Ultracompacts! oh the options!!!!

[kenbalbari]

The Sony W-100 is the only camera of the above with a larger 1/1.8" sensor. Consequently it should have the best image quality.

Good point. And with the prices quoted, I would rule out the W70, as it's closer in price to the W100 than to the W50. But all you get in the W70 is an extra MP. But squeezing an extra MP from the same sensor won't help image quality (and might even hurt it a bit).

So I think it may be worth the extra cost for the W-100, but not the W-70.

As for the Cannon Ixus, the 800 (SD700IS) is great, with 4x zoom and optical stabilization, but maybe a bit beyond Mark's price range. The 60 and 65 (SD600 & SD630) are good, but I would go for the more up to date W-100 if the price is close. In my mind those two ahould be competitively priced with the W30 and W50. But there seems to be a pretty good gap there right now.

[Markay]

Ohh its all hotting up!

I should be going to some electronic stores soon to test some of these babies out!

By the looks of it I should really buy the W100, but it is right on the limits of my budget and I still like how cheaper the other ones are, and how thin they are and the touchscreen is still pulling me in!

And I would still need to buy memory aswell!

What would be the best camera if my budget was lower? e.g. around £175

[slipe]

Markay wrote:

Does any one know any sites that have good customer reviews with people that have actually lived with the cameras Im looking at?

Really wanna know if the Pentax's battery lasts long at all?!

This is typical of amateur reviews and the reason I pay no attention to them: http://www.**********************/digi...iews.html#news One guy says the battery life is great and seems to last forever, one says the battery life is short and one says he could get only 40 shots on the battery. You don't know who is competent enough to follow directions and what their standards are. I prefer to wait for professional reviewers like Steve who know what they are about.

Here is another group with one person saying the battery life was poor because the touch screen tempted you to do you image editing in the camera. And another who said he got 150 shots on the battery. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e&n=502394

Evidently Pentax is advertising a 130 shot battery life, which is poor by current standards: http://www.t3.co.uk/reviews/imaging/...compact_camera

In the US you can get competent after market spares online for $20. I always ask on the specific board what people have had success with and have found the aftermarket batteries as competent as the originals. A nice thing about lithium batteries is that the discharge rate is only 2%/month after the first day, so you can grab a charged spare a couple of months later and it is still almost fully charged. I seldom shoot more than 130 shots on a specific outing and would feel reasonably comfortable with a single spare, but would prefer better battery life so I didn't have to work to conserve the battery while shooting. You evidently pay for having a large touchscreen.

The apertures you listed show that most cameras can let in more light at wide angle than at telephoto. Of course you need faster shutter speeds at longer zooms so that is a downside to all small cameras. The smaller the number the more light it lets in. So the Pentax that has f2.7 at wide is letting in nearly four times the light at wide than it is in telephoto at f5.2. You cut your light in half going from f2.8 to f4 and cut it in half again going from f4 to f5.6.

The Z70 range is poor and it would eliminate it out of hand. It is obviously a budget camera without much capability. There are better Casio cameras. You don't want a camera without stabilization or high ISO capability that can generate only f6.3 at full zoom.

The Sony folded lens cameras like the T9 are a mixed bag. The wide angle aperture of f3.5 isn't as good as most small cameras. But the telephoto aperture of f4.4 is better than most. Since you need the shutter speed more at full zoom it is probably a good compromise.

The fastest shutter speed usually isn't a big deal. Little cameras are seldom able to generate much more than 1/1000 second. As long as the automatic range of the aperture is sufficient to keep from overexposing on a sunny day on the beach, 1/1000 is usually sufficient. Nothing wrong with 1/2000 or greater, it just isn't a big deciding factor IMO.

But the longest time is significant. If you want to set the camera on something and take a night shot 4 seconds is bare minimum and more is better.

The 8Mp 1/1.8 sensor hasn't been great in tests I have seen. The 7Mp Sony 1/1.8 was a great sensor. The 6Mp 1/2.5 sensors have seemed as good in tests as the 8Mp 1/1.8, and better in some applications. You might take a look at the conclusions and also the size comparisons: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_w100-review/

[Markay]

Ok so scrap the casio!

Apart from the battery worries, is the pentax a good camera?

Are there any other slim ultra compact cameras calling for my attention?

And I just dunno what to do about those sony's!

Thanks for your replies! Keep them coming

:?

edit// Casio EX-S600?

edit2// I would just go for one of the sony's straight away, but they seem fat compared to the other ones

edit3// hehe oh just to say that this camera is just ment to be a pretty cheap little tiny camera to take everywhere for that on the spot moment and that I hope to be getting a 'proper' camera i.e. dSLR at some point

[Markay]

Aww I really want steve to do a review of the Pentax T10

[Markay]

Rite I went to the shops today!

And tested out the Pentax, the S & Z casio's and the Sony W's

Didnt like the Pentax that much actually! The S & Z both seemed nice! And the Sony looked amazing, it wasnt as fat as a thought it was and I loved the menu

No chance to really test picture quality but I went mainly to get a feel for the camera's!

The Casio EX-S600 is £166, 6megpix, 3x zoom, 2.2inch screen

Sony looks the best option but its just a case of which one and that their memory is more expensive that normal SD, but im not so sure, i have found 1GB sd and memory stick for £30!

Im leaning towards the W50 cause its so cheap and including memory would only be about £180! Unless the EX-S600 is better, but i doubt it and it doesnt have a optical view finder!

[kenbalbari]

You might want to check out some of the models in this thread:
http://www.stevesforums.com/forums/v...mp;forum_id=87

Mainly the Cannon SD630, and Sony T9 and N1. You also might like the Panasonic FX09 or FX01.

And the Nikon Coolpix S5 is a thin and stylish ultracompact that got a good review from Steve:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s5.html

[Markay]

cool, thanks I will look into them

Will all the W models have the same menu's? Cause I just looked at the W100 and im considering the W50, which wasnt available to view! Its the menu that pops up then you turn the dial on the back that changes mode that I liked!

edit/ I looked at steves review of all the W series and from his pics they all have a really plain menu for the bit I was talking about, yet the one in the store was really 'swish' hmmzzz

[kenbalbari]

Actually, if you like the Casio, don't be scared off by that one bad review I posted. It turns out that most reviews have been good for their models:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/ph...ory.html#intro

I used the above site when researching my own recent purchase; but I wasn't looking at the ultra-compacts, which they have a seperate list for. There weren't any Casios listed in 30+ cameras on their regulardigital camera reviews which I had looked at:

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/ph...ews/index.html

But it looks like they are very popular amongst the ultra compacts. I think there is going ot be some trade off in image quality, but that's going to be true of all the smallest models. If you want the convenience of a true pocket camera, they look like a pretty good value.

[Markay]

haha ahhh more options

CASIO Exilim Zoom EX-Z60 - 3x zoom, 6 megpix, 2.5inch screen- about £138


The Casio EX-S600, 6megpix, 3x zoom, 2.2inch screen - about £166



Sony DSC - W50 - 6megpix , 3x zoom, 2.5inch screen - about £150



They are the options now :?

Unless someone chucks some other cheap ultacompacts in the firing line