Which small digital camera
Discussion
FunkyNige said:
www.dpreview.com is a US site with lots of reviews on, as well as a gallery of examples from the various cameras.
The price comparisons might be in $, but it's a British run shop:
DPreview bloke said:
Askey.Net Consulting Ltd. is a privately owned limited liability company registered in England and Wales
fazz81 said:
I have a Pentax Optio S3, which is a brilliant little camera backed with features and a superb lens (the most important part) Theres a S4 & 5 now I beleive which offer more pixels and extra features.
What did you think about the picture quality?
Did you find they had a lot of noise (speckles) and were slightly dark?
I like the small pentax cameras. not sure which one to get myself as there are several versions now.
This site is good, pitty its only in German now!
www.digitalkamera.de/
www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Pentax/pentax_optios5i.asp
Dusty if you're looking at Pentax then also look at the Casio ones. I have a (Z-something 4Mpic one. They use the Pentax optics and is smaller than a packet of ciggies and metal cased so goes in the pocket well 
. They also have a much larger high quality display on the rear, check one out back to back over the counter...... I did and have the Casio.
Harry
. They also have a much larger high quality display on the rear, check one out back to back over the counter...... I did and have the Casio. Harry
Harry, thanks for the info. I did find that out about the casios. They are more like the upgrade "i" models from Pentax (S4i and S5i).
I agree that the "i" models and the Casios are smaller and seem better but they are also a little dearer.
A camera shop local to us said they stock the Casios instead of the Pentax as Casios service policies are a lot better.
I agree that the "i" models and the Casios are smaller and seem better but they are also a little dearer.
A camera shop local to us said they stock the Casios instead of the Pentax as Casios service policies are a lot better.
I brought a Optio s5i last weekend, a lovely little thing which is the main reason I brought it. But, it's going back to Jessops this weekend. I did some back-to-back shots with my existing Minolta F300 (too big to take everywhere) and the Pentax results disappointed. The F300 pictures are far better in terms of detail and colour especially in poor light or at 3x zoom. That's probably due to the file size 2.7MB for the S5i vs 14.5MB for the F300. Despite the Pentax's size advantage I'm not prepared to live with the drop in picture quality. So the search goes on any idea's?
Cheers, Steve
>> Edited by 996 turbo on Thursday 2nd December 11:13
Cheers, Steve
>> Edited by 996 turbo on Thursday 2nd December 11:13
DustyC said:
Since you like the Minolta so much how about the Dimage G400.
Similar spec to the Pentax S4/5 (not as good as the "i" though).
£169 from Warehouseexpress.
Yep, looked at the Dimage G400 but it's not that much smaller than the F300. The F300 is a great little camera it's just slightly too big and a bit too slow. I'm really after a little camera that I can stick in my pocket and forget about till I need it. I don't want to lose any image quality though. Perhaps I'm asking too much from an ultra-compact digital?
One of the test shots was taken at 3x zoom (from the same position) of the clock on my wall. The image from the s5i was fine but the F300 was significantly better. On the PC I was able to zoom in and read the "made in England" clearly. Where as the Pentax was just a unreadable grey blur
Cheers, Steve
For that comparison that you did perhaps being in a differetn mode would be better. Plus perhaps the Pentax was not focused in on the same thing.
Im not sticking up for the Pentax. It is not a concern of mine which one wins!
Harry.
Just looked into the Casios. Look like excellent cameras for the money, but they have no video out. I really want that on it.
Im not sticking up for the Pentax. It is not a concern of mine which one wins!
Harry.
Just looked into the Casios. Look like excellent cameras for the money, but they have no video out. I really want that on it.
DustyC said:
For that comparison that you did perhaps being in a differetn mode would be better. Plus perhaps the Pentax was not focused in on the same thing.
DustyC, It's not that I've tried all sorts of back to back shots in all the different modes. I even read the manual, twice! The F300 images are better in all cases except Macro mode where the Pentax wins hands-down for some reason.
Steve
Perhaps because its a camera it just likes little things!
Im now looking at the SONY CyberShot DSC-P73.
Seems a resonable spec for £150
They also do a 5MP version, the SONY CyberShot DSC-P93.
Not sure how big these cameras are though.
Im using Pixmania which has an excellent site for viewing all the cameras of a specific range.
