NEW ultra compact digital camera on the horizon

[eodtech]

I am looking to buy a camera I can carry in a pocket for the 2009 ShotShow ..........

Looking hard at a Canon Powershot SD111IS  - any advice from owners, comments from lurkers, info appreciated.

99.9% of my photos are inside by a window shooting pics for eBay, forums, etc AND an upcoming ShotShow convention. I currently have a Panasonic DZ8 which is fine for the indoor stots but I don't want to have to lug it around the SS.

How about advise on a "small camera"  with image stabilization... thanx

DPReview of the SD1100IS
TIA

[Whoey]

seems alright... these days there are hoardes of decent machines to fit your budget and needs... Personally I prefer Nikon... the Canons are nice, and so are the Kodaks... these days they seem to be overloaded with features I'll never use...

[NutSAK]

The only comment I'd like to make is to suggest that you don't go overboard on the megapixels in a small camera.  The smaller the camera, the smaller the image sensor, and the noisier it gets due to the increased density of the sensor.  The noise will negate any benefit you gain from the increased resolution of a high-megapixel sensor.

With that said, I wouldn't go any higher than the 8.0 megapixel camera you have listed.  ...just my $.02

[eodtech]

The only comment I'd like to make is to suggest that you don't go overboard on the megapixels in a small camera. 
With that said, I wouldn't go any higher than the 8.0 megapixel camera you have listed.  ...just my $.02

10-4, that's about the smallest camera (megapixel wise) that has IS ( image stabilization  which is something I want in a small camera).

I have a larger Panasonic FZ-8 that I use around the house, but do have the need for a smaller foot print DC.

Thanx for the feedback

[Grant Lamontagne]

Get a tripod as well for the show if you don't already have one.

Def

[eodtech]

Get a tripod as well for the show if you don't already have one.
Def

10-4 I have a small table top one as well as a  pocket clamp on

[ultimaonliner]

I didn't read the DPreview review, but most of the point-and-shoot cameras have lenses and assemblies made by the same company.  Usually the pictures are somewhat similar, except for some firmware differences.  The point-and-shoots mostly different in their feature sets, size, and aesthetics.  Even the Canon G9's image quality was about the same as the < $100 point-and-shoots.

I generally tell people to save their money if they're going to buy a point-and-shoot and to buy the cheapest one if they are mainly concerned with image quality, since the IQ is about the same.


To anybody who really wants something with better IQ than a point-and-shoot, I tell them to get pretty much any DSLR.

[ultimaonliner]

Here are the last 2 paragraphs of the DPreview review:


____________________________________________

Our rather minor complaints aside, in conclusion the SD1100 was designed as a point and shoot camera and it performs well as such. It's got an attractive design, it is small enough to always carry it with you and reliably produces good out the box results. If that's what you are after go for it. If you are looking for manual controls, a real wide angle, new groundbreaking features or class-leading image quality then you better keep browsing dpreview.com a little longer, if you want an a simple, well made pocket camera, go for it.

The SD1100 IS is a perfectly good camera, if a little dull, and has that redeeming quality common to most Canon compacts; it can be relied on to take attractive pictures in a wide range of shooting situations with true 'point and shoot' simplicity. It's the camera you'd buy your mum.

____________________________________________

[Whoey]

To anybody who really wants something with better IQ than a point-and-shoot, I tell them to get pretty much any DSLR.

While in general I agree, we're talking about ultra compact... and I have yet to see a DSLR ultracompact!

[ultimaonliner]

To anybody who really wants something with better IQ than a point-and-shoot, I tell them to get pretty much any DSLR.

While in general I agree, we're talking about ultra compact... and I have yet to see a DSLR ultracompact!

This is the wave of the future, hopefully.  To be able to put in a Nikon DX sensor into a point-and-shoot body would be amazing.  But, there's still the issue of a zoom lens which will be bigger than the point-and-shoot camera body.

The Nikon D40 DSLR with a kit lens costs under $500 new and is a very small DSLR.  I think if you wear cargo pants, you could probably put it in one of the pockets.

