Need Advice For Good Quality Digital Camera!

[Tokyo Heights]

I am on a look out for a new generation High Quality Digital Camera, as my Sony 8.2 MP of over 3-years have gone bit old, and it does not click continously like the present day digital cameras, with sharper pic image too.
I have short listed the following Digital Cameras of 12.1 MegaPixels of the following brands from flyers of Future Shop & Best Buy, if there is any other good retailer with better prices and better brand just indentify the same for me, i thank my fellow terbites inadvan ce:-

1. Sony Cyber Shot of Model W-290 Digital Camera, 12.1 MP, 5xopitcal zoom,
28mm wide-angle lens, 3.0" LCD Screen, 720P HD Video + Camera Case
offered by Future Shop for $ 269.99 + Taxes

2. Cannon of 12.1 MP Model SD 980 5xOptical Zoom, 3.0" LCD Touch Screen,
720 P HD Video, for $ 319.99 + Taxes at Future Shop
3. Cannon 10.1 MP with Camera Case, 3xOptical Zoom Model: SD 1200 for
179.99+ Taxes Future Shop.

4. Nikon Digital Camera Model: S-70 12.1 MP 5xOpticalZoom, 3.5" Touch
Screen, HD Video for 349.99 + Taxes offered by Best Buy.

5. Cannon Digital Camera Model G11 10 MP ISO 3200 5x Optical Zoom
Vistek for $ 569.95 + Taxes Costliest with same specifications as the
above or its something more superior?

Kind advise which one would be the best in results, sharp pictures, easy to maintain, and best worth for my $$$$'s too.

Thanks.

 

[wollensak]

It depends

All the cameras you are describing are small point-and-shoots. All will provide excellent quality results. The small sensor means that the difference between 10MP and 12MP is inconsequential.

The biggest problem with these small cameras is that the flash is so close to the lens. Red-eye is a given, and red-eye reduction doesn't really work all that well. The small flashes are not very powerful, so forget night-time shooting using the flash, unless your subjects are very close to the camera.

The Panasonic cameras have a separate hot-shoe, so you can use an accessory flash, which will give much more natural looking flash pictures. Also they use the excellent Leica optics and the bodies are less tinny than most others.

Olympus offers waterproof models which is a useful feature.

I would ignore the sales and get the camera that feels best in your hands. I would check dpreview.com for ratings. See how bright the screen is in a dark room. How does it feel in your hands?

I myself have a 5 year old Sony Cybershot 7.2MP which has an excellent Zeiss lens and his been totally reliable. But the screen is dim at night and the flash is weak.
I bought it to sell stuff on Ebay, and it has been great. The macro performance is brilliant. It's only 3 times optical zoom, which is marginal.

If you were going to make large prints and hang them on the wall, you would want an SLR. But for most people the point and shoots work fine.

 

[Damondean]

The Canon G11 is defnitely superior to the others that you list. It has a shoe for off-camera flash, a built-in viewfinder and a swiveling LCD screen. The lens is excellent.

There is a smaller Canon S90 that is excellent in low light and has great controls.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3 has a Leica lens but you have to buy the viewfinder separately if you want one.

Here is a comparison of the three:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_g11%2Ccanon_s90%2Cpanasonic_dmclx3&show=all

Of course, it all depends on what you want to do with the camera.

 

[Never Compromised]

Nikon. I've had great results with the 2 coolpix that I've had. The 5700 is several years old and my picts are regularly published on the web, which is great considering I'm strictly amateur.

 

[sailorsix]

Here are some readings for you:

http://www.gearlog.com/2009/10/death_of_the_dslr.php

And this review of the Canon S90 mentioned above:

November 12, 2009
State of the Art
Big Sensors, Shrinking Cameras
By DAVID POGUE

Why can’t someone just build the perfect camera? I mean, come on — we’re not asking for the world, just a handful of prerequisites:

1. Small enough for a pants pocket. 2. A big sensor. 3. Interchangeable lenses. 4. Simple, well-laid out controls. 5. Full manual controls. 6. Canned scene modes for beginners. 7. Superfast start-up. 8. No shutter lag (the annoying delay after you press the button). 9. No blur in low light. 10. An eyepiece viewfinder. 11. Huge screen. 12. Image stabilization. 13. Face recognition for perfect portraits. 14. The ability to take RAW photos (a format beloved by photographers because it lets them, in effect, change camera settings after the fact, using Photoshop). 15. Excellent burst mode — say, 5 shots a second. 16. Wide-angle lens. 17. Superzoom lens. 18. Customizable buttons. 19. Hi-def video capture. 20. Low price.

Is that so much to ask?

All implausible feature-lust aside, though, the main obstacle to attaining all of this in a single camera is a little nuisance called physics. For example, you can’t have both a big screen and an eyepiece viewfinder in a small camera. You can’t have a low price and superfast start-up (faster circuitry is expensive). And you can’t have a big sensor in a little camera, because — hey, wait. Maybe you can.

This is a review of two new cameras that have had camera aficionados’ palms sweating for months: the Canon PowerShot S90 ($412) and the Panasonic Lumix GF1 ($870). Those prices are much higher than for similar size cameras, but these models represent huge, technologically amazing steps along the camera size/sensor size continuum.

Article continued here.....http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/technology/personaltech/12pogue.html?_r=1


I personally avoid buying at Future Shop / Best Buy if you don't know what it is that you really want and what to do. Chances are you will end up with a part time sales kid who knows only enough to be dangerous.

Go to Henrys and deal with sales people who are photographers. I am on my 4th camera from Henrys. HP, then 2 Panosonic Lumix and now a Canon G9.

I got my first Lumix for free when I took the HO in for repairs a 2nd time...2 repairs = free camera. That it itself made me a loyal customer. They also have a trade up program that I used to get my G9...guaranteed 50% back within 1st year. When I traded my 2nd Lumix for the G9 the trade in was higher than the price of the current Lumix...man was I happy!