Spec me a compact (please!)

_PD_ · 22 Dec 2006 at 19:29

Hi,

Sorry to start another thread on this topic, but I couldn't find one that fitted my requirements.
I need a new digital camera.

It will be used all over the world, just to "capture those moments" as I travel about. It needs to be fairly small, though weight isn't too much of an issue.
It needs to have really good video, as well as photos.
It needs to have good results for those moments where you have a split second to whip it out and take the shot, my last one blurred an awful lot.
Not sure how many MP I'd want, probably about 5/6?
Good battery life is paramount.
It should also have some tasty zoomage going on.
Needs to have large capacity memory available at a non-stupid price. I have a load of MemoryStick Pros lying around that I could use if it's a Sony.

Budget of £200

I am aware that I just pretty much described the "perfect" camera, and that it isn't going to exist, but just to give you an idea of what I'm after! Please note I'm not going to be heading out to take the perfect shot for a photography competition, I just want to have some nice looking memories of the things I do.

I've looked at the:
Sony Cyber-shot W70
Fujifilm Finepix F30 Zoom
and
Canon IXUS 60,
but to be honest, anything I look at seems to be the same as everything else!

Thanks so much for your time!

Regards,
Cobra

^^Gord^^ · 22 Dec 2006 at 21:28

Can I go for secret option 4?

The Ixus 800 IS is available just over your £200 budget but I bet in the January sales you could get it for £200.

The image stabilsation (IS) will really help out with avoiding blurred shots, especially in dodgy light environments.

_PD_ · 22 Dec 2006 at 23:46

Course you can go for other options!
Reel them off!
Thanks for that, the Canons do always look good. Will be waiting until the sales anyway. a lot of places say they aren't sure they are going to have many things in the sales - can't mention names now that OcUK sell cameras, but lets say that I've checked probably the main camera retailer.
A bit ill at the moment, so I'm heading off to bed, but will research the Isux 800 IS in the morning.
Thanks for posting!

Howski · 23 Dec 2006 at 00:51

I think I found the Canon Powershot S3 for just over your budget @ £240ish when I was looking into it, which might come down in a few weeks. It has 12x optical zoom, 6.1MP, Image stablizer and a SD card slot so the memory is cheap. The biggest problem is the size, it is classed as a "compact" wherever I've seen it but its big for a compact(113x78x76mm). I'd go to a high street store and have a look to see if its too big for your use.

This months digital photo mag has a round up of compact cameras and it gives the Canon IXUS 850IS the gold award which according to it has a street price of £260, so on the net its probably within your reach. The Fuji F30 and Panasonic FX07 have the runner up spots. Looking at what you want though I'd probably not get the F30 as it uses xD cards which tend to be expensive in comparison.

Just incase dpreview is a gem of a site for camera reviews, most people know it so I assume you probably do too, but you never know!
-How.

_PD_ · 23 Dec 2006 at 23:24

The S3 is just gonna be too big... cheers for the suggestion though.

Ixus 800 IS looks really good - on an auction site it can be had really cheap with some memory thrown in! But when I see that I can have it with a case and 2Gb for £180, I really think I should be spending more and getting something better. What do you think?

For some reason - I must be feeling rich - I like the look of the G7. Now I know nothing but the basics of photography, and -whilst I will use my camera to take beautiful shots around the world - I will also use it to take photos of my drunk mates on a student night out.
Can you point and click with a G7 when you don't have time to fiddle with settings?

Cheers,

Cobra

^^Gord^^ · 24 Dec 2006 at 11:19

A review of the G7 can be found here:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong7/

It looks (I don't know anyone with one or used one myself) a good camera with a lot of features in a small package. It sits somewhere between the IXUS and S3 so I guess it would be the best fit for you but I would still try to test one out at a high street store before spending the cash.

_PD_ · 25 Dec 2006 at 23:13

Thanks for the link.
Had a good look at the reviews and decided it's not for me - too heavy, and a bit bulkier than I would like.
The Ixus 800 IS is still top choice, then, but I can spend a bit more. Anything even better out there?
Obviously it seems a compact design and weight will become the limitation.

^^Gord^^ · 26 Dec 2006 at 10:36

There is the IXUS 850 IS which has some improvements but it also underperforms the 800 IS in other areas. Personally I'd get the 800 IS (unless you can get the IXUS 850 IS for the same price) and spend the extra on a big SD card, camera pouch and a lens cleaning cloth.