I actually carried my D40x DSLR with me whenever I go out, bars, restaurants, etc.

[Whoey]

I have a D50, but want to trade up to a better model like a D80 or D90, and I also want to get rid of all my lenses (I have about 6 now...) and get a 18-200mm VR... would make my life a lot easier...

[Sea Monster]

I use (mostly, Obviously I use whatever I can get my grimy paws on) a digital camera with 5.1 Megapixels and an optical zoom.

It's not even remotely compact, it's about 4 1/2" long, 4" wide, 3" tall & takes 4xAA Batteries.

On the other hand, it blows any supercompact, multibatmanmegapixel camera I've ever used in ease of use & picture quality.

I also suspect it has a longer lifespan than some tiny digital cameras on the market.

[Neil]

I have a D50, but want to trade up to a better model like a D80 or D90, and I also want to get rid of all my lenses (I have about 6 now...) and get a 18-200mm VR... would make my life a lot easier...

Any interesting lenses? Keep me in mind when you decide to shift them

Neil

[Whoey]

most of our lenses are hand-downs from our SLR Nikon camera... they're all AF lenses and work great with the DSLR... (after you 1.5x the spec) one is fairly new simple/lightweight... the rest are old heavy monstrous things that work great but leave a dent in your shoulder from carrying them.

From the what gear do you use thread:

Although I have few MTs to take photos of (something I plan to fix when I visit Defender in a few weeks!) I have a lot of photography gear as I do a fair amount of concert photography... so in general:

Nikon D50 DSLR
Nikon 18-55mm DSLR lense
Nikon 55-200mm VR DSLR lense
Nikon 70-210mm SLR lense (equivalent to 105-315mm on DSLR)
Nikon 28-100mm SLR lense (equiv 42-150mm on DSLR)
Nikon Speedlight SB-22s

also have a Nikon Coolpix 4600 which does nice macro shots...

We have some other old lenses in boxes somewhere, but I never use them (and one is actually seized up and needs to be sent in for repair...) and now I mostly switch between the 2 DSLR lenses... hence why I just want to replace them with a single lens...
 

[ultimaonliner]

I have a D50, but want to trade up to a better model like a D80 or D90, and I also want to get rid of all my lenses (I have about 6 now...) and get a 18-200mm VR... would make my life a lot easier...

Get the D90.


I just got one a few days ago and am floored by it.  I thought I could wait until full frame sensors got cheaper in a couple of years, but I needed high ISO to shoot my 10 month old son without using the flash.  I can now shoot ISO 1600 with great results.  Even ISO 3200 is acceptable when I need to get 1/250 - 1/500 s shutter speed in low-light no flash situations.

The D90 ergonomics and interface is top notch and the image quality is unexpectedly a whole lot better than the D40x/D60/D80 cameras.  The 920K pixel 3" LCD screen is huge and very useful for checking on your photos.  I have separate physical buttons to control everything I need quickly, ISO, metering, RAW/JPEG quality, white balance, autofocus, bracketing, flashmode, EV, etc.

The 720p video feature is interesting and fun for quick spontaneous movies, but there's a lot of that 'Jello' wobbly look when moving the camera horizontally form the "rolling shutter" problem of CMOS sensors.

[Whoey]

The high ISO values are my main reason for wanting to upgrade the camera body... the D50 has ALOT of noise at 1600 and is a bit better at 800, but in concerts where your target is moving and the lighting is low and changes quickly, it's pretty useless (I still manage to get some nice pics in the past though) I've also had a D100 to play with in the past, and it had great controls even if the sensors and features were not all that great. The D90 looks very similar, but with larger screen.

[ultimaonliner]

The high ISO values are my main reason for wanting to upgrade the camera body... the D50 has ALOT of noise at 1600 and is a bit better at 800, but in concerts where your target is moving and the lighting is low and changes quickly

It's a tough call on whether one should spend money on faster glass, newer DX Nikon body, or wait a few years for an affordable full frame Nikon FX body.

I couldn't wait any longer and replaced my D40x.  I was missing too many picture moments with slow shutter speeds on ISO 400.

