LF Camera Buying Advice

[Misterpants]

The old digital point and shoot (Canon SD-something or other) hasn't been the same since a rogue wave at the beach drenched my camera carrying pocket. Right not I'm straddling the line on what I should buy. I'm not sure if I should fork out the dough on an entry level DSLR or I should just buy a really nice point and shoot digital camera. I'm really leaning towards the point and shoot because I have little interest in messing with aperatures and mV and all that jazz that I have no clue about. The two cameras I am looking at are the:

Nikon Coolpix S9100 http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-came...?tag=mncol;lst

and the

Canon Powershot S95 http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...a5976102e8en02

Anybody have any expertise or anecdotal info on these camera? Is there something else I should look at?

[kdogg]

You have the wrong link for the Canon.

I don't know anything about the Nikon camera, but I have the Canon S90 (model before the 95) and I am very happy with it.

I purchased it because it had a large sensor, and has the ability to do manual options (I wanted to play around with but I really haven't as of yet). It still works great as a point and shoot, and the F2.0 lens is great in low light without the use of the flash.

My brother and father-in-law liked my camera so much, they ended up buying the S95.

It looks like the Nikon has more zoom which would be nice as the S90 / 95 only has 3.8x.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/com...=nikon_cps9100

Hope that helps.

[calgaryrocks]

both good cameras. I struggled with the same decision, but I recently bought the Nikon coolpix s9100. I should get it tomorrow (friend is bringing it up from the states, thank you amazon.com)
I went with it because of the incredible zoom and that it fits in the pocket. canon and nikon are still the tops in digital cameras, but I have had canons for my last few, so I am interested in how the Nikon compares and the functionality. so excited for it to get here. anyways is there anything specific you are looking for?
if you can get one brought up from the states, you can save $100 on the nikon one on amazon.com over .ca

[Meelapo]

I was in the same boat. I wanted an DSLR but I knew when I would go on trips my girlfriend would not help with holding it so I opted for a higher end point and click. You mentioned the Canon S95 but you should also consider the Panasonic Lumix LX5.

https://panasonic.ca/english/audiovi...ill/DMCLX5.asp

I ended up getting this over the S95 just because it had the ability to shoot wide angle shots and because we ended up buying the Canon Elph 300 for that small, throw-in-your-pocket type camera (the LX5 has a lens that sticks out a bit from the camera body).

The only knock I have with the LX5 is it comes with a lens cap that I always forget to put back on but that should be solved with this:



The camera also has a hot-shoe for an external flash or other fancy camera bits and you can change the lens to another if you wish.

EDIT:

Here's the updated side-by-side-by-side comparison with the LX5, Nikkon, and S95

http://www.dpreview.com/products/com...tDir=ascending

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

both good cameras. I struggled with the same decision, but I recently bought the Nikon coolpix s9100. I should get it tomorrow (friend is bringing it up from the states, thank you amazon.com)
I went with it because of the incredible zoom and that it fits in the pocket. canon and nikon are still the tops in digital cameras, but I have had canons for my last few, so I am interested in how the Nikon compares and the functionality. so excited for it to get here. anyways is there anything specific you are looking for?
if you can get one brought up from the states, you can save $100 on the nikon one on amazon.com over .ca

Wish I would have known that a couple of weeks ago when I was in the states. Dang.

Yeah, at this point the Nikon is tipping the scales a bit. Keep me updated on how the unboxing goes. I would love to hear what you think about it. kdogg had given me something to think about though. The Canon we had was awesome. The main thing I want is a fast shutter speed so I can push the button and not have a 2 second delay to when the picture takes. Also good low light performance and zoom are pretty important.

[Rhettzky]

Just got the Nikon S6100 on sale at Best Buy before stampede for $169. Great pictures and a 7x wide optical zoom that is really nice. It's a touch screen too which isn't as responsive as I would like but the rest of the features and the pictures it takes are great.


http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/.../10164935.aspx

[ma-skis.com]

If a rogue wave got your camera, you might want to check out the olympus tough camera, I have a friend who is going through his second one, right now after absolutely beating his last one to death. I believe throwing it up in the air then dropping it into a pint is what finally did it in,

anyways link

[Yorkshire Flame]

Here's my 2c, as a weekend employee of a dedicated camera store in town:

You need to look at the amount of telephoto you think you're going to be happy with. If the 4x (3.8x) zoom on the S95 isn't going to be enough, and it's not going to let you take the photographs that you want to take, then I don't think that it would be the camera for you. The S95 has far and away the best picture quality of any camera that size. It is built well, easy to use, and the autofocus is pretty snappy, but if it doesn't get you as close as you'd like to be to take the photos that you want, then all of that is moot. If you can live without the zoom? The S95 is a great camera.

If you do decide that you'd like a camera with a bit more telephoto than the S95, I'd instead recommend the Panasonic ZS7 (if you can still find one), or the Panasonic ZS10 (the newer one, but not quite as well built as the last one). Nikon makes brilliant SLR cameras, but their P&S cameras are lacking (speaking as someone who is also a Nikon shooter). The two Panasonic cameras I recommended are both higher zoom compact cameras, very similar to the S9100.

Hopefully that helps.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

If a rogue wave got your camera, you might want to check out the olympus tough camera, I have a friend who is going through his second one, right now after absolutely beating his last one to death. I believe throwing it up in the air then dropping it into a pint is what finally did it in,

anyways link

The Olympus Toughs are compromise cameras. They're way better in the water, but not as good out of it. If you don't need one, you're better off getting something else.

[calgaryrocks]

update on the s9100. the zoom on that thing is friggen amazing. takes good pictures and the best part is it's so small, easy to just stick in my pocket. hoping to take it to the mountains this weekend and see how it does