Which digital compact camera to purchase?

[Zohan_hc]

Hello everybody, i have very difficult issue that is, i'm sure of it, troubling all non - professional users....

I need help to buy a decent wide angle digital compact ultrazoom camera, can someone ( professional or/and experienced ) give me a good advice coz I'm a bit lost in translation.

Temporary I'm using Sony DSC H3 camera but I'm not very satisfied with it's photo quality.

I would like to have camera with following specs:

-optical zoom 15 X or higher,
-wide angle recording,
-advanced manual options,
-more realistic ( details, colors, shades ) and sharper images
-recording in RAW and JPEG format,
-making good pictures in a low light conditions,
- price between 300 - 400 $.

I need something that is affordable enough for non - professional, who's taking very versatile pictures ( indoors, exterior - buildings with it's details, nature, landscapes, other people, artistic photos...). In addition, occasionally I'm going to use my new photo for my occupation, documenting historic monuments of cultural significance ( here and there i would like to have decent pictures capable for publishing ).

Thanks in advance !

 

[emh]

Unfortunately, any compact camera with 15x (or more) zoom is going to have compromises. It's just simple physics & economics -- the only way to pack that much zoom in to a small camera for a reasonable price is to use a small sensor and lower quality glass. As a result, you will end up with poor low light performance, less accurate color, other chromatic aberrations, and distortions. Of course, how much of each of these you are willing to tolerate is a personal choice.

If you are willing to give up on the 15x zoom requirement and go a bit higher in price, the Canon G11 will probably meet all of your other requirements (it "only" has 5x optical zoom, and sells for about $450) with much higher image quality than most other p&s cameras.

 

[Zohan_hc]

Thanks a lot

 

[Fedaykin]

See now this is better, no thread hijacking.

Sadly what you asking for doesn't really exist at that optical range. I second the G11 recommendation.

 

[Dao]

I just bought a G11 for my wife. We received the camera earlier this week. Pretty nice camera. If you are looking for a one that is smaller than G11, you can check out the Canon S90. Both G11 and S90 use the same sensor and are able to shoot raw.

 

[AlexL]

a really good compact would be the S90!

 

[Zohan_hc]

thank you for all for your usefull advices..