Even with a better camera body, I imagine shooting a concert without flash would still be pretty difficult even with a 200 or 300mm f/2.4.

[Whoey]

The high ISO values are my main reason for wanting to upgrade the camera body... the D50 has ALOT of noise at 1600 and is a bit better at 800, but in concerts where your target is moving and the lighting is low and changes quickly

It's a tough call on whether one should spend money on faster glass, newer DX Nikon body, or wait a few years for an affordable full frame Nikon FX body.

I couldn't wait any longer and replaced my D40x.  I was missing too many picture moments with slow shutter speeds on ISO 400.

Even with a better camera body, I imagine shooting a concert without flash would still be pretty difficult even with a 200 or 300mm f/2.4.

200/300mm in the photo pit is overkill unless you're trying to get a close up of nose hairs... my Nikon 28-100mm SLR lense (equiv 42-150mm on DSLR) used to be my primary concert lens... and I usually found I needed the lower end of the range that i was missing... but there are moments where I need more zoom... (drummers are hard to get)

Lately I haven't been to many concerts and therefore the need for upgrades cannot be justified yet

[ultimaonliner]

The high ISO values are my main reason for wanting to upgrade the camera body... the D50 has ALOT of noise at 1600 and is a bit better at 800, but in concerts where your target is moving and the lighting is low and changes quickly

It's a tough call on whether one should spend money on faster glass, newer DX Nikon body, or wait a few years for an affordable full frame Nikon FX body.

I couldn't wait any longer and replaced my D40x.  I was missing too many picture moments with slow shutter speeds on ISO 400.

Even with a better camera body, I imagine shooting a concert without flash would still be pretty difficult even with a 200 or 300mm f/2.4.

200/300mm in the photo pit is overkill unless you're trying to get a close up of nose hairs... my Nikon 28-100mm SLR lense (equiv 42-150mm on DSLR) used to be my primary concert lens... and I usually found I needed the lower end of the range that i was missing... but there are moments where I need more zoom... (drummers are hard to get)

Lately I haven't been to many concerts and therefore the need for upgrades cannot be justified yet

Ah, I thought you were taking photos from the cheap seats like I sometimes try

[Whoey]

hehe no... that's a real challenge!

I usually go for stuff like this:
(Angela of Arch Enemy @ Bloodstock Open Air 2007)
(Christian of Scar Symmetry @ BOA 2007)
(Tony Choy with Atheist @ BOA 2006)

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Where's the Miss Scabbia pics

[Whoey]

I have some from BOA 2007 but they didn't turn out so great... bad lighting, cold/damp weather made it hard to take good pics by that time of the evening...I'll see if I can dig one up that's not too bad...

[Whoey]

hows this?

Also, we got very little time in the pit, and there were ALOT of other photographers... they actually split us into two groups and made us alternate during each song for the first 4 songs...

[ultimaonliner]

Nice pics Whoey!


How do you get such great access to take your concert photos?

[Whoey]

The wife and I work/worked in the industry, and have lots of contacts within the bands and record labels. We both used to work for Totalrock.com when we lived in London, UK. And both used to have shows there (I was just a co-presenter with one of the other DJs) but we have since relocated to Pamplona Spain...

My wife now does two radio shows, one for Totalrock.com called "Sex to 9 with Maria" (www.sexto9.com) which has been on air around 9 years now... and another in Spanish for TNTradiorock.com called "Diva Satanica" (www.divasatanica.com) which has been going for a few years...

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

hows this?

Also, we got very little time in the pit, and there were ALOT of other photographers... they actually split us into two groups and made us alternate during each song for the first 4 songs...

She's just pure loveliness isn't she

[Whoey]

hows this?

Also, we got very little time in the pit, and there were ALOT of other photographers... they actually split us into two groups and made us alternate during each song for the first 4 songs...

She's just pure loveliness isn't she

yup, and she gives great hugs too... 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

hows this?

Also, we got very little time in the pit, and there were ALOT of other photographers... they actually split us into two groups and made us alternate during each song for the first 4 songs...

She's just pure loveliness isn't she

yup, and she gives great hugs too... 

Sod off