800's.

So if you have any personal experience with the following cameras, and any advice as to what's best for ME, I would really appreciate it. :)

nikon coolpix p3
canon powershot g7
nikon d80
canon powershot a640

which one?

In the real world, I think you are looking at the A640. The D80 with a good lens is simply out of your price range. Do not get the P3 without considering that it does not have an optical viewfinder. Also, the default settings are somewhat soft and this may not be best for graphic applications. You CAN sharpen them in the menu system of the camera or using Photoshop, etc. If you are still interest in the Nikon, consider a P4, which is about $50 cheaper because it does not have the WiFi connection, unless your computer and/or printer are suitably equipped. Otherwise, they are identical.

In the review of the G7, the conclusion states, " Interestingly the output from the G7 and it's far less pricey stable mate, the A640, is pretty much identical (in fact if anything the A640 actually manages a fractionally higher resolution)." The G7 and A640 go down to 1 cm for macro, also.

Since the G7 sells for $550-600 and the A640 sells for $400 or less, the choice is clear. Besides, you will need another $50-60 for a good 1 GB memory card, which would put the G7 out of your budget. The G7 (and P3/P4) DO have image stabilization, but for serious graphic work, you will be using a tripod anyhow and won't need that feature.

Go here and look at the green links for "Our in-depth review" and read the user comments. I only included the A620 so you can read the review and comments. This is pretty much the same camera as the A640, except for the obvious improvement in pixel count.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_a640%2Ccanon_g7%2Cnikon_cpp3%2Ccanon_a620&show=all