which out of the 3 is the best for a Point and shoot camera?

[m_kostlin]

hey guys which is the better camera to go for. im looking for something small, large LCD, good pics, good flash, light and takes good movies too.

1) sony Cyber shot P200
2) pentax Pentax S5z
3) Canon SD500

[McKinley]

m_kostlin,
I mixed the SD500 with SD400 which I would pick above them all but if 7MP is important for you, propably the P200 will be the wisest choice.
I haven't seen any Pentax S50z but that sounds more like a 5MP camera.

[m_kostlin]

m_kostlin,
I mixed the SD500 with SD400 which I would pick above them all but if 7MP is important for you, propably the P200 will be the wisest choice.
I haven't seen any Pentax S50z but that sounds more like a 5MP camera.


The s5z is very new, its not on www.dpreview.com as yet, but its a very nice camera. its 5MP, which is actually fine for me. What I really want is a small, good picture taking point and shoot camera, with good quality movies, nice flash and hopefully light. Things that concern me about it is the lens, I heard that it slides up into the camera therefore making more space, I?m worried about the many moving parts. Also, I know people said the s5n had a nice LCD screen, that when in bright sunlight one can still see it very well, as it does not have a viewfinder, i want to know if the s5z has this too.

I have only come across one review for this baby (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/optios5z.html) have a look, it looks like a damn nice camera. let me know what you think

[Super Chimp]

The s5z is very new, its not on www.dpreview.com as yet, but its a very nice camera. its 5MP, which is actually fine for me. What I really want is a small, good picture taking point and shoot camera, with good quality movies, nice flash and hopefully light. Things that concern me about it is the lens, I heard that it slides up into the camera therefore making more space, I?m worried about the many moving parts. Also, I know people said the s5n had a nice LCD screen, that when in bright sunlight one can still see it very well, as it does not have a viewfinder, i want to know if the s5z has this too.

I have only come across one review for this baby (http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/optios5z.html) have a look, it looks like a damn nice camera. let me know what you think

I am not sure the S5z screen can be all that good as it still only has 110,000 pixels which is the same as my P4i. I know that the Sony Cybershot P200 has something like 132,000 pixels though the screen is smaller.

[m_kostlin]

You are right. The s5z has only 110 000 pixels for its 6.35 cm LCD, the s5n has also 110 000 pixels for its 5cm LCD and the Sony has 134 000 pixels for its 4.57 cm LCD. But does this make a huge difference? Would any of you say the Canon SD400 (ixus 50) is better than these other ones?

[alansa]

I recently purchased the Casio EX-Z750.

It is a great little camera with a big LCD, small but usable viewfinder, MPEG4 video, very fast focus speed, little lag time and packed full of features and scene modes. I traded in my digital SLR for this camera cos it was too big and heavy. I love this little camera.

The camera also has a kind of mini photoshop built in and you can edit photos quickly and easily for tasks like cropping, altering white balance and altering exposure. I do not think you can do this on the other 3 cameras you mentioned.

There is a detailed review on http://www.kenrockwell.com/casio/exz750.htm

There is a also a new Casio ex-s500 out soon or now which might be worth checking out. :2jump:

[m_kostlin]

thanks, i will check them out.
Its not important for me to be able to edit the pictures on the camera, i do that all in photoshop myself, but thanks for the info

[McKinley]

As always when I recommend digital camera. Canon should be your first choice and if you are satisfied with 5MP, then the Canon SD400 would be my choice above them all.
I own one and I know it handles all kind of environment better than most competitors.
Sony digital cameras often have poor flash, poor batery, grainy pictures in darker conditions.

I read the review of Pentax Optio S5z and it seems really interesting.
Takes great shots as well except from having slightly blue cast in its pictures.
The SD400 seems to deliver more accurate colours but I think the Optio S5z takes sharper shots. The SD500 takes somewhat worse pictures than its little brother and it is bigger as well.

[m_kostlin]

As always when I recommend digital camera. Canon should be your first choice and if you are satisfied with 5MP, then the Canon SD400 would be my choice above them all.
I own one and I know it handles all kind of environment better than most competitors.
Sony digital cameras often have poor flash, poor batery, grainy pictures in darker conditions.

I read the review of Pentax Optio S5z and it seems really interesting.
Takes great shots as well except from having a blue cast in its pictures.
SD400 seem to deliver more accurate colours but I think the Optio S5z takes sharper shots. The SD500 takes somewhat worse pictures than its little brother and it is bigger as well.

Thanks for your input. Do you know if the SD500 or SD400 have a protective cover of the LCD like the Sony? Also how easy is it to look at the LCD outdoors and in the sun?

As for the S5z, it is a great camera the main problem for me is the sliding lens, also not may reviews and the link I put up yesterday really didn?t like the pentax s5z, well that what I found from it :(

[Steph]

Does anyone know how good the zoom is in the Canon IXUX 700?
Thanks

[m_kostlin]

I know it has a 3 X optical zoon and a 4 X digital zoom
(37 - 111 mm (35 mm)

[Steph]

Thanks m_kostlin.

What i wouldn't mind finding out is from Canon Ixus 700 & Ixus 500 owners how good their zoomed in pics are. I quite like portraits and even though I am only looking for a compact "point & shoot" cam, it still is important for me to know what the quality is like at its maximum zoom in..

[McKinley]

Just to clear up things for an already confused world

Canon Digital IXUS 700 = Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH (the name in America region) and it has 7MP

Canon Digital IXUS 50 also known as Canon PowerShot SD400 (in America region) and this one has 5MP.

Canon Digital IXUS 500 aka. PowerShot S500 is the first 5MP ultra compact and shouldn't been mixed with PowerShot SD500 or IXUS 50.

