Team-BHP - The Digital Camera Thread: Questions, discussions, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra (Post 3245843)

Guys, I am sure this question has been asked multiple times but here I am asking again.

My friend is planning on investing a camera. Main requirements are low light indoor photography as he has a young kid and probable some landscapes. He asked if he should go for Point and Shoot or a DSLR. I am not very familiar with good P&S cameras in the market. Can you please suggest me some good P&S cameras that can produce good results in indoor photography and can shoot moving kids with ease.

Regards
Rachit.

hi,

as you said your friend has a kid in house, and considering the slight damage that may happen. I would recon you look at the Nikon AW110.

Its got everything and more. A few of its features are

"there’s the rugged 16.0 megapixels, 5x optical zoom AW110. It’s waterproof up to 18m, shockproof up to 2m and dust-resistant, letting you capture the action under any condition. Additional features include the built-in GPS, altimeter, hydro-barometer and Wi-Fi® compatibility."

Source : http://www.nikon.co.in/en_IN/product.../coolpix-aw110

I have seen this in action with a friend & its pretty good. The picture quality is good enough. Low light as well as outdoor.

Regards,

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmplog (Post 3246138)

Pick any Sony Cybershot camera with Exmor R sensor. They are very good cameras for low-light Point & Shoot photography. As you indicated that the friend has a young kid, he may also want to have a HD recording facility. He can take a look at Sony DSC-WX50. If he wants a higher zoom (with Wi-Fi capability), then pick DSC-WX200 or DSC-WX300

HTH

Quote:

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l (Post 3249313)

Thank you very much for your timely help and support.
I have made the suggested recomendations to the friend.

I checked some of the reviews of these cameras and they are really good.

Thanks again
Regards
Rachit

Posting the query here since couldn't locate a more appropriate thread. My current camera at home is quite outdated now and is probably inferior to the phone cameras we have these days. Have been wanting to upgrade it to a much better and latest generation model. Saw that flipkart is offering some discounts on cameras. What all should I look for while buying one?

My usage is pretty basic and need a handy device. Budget is this side of 20k. Do not need a SLR or anything that big. Would love if it comes with decent video recording facility too. What can I get in my budget? Also the budget is flexible incase there is a much better option available for little more money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3326129)

If you can stretch a bit then the Panasonic FZ200 is about the best camera you can get that is good at everything. It has a constant f2.8 Lecia lens even at 600mm!! Its a superzoom with 24x zoom I think so that makes it a fit for all conditions camera.

If superzooms are not what you are after but rather some compact camera then you have option of going for Panasonic LX7 or even Olympus XZ10. Best compact today I think would be the Olympus Stylus 1 but dont know if it is even released in India (or even worldwide).

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx (Post 3326271)

But is Panasonic as a brand still reliable? We have always traditionally bought cameras only from Olympus and Canon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3326275)

But is Panasonic as a brand still reliable? We have always traditionally bought cameras only from Olympus and Canon.

what do you mean by reliable? They are very good camera makers and use Leica lenses in their high end cameras (like FZ200 is). Panasonic cameras have consistently been rated among the best in many categories.

The Panasonic LX7 is virtually the same camera as Leica D-Lux 6 but sells for half the price (thats the price you pay for that Leica brand). It has super bright lens (something like f1.7-2.3 if I remember correctly) so its good indoors even in low light. You can go thru countless reviews available online.

Generally for camera, the compromise would be sensor size and lens aperture and zoom. Big sensor + wide aperture at long end would be very expensive (e.g Sony RX10). Big sensor + ordinary aperture at long end is Sony RX100 II but it is also expensive (~40k+). Next is superzooms and among them most interesting is Panasonic FZ200 as you have bright f2.8 at long end (only camera with this). Otherwise among compacts (and the problem is you get smaller senser with compacts) the only cameras with bright lenses are Panasonic LX7 and Olympus XZ10 or XZ2 also. I dont know if Canon/Nikon make any compacts with bright lenses. A bright lens will help you with better picture quality indoors.

Thats why I said Olympus Stylus 1 is the best compact zoom camera today. Reasonably big sensor (bigger than compacts but still smaller than Sony RX100), bright f2.8 lens for entire 10x zoom range which is very good. It makes for the best comromise you can get today (and its half the price of Sony RX10).

Quote:

Originally Posted by joslicx (Post 3326290)

By reliable I meant that panasonic as a brand has very limited presence in the market now. BTW thanks for that exhaustive and detailed post although a lot of it went over my head. Will check the models you have mentioned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3326327)

By reliable I meant that panasonic as a brand has very limited presence in the market now.

This is somewhat true. People prefer buying the more popular brands like Sony, Canon,etc. I used a Lumix FH2 for almost a year & the pictures came out really good & the camera was reliable till the day it was stolen.:Frustrati

I read a lot of reviews online of camera's below the 20k mark & figured out that the Panasonic had a very good rating for photo/image quality.

Last i researched almost a year back the Lumix DMC TZ25 was the best value for money camera out there. Not sure about the current situation.

You can check out the reviews on the below site.
http://www.dpreview.com/camerareviews?category=compacts

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3326129)

Budget is this side of 20k. Do not need a SLR or anything that big. Would love if it comes with decent video recording facility too. What can I get in my budget? Also the budget is flexible incase there is a much better option available for little more money.

If you can have someone get it from the US, the canon s110 at $219 and the Olympus EPL-3 at $250 are the best options in that price range. Between these two I would go for the oly. Both are one generation older and hence a drastic price drop. Absolute VFM!

BTW, EPL3 is a micro four thirds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drmohitg (Post 3326327)

Ok if you want to go with the big guys then you can also consider Canon Powershot G15. Bigger 1/1.7 inch sensor (bigger than typical compacts) and quite OK lens (f2.8 at tele end). Its bit smaller zoom (5x only compared to 24x on Panasonic FZ200) but it should give you good pictures.