Point & shoot me already.
July 21, 2011 1:29 AM Subscribe
Should I get a new camera? Alternately, how do I improve my P&S skills? I have a Canon Powershot SD630 Elph, and I maybe want a micro 4/3. I'm headed to hike for three months in some places like here, here, and Nepal.
My camera's shots are occasionally fine but typically they end up looking a bit blah. I hate the lack of viewfinder, the slow focus speed, the low battery life, and short range of zoom options.
At the same time, I'll be carrying gear for 3 months so I can't get anything too heavy, I'm not in the habit of taking photos regularly, and don't have a lot to spend. Plus, I'm very reluctant of buying a relatively new technology that, by all accounts, is set to explode next year (I leave next month). What do you think? Can I learn to love my current camera? If not, what's a good camera + lens for my needs?
My camera's shots are occasionally fine but typically they end up looking a bit blah. I hate the lack of viewfinder, the slow focus speed, the low battery life, and short range of zoom options.
At the same time, I'll be carrying gear for 3 months so I can't get anything too heavy, I'm not in the habit of taking photos regularly, and don't have a lot to spend. Plus, I'm very reluctant of buying a relatively new technology that, by all accounts, is set to explode next year (I leave next month). What do you think? Can I learn to love my current camera? If not, what's a good camera + lens for my needs?
Also, don't let the fact these cameras have "only" 10 megapixels fool you. Pixel density is a much more important metric than the number of pixels.
posted by lattiboy at 1:48 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by lattiboy at 1:48 AM on July 21, 2011
For what it's worth, I have a Canon S90 (the predecessor to the S95, nearly identical in all ways), and I toss it in my pocket all the time. Plenty fast (much faster than the average P&S), takes great shots, the f/2.0 lens is a real treat at night (we got lots of great shots on our honeymoon that would have been either total darkness or unbearably noisy without it). Easy access to the controls in manual mode is a huge plus, too.
I (perhaps unwisely) had some 24x36 poster prints made, and they look great (at the distance you're going to view a 24x36 print at). Smaller (but still big) prints look even better, of course.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:52 AM on July 21, 2011
I (perhaps unwisely) had some 24x36 poster prints made, and they look great (at the distance you're going to view a 24x36 print at). Smaller (but still big) prints look even better, of course.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:52 AM on July 21, 2011
I have a Canon G9, which is a bit older The current model is the G12. The G series have small sensors (the G12 has a 1/1.7" or 1.5cm sensor), but give you all the options to tweak aperture, shutter, all that stuff. It's not an interchangeable lense camera like a macro 4/3ds
By the way, definitely check out DPReview. It's an awesome site, and they have very in depth reviews on tons of cameras
posted by delmoi at 5:54 AM on July 21, 2011
By the way, definitely check out DPReview. It's an awesome site, and they have very in depth reviews on tons of cameras
posted by delmoi at 5:54 AM on July 21, 2011
The Canon G11 (precursor to the G12) was a big step up for me from a P&S, and I love it, but now I want a DSLR. It's a slippery slope.
posted by cabingirl at 7:45 AM on July 21, 2011
posted by cabingirl at 7:45 AM on July 21, 2011
I love my 4/3 camera. I have a Lumix GF1 with the pancake lens. If you are travelling in Nepal you might want to take a look at a 4/3 with a wider lens for landscape shots.
A quick way to improve your shots is to learn the Rule of Thirds
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 12:03 PM on July 21, 2011
A quick way to improve your shots is to learn the Rule of Thirds
posted by Razzle Bathbone at 12:03 PM on July 21, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
The current best models are:
Panasonic LX5
Canon S95
Olympus XZ1
and my personal favorite Samsung EX1 / TL500.
They're not "pocketable", but they're still much, much smaller than even the smallest m43 w/ kit lens and have lenses that would cost thousands of dollars (the Smasung has an f/1.9 24-72mm equiv lens... which isn't even physically possible on a larger sensor camera).
You can easily do 11x13 prints with no PP and with proper sharpening and up-rezzing get really large prints. I did a 20x30 with my EX1 and it looks great.
posted by lattiboy at 1:46 AM on July 21, 2011