best point and shot for $500 or less

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gnuyork

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I would like to get my wife a new point and shoot for her Birthday coming up. Like most she is really drawn to the Leica brand, I have an M6 that she likes, but she would never use it, even though I encourage her to try.

So I was thinking of the C Lux 3 (or the D lux 4 even though it;s over $500). There are probably better cameras for the price, but it would be neat if we were both waking around with red dot cameras.

Also considering the new Canon s90 and the Sony WX1. I don't know a lot about the SONY, but it has a G on it, so I assume it uses tech from their good G lenses. It also uses the Exmor sensor that I think I read Nikon and the new Leica X1 use.

I am open to other choices, but I'm looking for compact, well made (metal), and minimal shutter lag. That's her biggest complaint about her current 4 (or 5?) digi Elph Sd400. She misses a lot of photos due to the shutter lag.

Don't know if technology has improved much with shutter lag on P&S cameras these days or not... I hope so.

So what do you recommend??
 
If she is interested in D lux 4, why not get Panasonic LX3, which is pretty much the same camera. It's a great point and shoot and uses the same Leica lens.
 
Forget the red dot. It has no 'cachet' on a compact digital. It just says you paid an extra $300 to pretend you belong in 'The Club.' 😱

I had the LX3. Nice lens, and i liked the wide range. But, i never liked the handling. I have a Canon S90 now. Haven't really used it on anything yet, but i like the feel, size, and controls. And, a quick image comparison makes me believe it's 'better' than the LX3.

As for shutter lag.... How does she use an AF camera? Does she just push the button all the way through the travel and expect the camera to focus, meter and shoot in a millisecond? I always, even with Canon EOS SLRs, focus until i get a lock, hold and then trip the shutter. I don't shoot 'action,' though. But, it works for fashion, portraits, etc. The only camera i've had that i've felt an unreasonable 'shutter delay' was with the Sigma DP2.
 
well I don't think now I would go for the LX3 or the Dlux 4 (a bit big), if I go that route it would be the C lux, and for her I think the red dot would be kind of cool. She liked it when we saw it online. I'm not concerned about the extra money vs the lumix equivalent as long as I keep it below $500. She's not a photographer by any means, she just needs an update to her elph, although I'd love to see her become more enthusiastic, and maybe something like the S90 with some manual controls and RAW shooting would be the ticket.

Is there any info on those SONY's with the Exmor sensor. I haven't come up with much in the way of reviews on the web, just sales sites, but that seems like a cool little camera.

Tough choices without getting to try them out first.

For me the hot thing with S90 is the 2.0 lens. And I've seen some pretty decent samples on DP review.

As far as shutter lag... she just misses a lot of shots of things like our dogs or kids at parties. That kind of thing.
 
Canon G10, now that the G11 is launched its on its way down the slippery slope of discount pricing. Adorama have them for 480 bucks.

The Panny LX3

Ricoh Caplio GX200

Ricoh GRD II
 
Victor Mercado said:
I own the Canon G9, great for family and street snapshots, plus video.
Click to expand...

G9 owner here also. no other complaints but poor noise control in ISO 400 and beyond. not a camera if one plans to use it in low light. G10 probably suffers from same issue, or is even worse ?
 
Forget the leicas. Canon g10 for zoom and ricoh grd for prime. This is easy.
Oh yes, and for film cameras: I bought my girlfriend an Olympus stylus epic and she uses it everyday-- prefers it to the rolleiflex and nikon f100 that I also bought her...
 
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hmmm. The Ricohs seem interesting. I'm not looking for a film camera for her. I have plenty of those that she could use and she doesn't.

I have handled a Canon G9 and that's a little bigger than I was thinking for her. Just want a very compact camera similar to her Elph.

It's gotta be digital for the convenience and more than likely images for the screen, e-mail, face book, etc. We will occasionally make prints with my Epson. I know how to coax a decent print from point and shoots if need be.

This was taken with the very first Digi Elph - a 2 MP camera, and I can get decent 8x10 or smaller prints form it.

crab.jpg


By the way, I forgot to thank everyone for their suggestions.
 
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A used or new old stock Fuji F 30 or F31. Very compact and unassuming little digicam with a powerful flash that has a great "IQ" system that accurately powers the flash up or down perfectly based on distance to the subject; manual control capability; and hands down, bar none THE best high ISO capabilities of any compact digital ever made because they kept a sensible number of megapixels (6) in the camera and incorporated an innovative sensor design that no other digicam has, the "Fuji Super CCD".

Don't listen to the others. I am right and am the only person who posts on this forum who is never wrong. The camera will set you back $100-200, use the rest of the money to treat your better half to a dinner and a show.
 
The more I read, I keep leaning toward the S90. Though the Fugi is also interesting.

I wish the S90 would do HD video, but not really that big of a deal breaker.
 
bwidjaja said:
Not sure why you dismissed the LX3 given your reasoning for S90:
- f2.0 (lx3 is the only one with 24mm wide angle at that speed)
- HD (lx3 already supports 720p)
Click to expand...

Same confusion here. 😕

The LX3 is about as good as it comes for something under $500.
 
shadowfox said:
Same confusion here. 😕

The LX3 is about as good as it comes for something under $500.
Click to expand...

Agreed - took my LX3 with me on my honeymoon in Europe and have no regrets; can't beat the f2.0 on the 24mm lens. S90 seems like a good alternative; G10/11 may be too much camera.

3771874395_919a3caa09.jpg
 
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