Digicams Suggestion

[simplehiker]

I have recently lost my digital camera it was a Olympus stylus 400 it was a hardy water resistant camera but I was a little unsatisfied with it's outdoor and low light picture quality.
Does anyone have suggestions for a point and shoot digital camera based on picture quality when shooting outdoors? I am very picky about weight, and weather resistance and all that other jazz but right now I am most interested in picture quality.<o></o>


Thanks,
JTW

[D'Artagnan]

I went with a Canon SD500 (7.1 megapixel) because of the size and weight. I love it and it makes great photos. I'm sure if you get 100 responses to your query, you're likely to get 100 different suggestions. I'm just passing along what worked for me after a few missteps with other cameras. Good Luck!

[stag3]

I have a Canon SD300-4 mpix. This is a pretty good camera. The biggest problem is that the LCD screen is absolutely and totally useless in daylight with any sunshine. Night and low light is okay.

Battery life for me was about 1 week, maybe 70 pictures. I carry an extra battery,$50 or 60 for Cannon brand. I think you can do better with generic.

The main reason I chose this camera was weight and size. Everyone who sees the pictures thinks they are great. IMO, just okay.

Stag

[Tha Wookie]

I have recently lost my digital camera it was a Olympus stylus 400 it was a hardy water resistant camera but I was a little unsatisfied with it's outdoor and low light picture quality.
Does anyone have suggestions for a point and shoot digital camera based on picture quality when shooting outdoors? I am very picky about weight, and weather resistance and all that other jazz but right now I am most interested in picture quality.<O></O>


Thanks,
JTW

First of all, I love your site!

I have been making an effort to learn more of the digital side of things and am knee-deep in that research.

What I have found, generally, is that picture quality belongs to Canon per dollar spent. That is true for the point and shoots, but even more so with advanced or SLR digi's, that allow the user to have more control over the results by shooting in RAW format and histogram graphs that visually show the exposure levels.

Depending on your budget, I would pick a Canon that suites your needs. Be mindful of the add-ons like memory (uses different card type than Olympus) and rechargable batteries (higher end tend to use proprietory).

[Cuffs]

Polaroid i832. 8MP, runs on AA's. very small, large screen, not sure of the weight, but soon as I dig it out of my pack, I'll let you know!

[stag3]

Geo,

How long do the AA's last? my experience is not very long, plus they are heavy. Do you use the NiMH or Li Ion type? Regular batteries seem to die in a matter of hours.

[simplehiker]

First of all, I love your site!

I have been making an effort to learn more of the digital side of things and am knee-deep in that research.

What I have found, generally, is that picture quality belongs to Canon per dollar spent. That is true for the point and shoots, but even more so with advanced or SLR digi's, that allow the user to have more control over the results by shooting in RAW format and histogram graphs that visually show the exposure levels.

Depending on your budget, I would pick a Canon that suites your needs. Be mindful of the add-ons like memory (uses different card type than Olympus) and rechargable batteries (higher end tend to use proprietory).

Thanks for the complement on the site, I really appreciate it.

I will check out the cannons, a few other people have mentioned RAW format is much nicer to play around with I will try and look for that feature. God forbid I actually put some of my Macs power to use. I am most likely going to try and hold off for a least another month to see what pops up.

But thanks everyone for the great suggestions and opinions.

[Cuffs]

Geo,

How long do the AA's last? my experience is not very long, plus they are heavy. Do you use the NiMH or Li Ion type? Regular batteries seem to die in a matter of hours.

I have used all 3. Regular AA's drain fast! NiMH and Lithium's are very similar in the amount of run time (at least for me.) My Canon PowerShot Pro 8MP, has a proprietary battery, and lasts forever. However, its way too large/heavy to hike with, thats why I got the Polariod 8MP digital...

I am still weighing the difference in using regular AA's or rechargables in the Polaroid. I would have to take the charger (read more weight in the pack) or I could just purchase AA's wherever and whenever they ran down.

My problem is that I am a picture takin fool! Had the Canon for less than a year, and have already taken over 8000 pics! Took 37 just this morning! I do find that for quality pics you need a high resolution setting on a high mega pixel camera that has the largest CCD you can find! Most of the small point & shoot styles can have high MP, but they lack in the CCD (this is the "eye" of the camera, what it sees, is the picture you get. Larger "eye"=better quality pic)

Here's a link to some photos I just took 5 minutes ago with the Polaroid:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ghostc...bum?.dir=/d71d

The landscapes of my backyard are 3 different photos using the zoom. The closeups are using Macro.

Camera & wriststrap = 6.3oz
Camera, wriststrap & case = 7.4oz

[Turtle2]

Check out the Casio Exlim S500 or Z750. the 500 is a 5 mp and the 750 is a 7.5 mp. either weighs less than 5 oz and combines still and video with excellent photo quality. the proprietary battery lasts over 200 still images with no concern about viewing the stills. A second battery costs less than $20 and weighs little. Using a 1 gig SD card, one can take 300+ shots depending on size. It has some pre-settings for low light, close focal length, portraits, text, action, and includes an anti-shake feature. It is quite impressive, enough that my engineer husband is looking to get one for himself instead of the standard Canon/Nikon stuff he has been using. Worth checking out!