Camera suggestion

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

Simply put, I am looking for a small camera (P&S) that I can take to the clubs/bars in my pocket. More importantly, it has to have good low-light performance (good iso? good aperture? etc?)

I'd like your suggestions.

 

[D_Burrmanson Bagpipe]

SONY DSCW350B DIG.CAMERA I like it put it in your pocket and go...can do small vid too

 

[concupisys]

olympus cameras are the best - hands down.... it makes people's skin look good, their teeth look white, and they're the only brand of camera where i don't get red eye.... they're also reasonably priced, and most camera models shoot really good quality video.... (i also like that they have a 'cuisine' setting for when i photograph all my delicious food....)

 

[B_Hickboy]

I have Olympus as well, and the picture quality is excellent. Been using them for over 30 years, and bought my most recent one in March. Highly recommended.

 

[flame boy]

I'm glad this question has been asked as I too am currently looking for a new compact.

 

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

I'm not huge on video, but it is nice to have. I have heard that Sony's are good for low-light.

The W350 as suggested above does have an aperture down to F/2.7, which is pretty good. However, the Canon Powershot S90 does go all the way down to 2.0. There are also a few others that go a touch lower than that...

The low light is important. About any camera can take a picture outdoors when lighting is good. But a camera, to me, really shines when it can take pictures in less than optimal settings, like low-light, and take good pictures.

 

[petite]

Compact cameras that take good photos in low light - CNET Reviews

I bought the Fujifilm Finepix 200EXR because I also needed a camera that took great low light photos and had a wide angle lens for indoor shots. Turns out I rarely photograph anything outdoors or further than 15 feet away! I almost never used the incredible optical zoom on my last point-and-shoot. It was a wasted feature on me.

Pay close attention to shot-to-shot times. My last point and shoot had annoying long shot-to-shot times in low light conditions. Long enough that you'd miss the good shots! I am happy with the Fujifilm EXR200 shot-to-shot times.

 

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

Compact cameras that take good photos in low light - CNET Reviews

I bought the Fujifilm Finepix 200EXR because I also needed a camera that took great low light photos and had a wide angle lens for indoor shots. Turns out I rarely photograph anything outdoors or further than 15 feet away! I almost never used the incredible optical zoom on my last point-and-shoot. It was a wasted feature on me.

Pay close attention to shot-to-shot times. My last point and shoot had annoying long shot-to-shot times in low light conditions. Long enough that you'd miss the good shots! I am happy with the Fujifilm EXR200 shot-to-shot times.

The 200EXR appears to be a nice camera, but I am looking for something more compact than a dSLR-like camera. I already have two of those. :wink:

 

[vince]

Simply put, I am looking for a small camera (P&S) that I can take to the clubs/bars in my pocket. More importantly, it has to have good low-light performance (good iso? good aperture? etc?)

I'd like your suggestions.

The low light performance is not only influenced by the f-stop. The physical size of the sensor is very important. Most compact cameras use sensors that are many times smaller than DSLR cameras. For example my Canon G9's sensor is 7.60 x 5.70 mm. My D300s Nikon's sensor is 23.6 x 15.7 mm. That means the area of the G9 is 40 sq mm and the area of the Nikon is 370 sq mm. That's nine times bigger. Yet both have 12 megapixels. This means the smaller sensor's pixels are smaller and more crammed together. The larger the pixels are, the more sensitive to light they are and you can use a lower ISO to take the photo. It also means a lot more tech stuff and there is a ton of info on the net about sensor sizes.

Recently, they are starting to introduce compact cameras with large format sensors. Leica has one if money is no object... Sony and Nikon and Canon are said to be bringing them to market as well.

Olympus has the has a range called the Olympus PEN. They are really nice compacts with interchangeable lens. The E-PL1 is the lower end of the range but it still has the bigger sensor. It's 600 dollars msrp.

The EPL-2 is a hundred more but it's style is gorgeous.

E-PL1

 

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

Thanks Vince. You are right... pixel density in conjunction with ISO values is another thing that helps.

And with that said, I am OK with getting a "low" MP count if it means better low-light!

 

[D_Ivana Dickenside]

i love my canon point and shoot camera. it's simple to use and doesn't have a gazillion confusing features. plus the picture quality is sooo much better than any other camera i've owned and the flash isn't over-done. the camera i have is the canon powershot SD 1200 IS and it's a 10 megapixel. i won't leave home without it!

 

[TheScotsman]

I laughed at the username / subject title combination of this thread.

That is all.

 

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

I laughed at the username / subject title combination of this thread.

That is all.

Always here to make you laugh!