The IXUS 500 is inferior in everything compared to the new ones.
The IXUS 700 loses to IXUS 50 in image quality and measurement, otherwisem they both do the same thing except from one not so very important thing. The first one has 2MP more.

Steph,
I guess you are talking about the IXUS 50? in that case, I will give you a shot with maximum zoom once I return home.

m_kostlin,
Yes all IXUS/PowerShot cameras have reflection protection.

[m_kostlin]

Thank McKinley you a star :D
I think I?m narrowing my choice to Canon SD500 (IXUS 700), Pentax S5n or S5z. but then there is the Casio EX-S500 that alansa mentioned, also looks good.

[Steph]

Hi McKinley,

Thanks for your reply, I would love to see the max zoom on your IXUS50 for comparison's sake first of all, and also to see on what level we are with Canon at that stage.
But I was talking about the Canon Digital IXUS 500 aka. PowerShot S500 . I know that the IXUS 700 is one up but except for the MP, I heard that everything else was pretty much the same.
So if i can have an idea of the zoom on your one already I think its a good indication of what Canon does.
Thanks again :)

[m_kostlin]

McKinley:
Can you tell me if the Canon IXUS 700 (SD 500) AND the Canon IXUS 50 (SD400) can zoom in while in movie mode? Also do you rate the battery flap on the Ixus 50 as a big problem? It looks very Cheep.

And my last question: do these 2 cameras have a function like the Casio EX-Z750 (which has great reviews) a "Tivo Mode", in this movie mode one can keep pointing the camera for however long you wish and when you press the button the camera begins recording from 5 seconds in the PAST

[Donald]

I am looking for an ultracompact camera with 5-7 megapixels. I was about to purchase the Casio EX-Z750 until I began reading about a "lens error" problem that is being reported in the Casio Talk forum at pdreview.com. Have you experienced this with your Casio? It is the only thing holding me back from buying this camera. I am also considering the Canon SD500 or Kodak v550. I need a camera with an optical viewfinder. I purchased a Sony P-200 about one month ago, but returned it because of dust getting into the lens and appearing in photos. Thanks.

undefinedI recently purchased the Casio EX-Z750.

It is a great little camera with a big LCD, small but usable viewfinder, MPEG4 video, very fast focus speed, little lag time and packed full of features and scene modes. I traded in my digital SLR for this camera cos it was too big and heavy. I love this little camera.

The camera also has a kind of mini photoshop built in and you can edit photos quickly and easily for tasks like cropping, altering white balance and altering exposure. I do not think you can do this on the other 3 cameras you mentioned.

There is a detailed review on http://www.kenrockwell.com/casio/exz750.htm

There is a also a new Casio ex-s500 out soon or now which might be worth checking out. :2jump:

[Exciting700]

Just to clear up things for an already confused world

Canon Digital IXUS 700 = Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH (the name in America region) and it has 7MP

Canon Digital IXUS 50 also known as Canon PowerShot SD400 (in America region) and this one has 5MP.

Canon Digital IXUS 500 aka. PowerShot S500 is the first 5MP ultra compact and shouldn't been mixed with PowerShot SD500 or IXUS 50.

The IXUS 500 is inferior in everything compared to the new ones.
The IXUS 700 loses to IXUS 50 in image quality and measurement, otherwisem they both do the same thing except from one not so very important thing. The first one has 2MP more.

Steph,
I guess you are talking about the IXUS 50? in that case, I will give you a shot with maximum zoom once I return home.

m_kostlin,
Yes all IXUS/PowerShot cameras have reflection protection.
I've read reviews of both the CANON DIGITAL IXUS 700i and 50. From my observations, the IXUS 50 captures photos like ANY OTHER digital cameras. There are not much difference from my observations.

However, photos captured by the IXUS 700i have much difference!
The colors are more vivid/vibrant/lively and photos have better contrast. (Mind you, no adjustments were made to either!). The blue sky on the IXUS 50's photos will look very normal and everyday like. However on the IXUS 700i's photos, the blue sky will look really lively and vivid!
Colors are naturally more vibrant and contrast on the shots taken by the IXUS 700i!:up:

(My observation).

I have seen shots taken by the DIGITAL IXUS 700i and photos are really good in quality. :up::up::up::up::up: (Seeing is believing).

I'm ready to post links if any of you request for them.

EDIT: Shots taken by the DIGITAL IXUS 700i>>>
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canonsd500/page10.asp

Comparisons with the Digital IXUS 50. You will see the difference.

Top one is always taken by the IXUS 50.
Bottom one is always taken by the IXUS 70.
They will be in pairs; Note: No my color functions were used for either models.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400/samples/IMG_0143.JPG
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500/samples/IMG_0095.JPG

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400/samples/IMG_0256.JPG
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500/samples/IMG_0057.JPG

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400/samples/IMG_0280.JPG
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500/samples/IMG_0060.JPG

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400/samples/IMG_0282.JPG
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500/samples/IMG_0257.JPG

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400/samples/IMG_0300.JPG
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500/samples/IMG_0085.JPG

Source:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd400_samples.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/sd500_samples.html

[Syphon]

Taken from my post in the other thread:

Compact - ?100-?350
Best: Nikon CoolPix 5900 - ?250/?176 - 5MP

Your next 5 best options:
1) Pentax Optio S5n - ?250/?230 - 5MP
2) Pentax Optio WP - ?230/?175 - 5.2MP
3) Canon Digital Ixus 700 - ?325/?274 - 7.1MP
4) Samsung Digimax V70 - ?300/?294 - 7MP
5) Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 - ?275/?182 - 4MP