My trusty old Sony DSC-W1 is several years old by now and it does show when I compare my camera with those of my friends – and especially when I compare the resulting images. I’m pondering on getting a new one, but I’m struggling to find one that matches my criterias:
- (Ultra-) Compact. I want to be able to bring it with me easily, in a pocket or similar. Otherwise I end up not taking any photos at all… So it shouldn’t be any bigger than my existing really. I also enjoy and mostly do point-and-shoot style photographing.
- 3″ LCD. I got one of the first 2.5″ LCD cameras and I loved how the big screen makes photographing and viewing pics on it more fun. I’ve seen some cameras with >2.5″ screens and I think they look awesome.
- Image Stabilizer. Clearly (according to reviews) they can make a difference, especially with zoom or in low light conditions.
- Good low-light images (at least comparable to the excellent Fujifilm Finepix F31fd). It seems even the more recent Fujifilms has went downhill in that department, based on reviews I’ve read.
- I think I would prefer a camera that accepts SDHC cards so that I can go with 4GB or perhaps even 8GB at once, easily and cheaply.
And what contenders are there really? Lots of them, but I’ve found none that even reaches 4 out of 5 in this list! 🙁
Oh, and note that the number of pixels ain’t terribly important as long as they’re at 6+ something megapixels.
Suggestions anyone?
I’m currently looking for a new digital camera as well and I’m impressed from the Canon PowerShot G9.
It matches most of the requirements you listed, although, even if it is a compact, is not the smallest one.
Have a look!
Ciao
Luca
Ah indeed the G9 is a fine contender:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/
It is not a compact one, but it has a 6x optical zoom instead. And yeah, if I can live with 320 grams 12megapixel thing, that seems like a good option. Possibly not the best low-light camera but then again which is these days?
Thanks for the pointer!