One of the nice parts about having kept this blog going for so long is that I can go back to read old posts and find out when I bought something. So by trolling through my archives, I see that it has been over three years since I bought my first/last/only digital camera. Looking back on the purchase, I’d say it was a good one. My current review of it would be as follows:
Good: Small form, pretty good picture quality, has not had any problems (including the dreaded memory card error)
Bad: The flash sucks, slow shutter speeds
There are a few really annoying things about my current camera. The first is that a lot (and I mean a LOT) of my pictures are blurry. I know this is because of camera shake, but it’s pretty bad. I do have a tripod, and when I use it, pictures look totally awesome and crisp. Unfortunately, who really wants to carry a tripod around all the time (it is a pretty cool tripod though)? With my current camera, I can’t really take pictures very quickly, which is a bummer because I like to take active shots as opposed to passive shots where everyone stands still in front of an object and flashes a victory sign.
So I’ve recently started thinking about getting a new camera. I’m not sure I can afford a nice one right away, but they have really come down in price. The things I am looking for:
- Image Stabilization: Obviously I can’t be trusted to not shake it like a polaroid picture
- Low lag: Just like in FPS, lag can ruin your day
- More than 3x zoom: I c wut u did thar
- Better flash: Because not every picture is going to be taken outside on a moderately sunny day
I kinda liked the look of the Canon PowerShot Pro S3 IS (also here). It has a lot of the features I’d want at a pretty reasonable price. However, I wonder about the size of the camera. It was definitely nice having a small camera to just slip in my pocket, but I’d like to have better pictures too.
Of course, in all likelihood my camera is perfectly fine and I just need to L2Shoot. Probably the default settings suck and if I knew what I was doing I wouldn’t need a new camera… I have played around with ISO settings, and while sometimes they help a bit, the pictures are not as smooth, and picture quality suffers.
Related posts:
I’m also in the hunt for a new digital camera. Optical image stabilization tops my list of requirements, too. No. 2 for me would be the lens. I don’t need a wide angle, but I cannot live with anything more than 35mm wide. No. 3 would be battery life. Even with a spare, I’ve found I run out of battery before I run out of memory. Charging batteries on an extended trip is such a hassle.
User interface is important, especially some easy way to adjust white balance. I really like the 3×3 grid available on some cameras. Makes alignment and focus so much easier. A big LCD would be nice – I can forgo the viewfinder.
Frame design would be my next point. I want an easy way to extract the battery and memory card when attached to a tripod. Some models that I’ve tried forced me to unscrew the camera just to access these accessories.
I would really prefer a compact camera too. I’ve had a semi-bulky one before and I just didn’t take as many pictures with it.
My wish list is getting too long. So far only Canon’s Powershot SD800 IS almost fits the bill. But after playing around with it, it’s only so-so. Still waiting for better cameras to come out =)
Tell me what you end up getting, lol, this sounds like a dream camera =D.
I have the Sd700 IS and so far I like it quite a bit. it has a fast “shutter speed” which was the #1 thing I was looking for. The only thing I can wish for is a bigger lens, but then I can’t really get that with a compact camera. I feel like the viewfinder is actualy pretty useful even if you have IS, especially if camera speed is slow since your hand will shake if you hold anything at arm’s length for a while. My old camera was a Nikon that didn’t have a viewfinder, and I have many blurry pictures to show for it. the one thing I liked about Nikon was it had many preset scene options that you can pick from like Sunset, snow, fireworks etc. My Canon doesn’t have so many options, you kind of have to fiddle with it yourself.
Aside from the size, I think the Powershot S3 is probably the best deal you can get. The picture quality really is way better than any compact camera you can buy simply because of lens size. Ideally, you should buy a small compact for those indoor, party occasions where picture quality really doesn’t matter, and a good wide lens camera for those outdoor occasions where you want to be artistic =P
I was considering that, since I already own a rather compact camera… I’m glad someone else besides me has a problem with blurry pictures too =).
I hardly extend my arms out when taking a photo, unless I know the exposure time is very short (under 1/100s) and lighting is good. I tuck my elbows in and time my shot to snap right after I exhaled a smooth breath. I still have blurring picture issues, but these techniques do give me a noticeably steadier hand. I’m no expert photographer though. What works for me may not work for everyone. One of the reasons why I want optical IS.
From what I read about the SD800 IS, it is a very good camera, that adds a few nice features to what the SD700 IS had. Unfortunately, the image quality is not as good, as the SD 700 IS had great image quality. I’m leaning more and more towards saving for an S3 IS, but it is rather bulky…
It was just released on Monday.. the SD850IS with 4x zoom – replacement of the SD700IS Not many reviews yet though, since it’s so new. Something to consider.
The S5 IS has also been released. S5 IS contains the new Canon DIGIC III processor.