compact P&S vs SLR...?

[thequintessentialman]

A friend of mine seems to have a pretty good eye for photography; a lot of her shots are, IMHO, really interesting. I recently asked her what equipment she was using because I thought it was hindering her a bit. She admitted she was also starting to feel limited by her iPhone...

Any ideas or suggestion for something small and compact enough to fit a purse but still offers a little flexibility (is that an oxymoron?) A normal sized SLR, I think, is out of the question just because of size. As she says it, the pictures find her, she doesn't go looking for them, for that reason she likes to keep her camera close at hand...

Thanks
John

[SCone]

My G11 takes some awesome pics. Also the Sony's NEX-5 is very interesting.

[janikphoto]

of course she is limited by the iphone! It's nice having the iphone to take pics, but it won't hold a candle to a "real" dedicated camera. As mentioned above, a lot of people like the Canon G11, and the older G10 and G9... I've enjoyed the Panasonic line of P&S cameras, but haven't looked close at their current models.

[venchka]

Interesting. Some folks are going the other way. iPhone4 and lots of apps. Leaving their P&S and dSLRs behind. Sometimes. Or in addition to the larger cameras. One more tool in the box.

[tml]

I read about the Canon S95 and was very impressed. It is small enough to be a constant companion. Since she is so used to shooting without an optical finder, there is not reason for her to get anything bigger. The G series are great cameras, but a little too big to carry around all the time. Tri

[Marburg]

The Canon S95 and the Canon P/S A series are pretty good. So is the Fuji 1500 and up. These are p/s cameras with some decent options. Several Canon and Fuji models have the optical finder as well as the LCD.

[garykohs]

I'd recommend a Sony Nex5. If you look at DxO ratings it's impossible to beat for something that you can pocket. Plus you have the option of using any A mount lens.

[BettyG]

Although it's a little bigger than a pocket camera, it will fit in a purse, and it's my camera of choice when I go out in my kayak or anyplace else that I don't want to lug my E-3 along, it's the Olympus SP550UZ. It's 7.1 Mp's, it's got a pretty good wide angle,28mm and a heck of a zoom. Other than having a fixed lens, it has all the other bells and whistles of an SLR. You can get them pretty cheap on ebay....anyway, I've really enjoyed mine, and have taken some pretty nice shots with it....

Betty

[tuttlejr]

I have several cameras. Smallest is the Fuji SE-F20 which is an older camera but does take great pictures and is quite good in low light. It is the brother to the F30 and both are quite compact.

My favorite small one is the Panasonic LX3 with an f2 Leica lens. Not as compact as the one listed above but is considered to be one of the best small digital cameras. Just check out the reviews.

I also have the Panasonic FZ-35 for the great zooms. Much smaller than a DSLR and larger than the above compacts.

All the above are companions to my Olympus E-30 DSLR which rivals the Canons and Nikons.

There are a great deal of choices out there. Consider used as 3 out of 4 above were used when purchased.

[toverman]

^ I was going to mention the Panasonics with the Leica-branded lenses. Those look interesting, and the LX3 with the f/2 lens would be one of my top choices. I've also considered one of the Canon G series (now up to G12) just because I can use one of my Canon speedlites on it if necessary.

Although the iPhone can produce some great pics, I would say that almost any P&S camera from a reputable maker would be a step up. Doesn't have to be overly expensive. The caveat is that if your friend takes pics with her phone and puts them on the internet directly. With a camera, downloading to a computer, tweaking and resizing are usually necessary to post them online.

[cooltouch]

I too like the Canon G-series, but I think that if compactness is a real issue that the S95 is a nice alternative. About a hundred bucks cheaper, and one rung down on the feature ladder, you have the Canon SX210IS and Nikon S8100.

I bought a Canon A1000IS for my daughter a couple years ago -- a model that is at least three models out of date now, but still a solid little 10.1mp P&S camera. Based on our experiences with this camera, however, the one thing I would recommend your friend research is how well her choice performs at elevated ISOs. My daughter's A1000IS is fine at ISO 100, but things start getting pretty noisy by ISO 400. I'd recommend that whatever she go with, her camera have at least decent performance at ISO 400.

[thequintessentialman]

Thanks to everyone for all the responses. I forwarded your suggestions and advice to her.
Thanks again.
John

[Admiral_A300]

the sony nex 5 is pretty cool. its a p&s with interchangeable lenses. pretty neat little camera.