Best SLR-companion point-and-shoot?

[adam]

The unfortunate incident involving USAir flight 1594 yesterday has made me realize I should never leave home without a camera. But, my SLR kit is a bit unweildy, so I am looking into a compact point-and-shoot. The Canon G10 is a bit out of my price range, but I've seen some G9s that I can afford. For the kind of things I need a point-and-shoot for, wide zoom is probably more important than telephoto zoom. And of course, I'd like somewhat reasonable image quality, but I don't use high ISO even on my 40D.


Are there any other options you guys have been happy with besides the Canon G9/G10? I've heard good things about the Panasonic DMC-LX3, but it's the same price as the G10. Is it worth waiting to save more money for a G10?

[cian3307]

I can't comment on the G10 but I use the G9 in work quite a bit and the IQ is more than adequate although not DSLR standards. But you should try to stick to as low an ISO as possible. Plus you can take video with it - very useful in situations like the US Air flight! The G9 is built like a tank too. Looking at the G10 spec, I would miss the wider angle offered by the G9.

[cian3307]

Correction to my last post: the G10 offers 28mm wide, the G9 only 35mm.

[Brian Kreitman]

Look into the Canon SX10 IS.


It has a lot of useful features, is compact, and is about $100 less expensive than the G10

[Tony Printezis]

I also have a P+S to take when I go on holiday, go to the beach, etc. and I don't want to carry my full DSLR kit. So far I've had an old Sony W5 which has served me well. But, it's time to replace it and I've been looking at the Canon Powershot SD880 IS. It's been getting very good reviews, it does have a wide angle lens (one of the reasons why I'm looking at it in the first place), it is more compact than the G10, and it's reasonably priced at around $250 right now.


Here it is compared to some other similar ones:


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408premiumgroup/


and here's another review of it:


http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/SD880IS/SD880ISA.HTM


Tony

[Tony Printezis]

I also have a P+S to take when I go on holiday, go to the beach, etc. and I don't want to carry my full DSLR kit. So far I've had an old Sony W5 which has served me well. But, it's time to replace it and I've been looking at the Canon Powershot SD880 IS. It's been getting very good reviews, it does have a wide angle lens (one of the reasons why I'm looking at it in the first place), it is more compact than the G10, and it's reasonably priced at around $250 right now.


Here it is compared to some other similar ones:


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408premiumgroup/


and here's another review of it:


http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/SD880IS/SD880ISA.HTM


Tony

[HiFiGuy1]

DP Review did a P&Scomparo over the Holidays, and one of the cameras they liked pretty well wasabout $150. None of them are going to be great with those sensors, but that isn't news to you Iknow. I keep an old 3 MP Kodak EasyShare in my truck for emergencies or in case of an accident, and it has taken some reasonable pictures. Here are two examples:








I am sure a newer version with more resolution may do even better, though with the small sensor area, maybe more a lot more MP isn't as much of an improvement as it might otherwise be.

[TheRoff]

I have a little Canon SD 870 with me most all the time, and I am very impressed with the quality of pictures it takes.

[Ifmracing]

I have a Canon SD1100 IS that I pocket.


Nicely compact, decent shots.....what's to be expected of a decent P&S. And I've been surprised by the quality of the video, better than I expected.

[Bill M.]

Hey Adam,


I just picked up a Panasonic TZ-5 over the holidays for a relatively compact P&S that takes really decent pics. It has a nice zoom range of 28-280mm, IS, a beautiful 3" LCD, and does shoot movies at 720p. It's received some really good reviews universally. The best thing about it is that it was pretty cheap at $239 (at Costco) and came with a leather case and 1 GB SD card (that I promptly replaced with an Extreme III 4GB card!). And the beauty of Costco is that if your not happy for any reason, you can return it before 90 days, no questions asked. That should be an adequate time frame for you to test it out. I also picked up a spare battery from Adorama (their own) for a good price as well.


The only drawbacks (which to some, are deal breakers) are no viewfinder and no manual settings, but that isn't uncommon with most compact P&S's anyway. IQ for anything under 400 ISO is pretty good. I was using an old Canon G5 before this, which gave me some nice pics but the Panasonic is definately more compact and a better camera overall.


Good luck!