Need a budget P&S for a start, please help

[clickclick]

Hi,

I need an under 13k P&S for a start. I have liked a few, but not able to make up my mind. Hence i thought of getting an advice from the experienced ones like on this forum.

I would like to upgrade to a DSLR in future, but only once am comfortable and used to a P&S. it should have manual mode, I want a camera which is not fully automatic like u go out and click and the camera does everything. I want to play around with the features like the aperture, iso, shutter etc

Following are the ones that are in my budget, apart from these, if u can suggest anything good under 13k would be appreciated.

Canon SX 160IS (doesnt have panorama)
Nikon L 310
Nikon L 810
Sony DSC H100 (not sure if it has a full manual mode, description says that it has 'manual exposure' it just has 'P' and 'M' on the dial)
Panasonic DMC LZ20 (unbranded lens, not the standard lieca lens)
Fujifilm S2980 (comes with an EVF, reviews not so good)
Fujifilm S4500 (comes with an EVF, reviews not so good)

Thanks

 

[lm2k]

remov Nikon l310 and l810---they don't have pasm and manual focus.

pls mention u r exact usage if possible like low lite,landscape, long telephoto or other?

 

[clickclick]

Hi,

Nature, birds, portraits, landscape, these are the areas i am interested in, and some abstracts too.

I am trying to increase my budget, but i dont know if i ll be able to really, if i am, then i guess i would go in for the panasonic fz47.

But if u could help me out with the above mentioned models excluding the nikon s, that would be great.

Thanks.

 

[lm2k]

Sony h100 does have manual mode n we can select aperture n shutter speed but it does not hav manual focus.There is a sample video availabe on youtube.
well very little is known abt panasonic lz20, there r no reviews of both so it is hard to make any statement about both.
About canon sx160is, dont worry about panaroma, we can simply take a series of shots and make a panaroma using a third party software. But canon have very useful CHDK hack which allows us to shoot raw, timelapse,shutter speed overrides, and more.
Panasonic fz47 is nice but canon sx240hs is also very nice for image quality but it has a bit slower lens .

 

[clickclick]

Sony h100 does have manual mode n we can select aperture n shutter speed but it does not hav manual focus.There is a sample video availabe on youtube.

Dropped the idea of sony too, i watched the video, and it was losing focus while zooming in and out. On the otherhad the video test of canon sx160is was superb.

I guess for my budget the canon sx160is is the best. Can u please tell me what software were u talking about to join the images for the panorama a feature that is missing in the canon sx 160is?

Thanks

 

[sujoyp]

photoshop have a very simple interface to join pics to create panorama...just take 4-5 continuous shots with anything and i am sure photoshop can join them togather

BTW SX160 FZ47 and SX240HS all are great....u have to check what u want exactly

 

[Tejas.Gupta]

Yesterday i checked canon ixus 125 !
Amazing camera ! Full HD video recording and can record in Slow motion too !
Superb Macro and the guy showed me so amazing functions
Mind blown after i saw that camera...DO CHECK IT ONCE !

 

[clickclick]

Yesterday i checked canon ixus 125 !
Amazing camera ! Full HD video recording and can record in Slow motion too !
Superb Macro and the guy showed me so amazing functions
Mind blown after i saw that camera...DO CHECK IT ONCE !

just 5x optical zoom, not for me.

I have increased my budget a little and have following cams now, tell me the best out of them,

canon sx160 is
canon sx240 hs
panasonic lumix tz25

and which batteries are better? aa ni mh or the lithium ion? what is the battery life of lithium ion? cause once they wear off, the new one comes around 1000-1500.

Thanks

 

[Tejas.Gupta]

just 5x optical zoom, not for me.

I have increased my budget a little and have following cams now, tell me the best out of them,

canon sx160 is
canon sx240 hs
panasonic lumix tz25

and which batteries are better? aa ni mh or the lithium ion? what is the battery life of lithium ion? cause once they wear off, the new one comes around 1000-1500.

Thanks

Looks like you've got Interest in photography...
so i'd suggest you not to go with long zoom. you'll not get good photo quality
rather look for a camera with better sensor ...
Canon PowerShot SX240 looks best among the one you said ..its got a CMOS sensor
CMOS>CCD

 

[lm2k]

Re: Need a budget P&S for a start, please help

just 5x optical zoom, not for me.

