Recommend me a compact digital camera

[smack]

Hey Guys,

I am after a compact digital camera, which I don't know much of what is out there, to take photos of stuff when I don't want to take a SLR with me. Or when I trips away on the bike, when I can't be bothered to take the SLR out of my tail bag (not a quick job when I have to have the pack body without a lens beause of space), but can have a compact tucked away in a side pocket, to take a quick snap of something.

Don't want the latest and greatest bees knees of compacts (which will be superseeded in 2 months..), just want it to take photos (couldn't care less about video, but I guess they all do it these days?), but a good lens and decent resolution is important...

So, what do people in the know recommend? I quite like the look of the Ixus, but don't know how they compare to the competition.

Oh, and where usually is the best place to get them? I guess someone is always trying to shift older models at reduced prices? Since this is just a "happy snap" camera, I don't mind if it is an old model.

Cheers!

[Stig]

Err... what sort of budget?

[smack]

Stig said:

Err... what sort of budget?

Hmm, good question! Will 100-150 get me something reasonable? Also it probably will spend quite a bit of time under the seat of the bike (in a soft case), so nothing that is likely to pack up in 5 minutes getting bumped around - another reason I don't want something too flash, as if it dies and becomes a paper weight, I won't be too miffed (unlike having to pay over £300 to get my 1D and a lens fixed...)

[satans worm]

For 200 you can get the Sony T90, very small and light for your pocket with a decent lense, but not much of a zoom at 35-140, i think

[BigAlinEmbra]

I've got an Ixus 70 and love it. Hard as nails and takes decent photos too.
Perfect pocket sized camera imo.

Good battery life, and if you want to tinker with the settings it's easy enough.


Just an example of a quick snap on auto setting.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-80-Came...

£140 will get you an 80, which is clearly 10 better.

[Disco_Biscuit]

If you can stretch your budget a little get the Ixus 100is i have one its very good and 30 better than the 70

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-100-Cam...

[horacethefrog]

If your budget is going to extend to a 100IS I would recommend an 870IS in preference - just been looking at this for my daughter who had her previous 870IS stolen (snatched in the street in Brighton during Gay Pride (no, she isn't ), not much gay or to be proud of about that ). The image quality of the 100IS isn't as good as the 870IS, it doesn't have such a wide angle lens and it also has a smaller screen. The reason the 100IS has a smaller screen is that it has an optical viewfinder but the viewfinder is so small it's useless. However, the 100IS is by far the most covetable compact I've ever seen.

[smack]

Thanks guys. If I am considering the IXUS 80/100/870:

80 - right price range (replaced by the 95 now?)
100 - quite cool looking, small like it in black. A view finder rather than a lens that is a few more mm wide angle? Does HD video (am I going to use it)? Smaller.
870 - better lens than the 100. Longer battery life.


What is the IOS performance like? Is 800 and higher usageable or is it very grainy? Would there be much shutter delays with these cameras?
How do the Nikon Coolpix compare these days?

[TonySim]

I have an old Ixus 400 which has stood me in good stead since 2004 but is now showing signs of old age so I am lookng for a replacement up to £250 ish. Which of the latest crop of Canons has the best macro facility as I am keen to take close ups of watches etc?

Thanks.

[Simpo Two]

smack said:

What is the IOS performance like? Is 800 and higher usageable or is it very grainy? Would there be much shutter delays with these cameras?
How do the Nikon Coolpix compare these days?

I can't answer all the questions but compacts are invariably poor for noise at higher ISOs because the pixels are very small. Hence all things being equal, a 10Mp camera will be worse than a 7Mp camera. The notion that more Mp somehow equals better quality is bullst.

All compacts have shutter delay.

[horacethefrog]

There's some good high-ISO noise comparisons here and here

Forget about the viewfinder on the 100IS, it's way too tiny, inaccessible and dark to be of any use, much better to have a significantly larger screen.

[Quick silver]

horacethefrog said:

Forget about the viewfinder on the 100IS, it's way too tiny, inaccessible and dark to be of any use, much better to have a significantly larger screen.

I agree except that it is almost impossible to view an LCD screen in bright sunshine, no matter how large it is.

[horacethefrog]

Quick silver said:

horacethefrog said:

Forget about the viewfinder on the 100IS, it's way too tiny, inaccessible and dark to be of any use, much better to have a significantly larger screen.

I agree except that it is almost impossible to view an LCD screen in bright sunshine, no matter how large it is.

...and almost as difficult to use the viewfinder under any circumstance

[BigAlinEmbra]

In a bit of "holy thread resurrection Batman" type action, the Ixus 110 is on the deals of the week on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-110-Cam...

This is 10 better than the 100 mentioned above (and has a 4x optical zoom vs 3x to prove it, I don't know what the other 9 factors are).
It is a whopping 40 better than my 70 which is good enough for a mong like me.

[Simpo Two]

BigAlinEmbra said:

This is 10 better than the 100... 4x optical zoom vs 3x... the other 9... 40 better than my 70

I'm not usually out of my depth here but I think I just drowned

[smack]

BigAlinEmbra said:

In a bit of "holy thread resurrection Batman" type action, the Ixus 110 is on the deals of the week on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-IXUS-110-Cam...

This is 10 better than the 100 mentioned above (and has a 4x optical zoom vs 3x to prove it, I don't know what the other 9 factors are).
It is a whopping 40 better than my 70 which is good enough for a mong like me.

Looking at the specs using the Canon compare tool on their website, it is like the 870, with the higher res CCD (12.1 v's 10), and can do HD video, but has a smaller battery. Otherwise the same lens and basic performance. I am sure there will be a price drop in September when the 200 arrives on the market.

[BigAlinEmbra]

Simpo Two said:

BigAlinEmbra said:

This is 10 better than the 100... 4x optical zoom vs 3x... the other 9... 40 better than my 70

I'm not usually out of my depth here but I think I just drowned

Don't get me started on D300 vs D3x.