I hate asking this, but here it is: I need a P&S

Jan3Sobieski · Apr 28, 2008

My wife is going back home to visit her family for a few weeks and needs a camera. As she's not willing to take my "handy and easy to use" D80, she wants me to get her a P&S. As I'm lost when it comes to P&S, please give me some recommendations.

Requirements:
Needs to be under $250, hopefully around $200
Needs to be as compact as possible. Not like an S3 (too bulky)
It doesn't have to have a viewfinder, she wouldn't use it anyway.
It has to have some sort of optical zoom, digital zooms are crap.
It can have a larger lens, I don't want one of those weenie 1cm in diameter lenses.
And most importantly, it has to have image stabilization, vibration reduction, anti shock, blurry gone, shaky free or whatever they wanna call it feature.
I dont' care too much about the megapixels since more than 6mp is overkill anyways so something between 4 and 6 is okay. I care mostly about the overall quality of picture and least amount of blurry pics. She will mostly be shooting indoors with artificial lighting.

asfixiate · Apr 28, 2008

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=sort&A=search&Q=&sortDrop=Price%3A+Low+to+High&bl=&atl=&pn=1&st=categoryNavigation&mnp=0.0&mxp=0.0&sv=8613&shs=&ac=&fi=all&pn=1&ci=8613&cmpsrch=&cltp=&clsgr=

Sorted low price to high price. Looks like the nikon is only one in the viciinity of your price.

Jan3Sobieski · Apr 28, 2008

Thanks for the link asfixiate, unfortunately these are exactly what i'm not looking for. They are all way too expensive, way too bulky and i don't need 12 Megapixels. I need something more compact.

asfixiate · Apr 28, 2008

Get a kodak easy share...Some of my favorite shots of my fiance and I were taken with it.

The nikons as well are flatter.

Teach her to use your camera...lol...Save the 250 for more of your goodies.

Big Mike · Apr 28, 2008

To me, most of these 'digi-cams' are all the same. Many of the parts are the same from brand to brand anyway.

I'd suggest just going into a store and finding one that feels good and fits the budget. Better yet, let your wife pick one that she likes.

I'd probably stick to a good brand but that still leaves plenty of options.

RebelTasha · Apr 28, 2008

Maybe this
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542272-REG/Canon_2462B001_PowerShot_A590_IS_Digital.html

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_a590-review/

I think a lot of them unless extremely budget are going to have a bunch of those features you dont' really want :meh:

if not even that specialised then go for exactly what you want slim, compact 6ish Mega Pixels etc I'm sure there's a bunch to choose from and the quality is probably similar between the $100-$150 range.

I just read what Mike said, I agree let your wife see what she likes they are probably all similar enough you couldn't go wrong over the $100 range

A.S.H.rimp · Apr 28, 2008

Check out Kodak. They are really great P&S's, in my opinion, and prices are not too bad. I have the Z712 IS, but that may be a little more than you are looking for...
http://digitalcameras.kodak.com/

Jan3Sobieski · Apr 28, 2008

Big Mike, I absolutely agree. To me, all those P&S's are all the same, that's why i'm trying to get some opinions here. Maybe someone had a good experience with a particular one. I'd rather go for a Canon or Nikon as I've had bad luck before with a Kodak. Although I'm not only limited to those two brands. I don't know, maybe there's a really good P&S made by Olympus or a Panasonic.

RebelTasha, that's exactly what I was considering at first, the A590IS Pretty much what I've been looking for, now is there an equivalent made by Nikon? Which brand's IS has better opinions?

Asfixiate, haha, i tried teaching her, unfortunately she's not willing to learn. I lost her after "aperture." She says the camera is way too heavy for her as well.

Also, taking my wife to a store to see which one she likes most is pointless because she will chose the one that is the smallest and cutest.

asfixiate · Apr 28, 2008

Only problems i've had with kodak were the batteries. Now that they make them with the battery packs that should increase life.

Kodak has a pink one...My fiance was like ooh I want that when this 3 year old one dies.

She just wants something that takes pictures honestly.

Jan3Sobieski · Apr 28, 2008

asfixiate said:
She just wants something that takes pictures honestly.

Heh, point taken. However, I actually want to look at the pics when she's back

and I don't want to delete most of them because they were blurry.

asfixiate · Apr 28, 2008

understood. I've not seen many blurry shots that she's taken with the kodak. She generally takes shots in random moments and I'd be happy with a lot of them.

I'm horrible with P&S honestly plus I like having an SLR. If I'd get a P&S though I'd get the Canon Powershot S5 IS...it supposedly has IS...it'd be nice to not have to lug around more than what could fit in my pocket.