I have increased my budget a little and have following cams now, tell me the best out of them,

canon sx160 is
canon sx240 hs
panasonic lumix tz25

and which batteries are better? aa ni mh or the lithium ion? what is the battery life of lithium ion? cause once they wear off, the new one comes around 1000-1500.

Thanks

litiium battery last a bit longer while ni mh last around 120 shots depending on camera. but ni mh are cheaper n we can always carry more than one set.But make sure u get a Fast charger, slow charger is irritating.
and i think panasonic TZ25 and panasonic TZ18 have similar image quality except TZ25 has 12mp mos so it wud hav faster burst n HD vid rec.TZ20 was bad as compared to TZ18.
SO canon sx240 or panny FZ47 if u r increasing u r budget.

Looks like you've got Interest in photography...
so i'd suggest you not to go with long zoom. you'll not get good photo quality
rather look for a camera with better sensor ...
Canon PowerShot SX240 looks best among the one you said ..its got a CMOS sensor
CMOS>CCD

CMOS>CCD only n only 4 speed.See here
zoom sometimes is important, we cannot go near the subject sometimes.

 

[marvelousprashant]

Regarding CMOS vs CCD... I know there are plenty of articles that say CCD is better and also prove their point by pictures. These articles are absolutely right excep for the fact that they were written in 2008 or before. Today CMOS is better than CCD that is why all new DSLR's use CMOS. Since development around CCD has stopped, the best CCD sensor is probably present in Leica M9. Both 5D m3 and D800 beat it by a huge margin in IQ and more important in HIGH ISO noise performance for which CCD was once known for.

Coming to OP's question SX240 is the best

 

[clickclick]

I am tired of doing research. I have been doing this thing since last 10 days and still i am not able to make up my mind. Please guys tell me is it worth spending 3-4k extra on sx240 and fz47? cause i have really liked the canon sx160 is.

The only thing which bothers me is the future cost of the new lithium ion battery. Its 1500-2000 now for both canon and panasonic.

After this i wont ask anyone, i ll just order it.

Thanks

 

[marvelousprashant]

Lithium ion batteries are good, they should last an year atleast with moderate usage... maybe more. The IQ of sx240 is much better than 160is

 

[lm2k]

Lithium ion batteries are good, they should last an year atleast with moderate usage... maybe more. The IQ of sx240 is much better than 160is

1+ for sx240is.
But upto 13k sx160is or zs8 r gud.

 

[sujoyp]

go for sx240HS or fz47 which ever form u like..

 

[clickclick]

First of all, a big thank u to all who have confused me (in a good sense) and helped me out deciding. I have finalized Canon SX160IS. I just need to spend some quality time with the camera and its settings. And if i get into it and can feel that yes photography is what i want to get into seriously, that day I will buy a D-SLR.

One last question, the sellers on ebay are offering the camera for 10800-11800, but they are giving a 4gb SD card. Whereas on the other hand flipkart is offering a 4gb SDHC card for 12600.

Which card is better? SD or SDHC and what class it should be? 4 or 10?

 

[sujoyp]

SDHC is better but 4gb cost just 300 ....and class 10 is better for video...class 4 is ok for pics

 

[clickclick]

SDHC is better but 4gb cost just 300 ....and class 10 is better for video...class 4 is ok for pics

Sorry i framed the sentence wrong I meant flipkart is offering the camera for 12600 with a 4gb SDHC card and ebay price form different sellers is between 10800-11800, but they are giving a 4gb SD card.

Where should i buy from? Not getting my maths right here.

 

[lm2k]

Sorry i framed the sentence wrong I meant flipkart is offering the camera for 12600 with a 4gb SDHC card and ebay price form different sellers is between 10800-11800, but they are giving a 4gb SD card.

Where should i buy from? Not getting my maths right here.

12.6 k is too much for sx160is.
Did u try 2 find this locally in u r city?
On ebay its min 11.4k, fine. Ask the seller if the product comes with original manufacturer waranty card? N is it deliverable 2 u r address. N always buy frm power seller when on ebay. U can get further discount if u hav icici or similar bank acc. Also u wud hav 2 get rechargeble batteries n charger.

 

[sujoyp]

Actually I meant that u can just neglect the free 4GB card and get the cam from the cheaper seller....the price of 4GB SDHC is just Rs.300 anyways