The problem with user reviews like this is she hasn't said what camera she was using before and so it's impossible to judge this in any fair way.
The advice I would give to you is this: set a budget, then ask for advice if you can't pick one you want. I can tell you what
I think is the best compact camera on the market at the moment but it's a fair chunk more expensive than what you're looking at.
You're always going to have to put up with peoples opinions on a forum like this but I will attempt to justify any reccomendation I give you so that you can at least see why I'm saying it!
For less than £150 (given the Canon you were looking at) I would probably buy one of the following
Panasonic FP3 - very small and trendy. 4x zoom. Easy to carry around.
Nikon S8000 - 10x zoom, more chunky styling. Lots more control and more advanced camera (currently under £150 with a free 2GB card and a case
here)
Fujifilm F80 EXR - Pretty much the Fuji version of the Nikon S8000 - big zoom, some manual controls
If you've got more money to spend, have a look at these:
Panasonic TZ20 - I alluded to what I think is the best compact camera you can buy and it's the TZ10. The TZ20 isn't actually out yet but has been announced as the replacement for the TZ10.
The TZ10 currently costs about £230 and has a 12x zoom and a great GPS system for geotagging photos. It's also got a lovely large high resolution LCD screen and it's still nice and small.
Canon Powershot S95 - this only has a 3.8x zoom but it's a great quality camera. It's aimed at the more "serious" compact users and has lots of manual controls and a great quality lens. Great picture quality as well but a relatively limited feature set in comparison to some others as it's supposed to be less gimmiky and more "photographer-y". Currently around £300.
Canon Powershot SX210 IS - another big zoom (14x) and a wealth of features including some more advanced manual controls if you want them (like the Panasonic TZ10 in that respect). Kind of Canon's offering to compete with the Panasonic TZ10. Normally around £250.
Having said all that, if you've got a little more than £150 to spend but don't want to go over £200 I would have the Panasonic TZ8. It's the little brother to the TZ10 which I like a lot. The only real difference is a slightly lower resolution screen (although it's the same size) and it doesn't have the GPS module. Otherwise, it's still got that big 12x zoom and loads of toys on it. It's currently retailing for about £175. Both this and the TZ10 are pretty good value at the moment as their replacements have been announced (the TZ18 and TZ20) so prices are falling.
If you can't go over the £150 mark, I would be torn between the Nikon S8000 and the Fuji F80. Thats a fairly tough fight. For me the Fuji wins on it's lens as it has a slightly wider perspective even though both are 10x zooms and it's slightly "faster" or "brighter". This is more technical than you would expect for a 10x zoom lens though and there isn't much in it.
However, the Nikon has a much higher resolution screen. The screens on both cameras are 3" across but the Nikon's is a much hiher resolution which means you can see much more detail on it. This is important because you use the screen to interact with the camera in every way.
My advice would be to try to find a camera shop where you can play with both cameras and see what you think about the differences in the lenses and the screens. I think you'll notice the difference in the screens a lot more than you would between the lenses.
20-02-11, 06:17 PM
Canon Powershot A3300 IS