Im now looking at the SONY CyberShot DSC-P73.
Seems a resonable spec for £150
They also do a 5MP version, the SONY CyberShot DSC-P93.
Not sure how big these cameras are though.
Im using Pixmania which has an excellent site for viewing all the cameras of a specific range.
DustyC said:
....Harry.
Just looked into the Casios. Look like excellent cameras for the money, but they have no video out. I really want that on it.
Not sure what ones you are looking at or the price range, but I have a 'Exilm Z4B' ( the one before the Z40) which allows you to take 60sec clips in AVI/MPEG format and upload via the docking station to the PC, in exactly same way as the picture files
. If you mean you can't plug it straight into the TV, fair enough.
Harry
996 turbo said:
Since you like the Minolta so much how about the Dimage G400.
Similar spec to the Pentax S4/5 (not as good as the "i" though).
£169 from Warehouseexpress.
Yep, looked at the Dimage G400 but it's not that much smaller than the F300. The F300 is a great little camera it's just slightly too big and a bit too slow. I'm really after a little camera that I can stick in my pocket and forget about till I need it. I don't want to lose any image quality though. Perhaps I'm asking too much from an ultra-compact digital?
One of the test shots was taken at 3x zoom (from the same position) of the clock on my wall. The image from the s5i was fine but the F300 was significantly better. On the PC I was able to zoom in and read the "made in England" clearly. Where as the Pentax was just a unreadable grey blur
Cheers, Steve
Very difficult area this IMHO, the pocket sized ones are snap camera's IMHO. However because they are so small I found that a tripod can make a big differnce to the finished picture more so than with a bigger camera. Whether its because with the small camera you are more likely to snatch the shot, I certainly have found that, I don't really know. Was your back to back comparason done using a tripod
. Harry
HarryW said:
Very difficult area this IMHO, the pocket sized ones are snap camera's IMHO. However because they are so small I found that a tripod can make a big differnce to the finished picture more so than with a bigger camera. Whether its because with the small camera you are more likely to snatch the shot, I certainly have found that, I don't really know. Was your back to back comparason done using a tripod
Harry
Agreed totally. Horses for courses when you trade off ultimate quality against small size and carrying convenience.
I bought a Sony DSC-U30 (now obsolete) from dabs.com for a very special 99.99 last spring. Only 2 Megapixel and small files and has limitations. But for snaps and general shots and macro it ain't bad at all. Cost nearly as much for a 256Mb memory stick to go with it. But then I did a couple of weeks snapping away constantly on a stateside trip and came back back with about 600 shots that I would not have had otherwise. And on the Mem Stick I still had the 80Mb of conference presentations and stuff I had to take with me having used the camera as a storage device and borrowed someone elses notebook. Sometimes small files can be beneficial ...
No zoom though. So I was going to pick up a Pentax S4i when in the States. Couldn't find one anywhere near the places I visited.
But a couple of weeks ago my S5i arrived (dabs again) and it too is really portable. And very fast to use. Some of the pre-programmed settings are a bit strange and the pan-focus feature seems to have some quirky aspects, so my experiments in sport mode with pan focus from the pit wall on a rather dull day at Donington pushed things to the limit. I have found a few more settings since then so just hoping for a somewhat brighter day to experiment some more! (And practise panning at close distance from the pits which is not easy.) But all things considered I was actually surprised that the shutter release was fast enough to get any results at all.
I have tried the same thing with the Sony and getting anything but blurred grass and tarmac in the frame was cause for celebration. (Though more head-on shots worked quite well considering the relatively wide angle lens.
FWIW I bought my daughter a Pentax S40 back in September. Not quite as fast on the shot as the S5i, though to be fair my only use was at a party with some very varied lighting and some results were excellent and others I think were blurred mainly due to me. S40's are now available at around 150 I think though add another 30 for a High Speed 256Mb SD card. A bit bigger then eithe r the Sony or the S5i but still quite pocketable.
A possible benefit of the Sony and, more relevant in this case, the S40 is that they can use standard batteries (Sony - AAA, S40 - AA). So battery availability, should the re-chargeables give out, is not a problem in most places. That said the S40 did not come with a battery charger - hence the lowish price I guess.
The S50 is now out (5Mpixel) so I would I would be tempted to go for that rather than the S40 (4Mpixel) as it is just a few quid more in most places.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff