Have you seen anything with all these features (Compact, AA, S Mode, OIS)

[fortworth]

Hi,
I'm leaving on a vacation in a couple of weeks and need to buy a compact camera by then, I've got a bit of experience with Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual focus etc.

Here are my must haves:
1) Compact body
2) Optical image stabilization
3) Should use AA batteries.
4) Shutter priority mode
5) Less than $300

Nice to Haves:
6) Wide angle lens built in
7) Movie mode with sound (VGA or higher, H264 would be great)

I've tried searching and liked these two, problem is they both use proprietary batteries
a) Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3
b) Canon PowerShot SX200IS

Thanks for reading.

[gjtoth]

Canon A1000

[mexia]

Originally Posted by gjtoth

Canon A1000

Can't agree more.[IMG]http://www.******************/storage/723.jpg[/IMG]

[mtclimber]

Hi there, Fort Worth-

Welcome to the Forum. We are delighted that you dropped by.

Yes, there is a camera that does meet your requirements. it meets every one of your requirements except one of your "nice to have" requirements. It is the Kodak Z-915, which is selling for around $160.00. The only thing that it is missing is a wide angle position in its 10X optical zoom range which covers 35mm to 350mm, in 35mm terms.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

[fortworth]

Originally Posted by gjtoth

Canon A1000

I checked up on this and shutter priority is possible in the Long shutter setting in Programmed mode.

How about the A1100?

[fortworth]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

Hi there, Fort Worth-

Welcome to the Forum. We are delighted that you dropped by.

Yes, there is a camera that does meet your requirements. it meets every one of your requirements except one of your "nice to have" requirements. It is the Kodak Z-915, which is selling for around $160.00. The only thing that it is missing is a wide angle position in its 10X optical zoom range which covers 35mm to 350mm, in 35mm terms.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

Those features are very nice. One thing that troubles me is that the batteries pop out whenever you open the hatch to take out the SD card...When this happens will the camera forget all its settings/time? (Just asking because I had this happen to me on a Samsung camera, cheap)
Will definitely look into some reviews.

[mtclimber]

FortWorth-

Thanks for your post. I actually own the Z-915 and have never had the batteries fall out on me, even once, as long as you are holding the camera with the battery/card compartment facing directly upwards.

Sarah Joyce

[fortworth]

The Z915 has very nice specs. I will miss the optical viewfinder though.

A few of questions for you Sarah,
How long does a pair of good rechargeable batteries last?
How long does it take for the flash to cycle between shots?
In video recording mode, does the camera re-focus when you zoom in or out ? (some reviews say it does not)

[fortworth]

I'm torn between the Canon A1100 IS and Kodak Z915

Canon:
+ 12.1MP
+ 16:9 wide
+ viewfinder
+ $40 less
+ more compact (3.76" x 2.46" x 1.22")
- manual modes in P mode only.

Kodak
+ Nice Manual modes
+ 10x Zoom
+ higher LCD quality
- bigger size (4.2" x 2.9" x 1.4")
- no viewfinder
- reviews say video zooming throws the video out of focus

Can anyone explain how to achieve sub-second shutter speeds on the canon?
The only reference in the manual is how to achieve longer shutter speeds (page 84 of the manual at http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/6/030000...0IS_CUG_EN.pdf )

thanks.

[mtclimber]

FortWorth-

Keep in mind that the Z-915 camera is now selling for around $160.00.

(1) A pair of 2 fully charged NImH batteries will usually give be around 250 shots. However, that number can vary somewhat based on how much the flash is used.

(2) Based on my own personal experience, the flash recharge/recycle time has been 5 to 6 seconds. If you were shooting into a completely dark photo scene, and you succeed in fully discharging the Flash Unit Capacitors, the recharge/recycle time could be extended up to 7-9 seconds.

(3) in the video clip mode the camera maintains its original focus point.

Please understand that you have set down very rigid requirements, that for example the highly rated Panasonic ZS3 compact zoom could not meet. But keep in mind too that the ZS3 camera costs a good deal more.

Sarah Joyce