powershot dead, what to buy now?

[cow]

this is my first post on these forums, so hopefully it's a good one... you all seem like a nice bunch. :)

i've had a canon powershot g1 for the past three years or so and it has served me very well. i'm a fair photographer (just recently started reading up on the important stuff like iso settings and f/stop) and i've found that this camera can pretty much do everything i need. tonight i was taking some pictures of the kids and i was seeing the low battery warning. suddenly, the camera powered down as it normally does with low power, but this time it totally died. the lens didn't even retract. i tried everything i could think of but have yet to see any sign of life in it. doing some googling, i found that this is a common problem with this camera and that it is most likely a dc/dc converter malfunction. repair is assumed to be around $150US since the warranty is long expired.

my father is the gadget freak, and has to buy every new fangled thing that comes out. he bought a g5 when it first hit the market, and bought my mom a g6 for her birthday when it was brand new too. i've had some experience with both of these, and they seem to improve with each new version. one thing that i found vastly superior in the g5/g6 compared to my g1 was the flash. pictures would look very pinkish when using the flash in absense of "real" light (meaning non-artificial light) with my g1.

so, the time has come to buy a new camera. my only experience with digital cameras has been the powershot g series, but i was wanting to get away from it for a while. i am really interested in the canon rebel xt, alas, i cannot afford such a beast at this time. my price range is around $200-300. what's good out there?

i would like something at least 4 megapixels, with a good optical zoom. it would be nice if it accepted the same memory card as my g1 so i wouldn't have that added expense. my wife likes the idea of those compact cameras so we wouldn't have to carry around our big bag of extras all the time, but that isn't a necessity. please let me know your ideas. thanks!

[cow]

33 views so far and not a single response. now i'm bummed...

anyway, my gadget hungry father has stepped in and offered me his g5 so he will have an excuse to buy a g6 for himself. it works out for both of us.
:clap

[davev]

33 views so far and not a single response. now i'm bummed...

anyway, my gadget hungry father has stepped in and offered me his g5 so he will have an excuse to buy a g6 for himself. it works out for both of us.
:clapHey Cow. I guess it's congrats on the new camera. It's a shame that the
repair costs end up being more than the camera is worth. I haven't used any
of the "G" canon cameras, but I have heard good things about them. I'm
guessing that the 33 views were folks with DSLR's and were ready to give
advice if you were about to enter that world. I know that since I bought
a D Rebel, I have kind of lost track of what the "so-called" point and shoots
are offering. I sure the G5 will serve you well. Post some pics in one of the
picture forums.

The folks here are friendly, but this forum is a little slower paced.
Anyway, welcome to Dgrin.

[cow]

thanks davev. i bet you're right about the DSLR folks. this forum seems to lean toward the more experienced amateur and less toward the "point and shoot" crowd. i'll be sure to post some pics once i get the hang of the new camera.

Hey Cow. I guess it's congrats on the new camera. It's a shame that the
repair costs end up being more than the camera is worth. I haven't used any
of the "G" canon cameras, but I have heard good things about them. I'm
guessing that the 33 views were folks with DSLR's and were ready to give
advice if you were about to enter that world. I know that since I bought
a D Rebel, I have kind of lost track of what the "so-called" point and shoots
are offering. I sure the G5 will serve you well. Post some pics in one of the
picture forums.

The folks here are friendly, but this forum is a little slower paced.
Anyway, welcome to Dgrin.

[ian408]

thanks davev. i bet you're right about the DSLR folks. this forum seems to lean toward the more experienced amateur and less toward the "point and shoot" crowd. i'll be sure to post some pics once i get the hang of the new camera.

Don't be so quick there turbo :D

I fall into both camps--and I apologize for not seeing your thread sooner.

There are a lot of people here producing nice stuff with the P&S style
cameras.

Here's a P&S shot...

http://ian408.smugmug.com/photos/9873262-M.jpg

And another...

http://ian408.smugmug.com/photos/9732510-M.jpg

a dSLR shot...

http://ian408.smugmug.com/photos/13619000-M.jpg

Another....

http://ian408.smugmug.com/photos/26524778-M.jpg

I wouldn't say I shoot 50/50 but a good percentage of stuff is shot
with a P&S. Especially when I'm out on the bike or don't feel like carrying
a lot of gear.

My P&S is a Canon S50.

Cheers,
Ian

[cow]

all very nice pictures ian! thanks for sharing. i agree that the p&s cameras can take good pictures. i'll post some of mine as soon as i get a good chunk of free time (when the kids are napping :):).

[wholenewlight]

33 views so far and not a single response. now i'm bummed...

anyway, my gadget hungry father has stepped in and offered me his g5 so he will have an excuse to buy a g6 for himself. it works out for both of us.
:clapI've used the G5 and I think it's a great camera. Good sensor, full complement of auto and manual settings, cool flip out display, super lens. I've read a few reports that say that the G5's picture quality was actually a very slight step down compared to the lower "G" models (not in resolution but otherquality measurements) , but my experience with it was awesome. Shoot lots!

[colourbox]

My P&S is a Canon S50.

Wow, those are nice shots. I've gotten good shots with my s60 but yours inspire me to try even harder.

I come from habitually owning both a point-and-shoot and an SLR in the film world. One of the great things about digital is that the Canon S-series gives you a point-and-shoot with full control over aperture and shutter speed. Is it even possible to get an affordable film-based P&S that lets you control aperture and shutter speed? I also love the RAW capability of the S-series as it lets me deal with some P&S shortcomings like noise, chromatic aberration, white balance, and exposure in a way that would not be efficient or possible with a JPEG-only P&S. I only wish the S-series had a swing-out LCD and less noise at high ISO.

I did get an XT, but only to eliminate shutter lag, get a bigger better sensor and lens, and a faster aperture, for those times when they help. Otherwise, the s60 P&S is quite capable on its own and a heckuva lot easier to carry everywhere.