Compact with a large screen ....

[LongQ]

I posted somewhere recently that Mrs. LongQ's ancient Olympus AZ200 35mm was still going strong. Silly thing to do really, now it isn't in so far as loading a film completely loads and then unloads the entire film for some reason.

So, we are in the market for something of the compact and digital persuasion with the main criteria being it must have a viewing screen of AT LEAST 2.5 inches though 3 inches would be better - which narrows the field a little. And be very good at avoiding red eye. Otherwise the thing needs no other special controls whatsoever given that I imagine that all will have at least a 3x zoom. On/Off, zoom control and (idiot), sorry, "in-expert user" mode will be ample.

So were are looking at a fairly recent model. I think IS or equivalent would be desirable but not an absolute necessity.

I'm going to do the usual trawl of the reviews but would welcome observations from anyone with any practical experiences of kit that fits the spec.

Thanks in advance.

>> Edited by LongQ on Sunday 16th April 10:24

[V6GTO]

I really rate Debbie's Ixus 750. (It's Debbies but she hasn't been able to get it off me yet )

Martin.

[te51cle]

Having seen one in use I'd recommend a look at the Fuji F10/F11 or now the F30. Simple to use, long battery life, and good quality images even at fairly high ISO.

[LongQ]

V6GTO said:

I really rate Debbie's Ixus 750. (It's Debbies but she hasn't been able to get it off me yet ) Martin.

Ah, yes, you have mentioned it before a couple of times ....

I bought an Ixus Wireless recently. 5 Mpix rather than 7 and a smaller screen but good fun with Wi-Fi remote shooting - when I can get my multiply defined ad-hoc Wi-Fi network on the notebook to behave. Once it is working it is great but I think I may need to review the PC network installation for its broader use.

The biggest problem with the thing so far is its propensity to induce red-eye, admittedly in very red-eye inducing situations, unless the subject is either looking directly at the camera or is within about 4 feet of it. Anything elses seems to get the light bouncing off the backs of people's eyeballs. Red eyes glowing out of what nominally look like pitch black backgrounds can be a tad alarming!

Have you tried out the 750 in the sort of 'dim bar' environment?

Most of the software features seems to be the same but I don't think I have some of the editing features for already stored images that I have seen claimed for the 750.

No matter really, I somehow doubt the intended user would get into that - and I know I would not have the patience to try to explain and attempt to document everything in a step by step mode so that makes the chances even more remote!

[LongQ]

[redacted]

[funkynige]

LongQ said:

Hmm, good write ups for the F10/F11, though the standard criticism of the Fuji range (and Olympus) is the speed (or lack of speed) of the XD cards compared to SD cards for example. Not sure I am prepared to speculate on whether that would attract adverse comments from prospective user but I'm not too keen on running that risk.

I have the F10, fantastic for snaps as it switches from off to ready to take a pic in less than a half second. I've never noticed any lack of speed on the memory card, just taken a test pic and it seems to write in about half a second I would say. It has a 2.5" (54mm wide, 40mm tall) screen, but the camera is fairly small so the screen represents pretty much all the height and most of the width.

[Bee_Jay]

Have a look at the new Canon IXUS 800 (2.5" screen with 4x zoom and IS) or Canon IXUS 65 (3" screen)...

[LongQ]

funkynige said:

I have the F10, fantastic for snaps as it switches from off to ready to take a pic in less than a half second. I've never noticed any lack of speed on the memory card, just taken a test pic and it seems to write in about half a second I would say. It has a 2.5" (54mm wide, 40mm tall) screen, but the camera is fairly small so the screen represents pretty much all the height and most of the width.

To be honest I doubt if the card speed issue is a big deal for the sort of use it is likely to get - but it does mean another card type (Have Memory Stick, and SD cards at he moment.) which is slightly off putting.

The reviews I have read are all quite positive other than that.

Thanks for the info.

[LongQ]

Bee_Jay said:

Have a look at the new Canon IXUS 800 (2.5" screen with 4x zoom and IS) or Canon IXUS 65 (3" screen)...

Thanks Bee_Jay.

I have the 800 on the list but have not really looked at the 65 in detail.

800 pricing seems not to have dropped as far as it might yet (My Ixus Wireless is now readily available for 50 quid less than I paid for it 6 weeks ago - and that was a good price at the time! Maybe I could just donate that instead ... nah, would be a waste of Wi-Fi!).

The 800 spec looks interesting. But that is an 'It looks interesting to me' comment. Bearing in mind that at a recent event someone was using a Sony P100 and her shots, according to the prospective user of this new device, are 'some of the best'. And in their limited way they kind of are, but not for reasons of technical merit or camera capability.

I really hate making recommendations where it would be so easy to be accused of getting the wrong result!

[Bee_Jay]

Recommendations are always difficult I know...

However, I have an 800 on pre-order with Dabs for £289, should turn up sometime this month. To me it seems to have everything I would want in a very small pocket compact camera (apart from a slightly wider angle lens and RAW...) instead of lugging my SLRs with me on business trips

[te51cle]

LongQ said:

Have not found a reference to the F30

Try here, due out in the UK in May so its probably been out a while in Japan first. The RAW file is about 14MB on the E550 due to the Fuji sensor design and I've only found xD card speeds a slight problem when shooting RAW - which isn't possible with this camera so I don't see it being a problem. An H-type higher speed card has been a long time getting to launch, no proper reviews but it looks like its about 20% faster than the previous ones.

[LongQ]

Bee_Jay said:

Recommendations are always difficult I know... However, I have an 800 on pre-order with Dabs for £289, should turn up sometime this month. To me it seems to have everything I would want in a very small pocket compact camera (apart from a slightly wider angle lens and RAW...) instead of lugging my SLRs with me on business trips

Agreed. My Pentax S5i is a constant companion to cover any eventuality. The Ixus probably will be but I have other purposes for it at the moment whereas the Pentax is not 18 months old and therefore almost disposable I suppose, so carrying it without to much concern for its physical appearance and even potential loss comes a little more easily than for the recently purchased Ixus!

The Dabs price compares well with the £332 Pixmania want - but then as we know the prices in this market area are highly volatile.

It's almost a full time occupation trying to keep up with things!

[LongQ]

te51cle said:

LongQ said: Have not found a reference to the F30 Try here, due out in the UK in May so its probably been out a while in Japan first.

Great link, thanks for that.

If the F30 will automatically make use of its higher ISO settings that would be fine, though as someone points out on the blog with f8 aperture at the zoom end of the lens it may need the high ISO in many parts of the world!

My Pentax only uses ISO 400 if I tell it to, though it is just possible that one or two of the pre-defined settings use it. If so I have not found them yet.

Seems to be the same for the Ixus.

I think it unlikely that the primary user would be motivated to go discovering the functions and features of whatever is purchased - it has never been a point of discussion in 35mm days. On the other hand I think the concept of better balanced flash/backgrounds would appeal, though personally I would prefer not to be able to see most of the backgrounds that appear. Other than red-eye I think the other most useful facility I would like to have on a pocket digicam is a automatic 'blur background' feature. Not much chance of that I suppose.