P&S Camera Advice

[ChrisJ]

I need to get a new P&S Camera for our Lab. Good macro capabilty is highly desired. My budget is $500, and I don't feel limited to any specific manufacturer.

Anything exceptional on the market right now? Or would any Canon PowerShot with IS be sufficient?

[Awais Yaqub]

I have read reviews of canon 12x and sony 12x (h5) i think both recomended H5 including dpreview you must read in review section
Infect my dad bought H5 for macros and i asked a lot beofre buying it,it do superb macros and Closeup filter can be used (58mm).Comes with adapter and hood canon don't
Fits in 500$
Well i dont know bit about canons never used it once did and found hard to use as i am 2 year old sony boy :D

Macro insects you can see camera info all recent are with H5 :D
http://awais.smugmug.com/gallery/988631
more other images can be seen in my homepage

[ChrisJ]

I have read reviews of canon 12x and sony 12x (h5) i think both recomended H5 including dpreview you must read in review section
Infect my dad bought H5 for macros and i asked a lot beofre buying it,it do superb macros and Closeup filter can be used (58mm).Comes with adapter and hood canon don't
Fits in 500$
Well i dont know bit about canons never used it once did and found hard to use as i am 2 year old sony boy :D

Macro insects you can see camera info all recent are with H5 :D
http://awais.smugmug.com/gallery/988631
more other images can be seen in my homepage



Great stuff, Awais. I've seen most of those shots posted here! I still have my old Sony DSC-P7, my first digital camera and it still takes good pictures. So I definitely won't rule out Sony.

I'll take a closer look at the H5. Thanks for the info!

[Red Bull]

Do you have a preferred size? If you are looking for a very small one, I highly recommend the Canon Powershot SD700 IS. Great camera, has IS, and has a very good macro mode. (focuses down to 3cm from the subject)

If you don't mind something a bit bigger, I'd spring for a Powershot S3 IS. IS, 12x zoom, plenty of MP, nice size, and flip out LCD.

[ChrisJ]

Do you have a preferred size?

I'm not set on size... smaller is nice, since the camera may go on some airplanes.

3cm is is pretty darned close, definitely more than adequate... I don't really think a flip-out LCD will be that useful to us, and just something else that could break.

Do any of the newer P&S cameras still support RAW? Neither the G7 or Sony H5 do...

The other feature that has been useful in the past is built-in time lapse? This feature was on our old Kodak 2 MP, does it exist in new cameras?

[Art Scott]

Will they let you procure from Ebay....there have been lots of KM A2's in the very recent past ...shoots raw has equiv of 28 to 200mm lens, 1:1 macro ability...with anti shke turned on : hand holdable for a couple of seconds...I have new ones on EBay as well as the A200 (newest of KM's A series)....A2 was *mp and I am guessing the A200 is the same...where as the A1 was (I beleive) 5MP.....not a shirt pocket camera but it will fit nicely into a coat pocket.

Here is one that looks great on EBAY (http://cgi.ebay.com/Konica-Minolta-DiMAGE-A2-Digital-8-Megapixel-Camera-Kit_W0QQitemZ270050563203QQihZ017QQcategoryZ146258 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[firedancing4life]

I'm enjoying my Fujifilm F30.

Great manual features. Excellent ISO options...including the first P&S to have ISO 3200. It's quite noisy at 3200...but IMO, a noisy pictures is better than a blurry picture. ISO 800 rivals Canon powershots from what I've read and seen on dpreview.com.

I got mine for a little over 300 on Beach Camera.

[ChrisJ]

I went and physically looked at cameras yesterday, and I think the bigger P&S's are out (Sony H5, Canon S3). Just too bulky. The Canon A630 was a nice compromise size-wise, so I'll look for something in its dimensions.

I didn't see any Konicas there, and they had one Fuji, but I hadn't read about the F30 before I went.

Oh, and I can not buy of E-bay, Art... :nah

Thanks for all the suggestions! Keep 'em coming... It's definitely helped me narrow it down.