Best advanced P&S for under $300?

anubis404 · May 12, 2008

What is the best P&S camera for under $300? I am going to be using it for outdoor and scenery photography mostly. I want it to have some good features and be the next best thing to a DSLR. I also want SD compatibility.

asfixiate · May 12, 2008

Canon Powershot s5IS i think is under 300 in some spots.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/495623-REG/Canon_2077B001_Powershot_S5_IS_Digital.html

tad over 300.

anubis404 · May 12, 2008

What makes it better than this camera?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8800504&type=product&id=1205538349740

The kodak easyshare 10.1MP Z1012 IS

TamiyaGuy · May 13, 2008

Well, I've always been a fan of Fuji's compact cameras, as they make good lenses for them, so I would recommend the outdated, but still fantastic, Fujifilm Finepix F50fd. 10 megapixels, 2.7" screen, face detection, ISO 3200 maximum, great movie recording, and a ton of other features. It's also about $200, so you can spend on the "essentials" you need (memory card, case, etc).

Or, if you're willing to go a bit over budget, the Fujifilm Finepix F100fd. 12mp, 5X optical wide-angle zoom, ISO 12,800 at 3mp (yes, you read that right), image stabilization, etc etc etc. The F100 is $380, though.

Enjoy!

asfixiate · May 13, 2008

I don't believe i said it was better than anything. I made one recommendation.

Gopherkid · May 13, 2008

I owned the S3IS aned loved it. It helped me learn alot of the basics of photography before upgrading. It resembled a dslr in many aspects, so im sure the S5IS would be a great camera too.

PuppY_K1ck3R · May 13, 2008

Gopherkid said:
I owned the S3IS aned loved it. It helped me learn alot of the basics of photography before upgrading. It resembled a dslr in many aspects, so im sure the S5IS would be a great camera too.

I 2nd that. I use to have one.

Rogan · May 13, 2008

i got m S5600, for $130 and its brilliant, but i alerady want an upgrade to a full dSLR,

in my opinion go with something cheaper because you will most likely want to upgrade soon!

nynfortoo · May 13, 2008

The S5IS is a great little camera, and was my medium of choice for learning the mechanical aspects of photography.

And I still keep it with me when I can't bring my DSLR, or when I need a longer zoom (I only have a 17-55mm lens at the moment).

For a couple of hundred quid, I can't fault it.

TamiyaGuy · May 13, 2008

Rogan said:
i got m S5600, for $130 and its brilliant, but i alerady want an upgrade to a full dSLR,

in my opinion go with something cheaper because you will most likely want to upgrade soon!

Hey, Rogan! So you went with the S5600? Or was it the 5700 or the 6500? Hehe, either way, hope you're enjoying it!!!

And I would really agree with Rogan. Try and limit yourself to what is "good enough", as you'll most likely want to upgrade to a proper DSLR once you've played about with the manual settings.

SrBiscuit · May 13, 2008

anubis404 said:
What makes it better than this camera?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8800504&type=product&id=1205538349740

The kodak easyshare 10.1MP Z1012 IS

kodak vs. canon...
IMO canon is always the victor in that battle.
im basing this on minimal experience with P&S models from both companies.

*EDIT* i realize i made a pretty general statement above, but from initial handling of a couple different models (none if which have been mentioned yet), and pics taken...so im not sure my quick vote for canon is even relevant...lol...disregard if need be

Rogan · May 13, 2008

TamiyaGuy said:
Hey, Rogan! So you went with the S5600? Or was it the 5700 or the 6500? Hehe, either way, hope you're enjoying it!!!

And I would really agree with Rogan. Try and limit yourself to what is "good enough", as you'll most likely want to upgrade to a proper DSLR once you've played about with the manual settings.

yeah i did, because it was the cheapest, and wasnt that much differant to the 5700/5800, and i figured i knew id want to upgrade when i had the money, so the S5600 is easy to sell on for the price i bought it, so was a good buy until i can afford a 20D or D70

Early · May 13, 2008

anubis404 said:
What makes it better than this camera?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8800504&type=product&id=1205538349740

The kodak easyshare 10.1MP Z1012 IS

I would personally opt for the Canon because it has a hot shoe, and it takes AA size batteries.

It also has a slightly longer zoom range.

bahandi · May 13, 2008

Early said:
I would personally opt for the Canon because it has a hot shoe, and it takes AA size batteries.

It also has a slightly longer zoom range.

what's a hot shoe?

as for the zoom range, aren't they both 12x? unless zoom range is something i'm totally missing.

I second this camera for the battery reason as well. Unless you want to buy another rechargeable for the Kodak