$200-$350 Point and Shoot battle: Build quality and control schemes
I’m sick of DSLR maintnence and have finally decided to get a little point and shoot to slip in my pocket when I don’t want to deal with the hassle of the big camera. I spent a good hour or so at Best Buy testing the 4 models they had there with manual control or priority modes at least. Now this isn’t a full review by any means, some more premium models weren’t carried by Best Buy and I wasn’t really able to test picture quality since they were all display models…but this is at least a start since many people have been wondering which is the best to get.
The contenders:
the favorite: Canon S90, street price: 350
the protégé: Canon SX210 is, street price: $300
the new guy: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, street price: $240
the underdog: Sony H55, street price: $200
The selection of point and shoots with manual control was pretty bleak, but there weren’t many places I could go to test them all out side by side.
---Canon S90---
This thing has been reviewed to death, and most people know what it’s all about. However, when you pick one up for the first time it’s like holding a true masterpiece in your hand. The aperture ring on the front really makes it fun to use and give you the closest to DSLR-like control scheme possible since you can assign Aperture and Shutter speed to each of the 2 dials. Also the body is rock solid and has some decent heft, sure felt like they stuffed a lot in there. Menu navigation is rapid and you usually only have to dive into one menu to change vital settings like ISO and white balance
Even though it has a pretty short focal length the f/2 lens in sample shots still produced some surprisingly good bokeh across the entire focal range, which tops out about 24mm (35mm equivalent) over the standard DSLR kit lens. Thanks to the large aperture clear shots could be taken handheld over the entire focal range in the Best Buy store lighting.
---Canon SX210 is---
Myself, I was a little biased to this and the S90 going into this, the S90 because…well it’s the firkin S90, ever heard of it?...and this one because it’s preceding model, the SX200 is was my first camera and I learned how to shoot with it.
The SX210 is doesn’t really stack up to the S90’s design, but the 12x zoom range is very valuable though if you don’t have DSLR with a few extra lenses that can achieve up to the ~400mm (35mm equivalent) focal length. The control scheme and button layout isn’t exactly the same, and a few of the buttons, mostly on the top of the camera were too hard to press. Also, the zoom lever is horrible, they went away with the standard forward facing lever and went with a tiny (probably 2mm) rocker sticking up and out of the top, it was horribly hard to use and offered no variable zoom speed since there is so little play in the rocker. Aperture and Shutter speed are very easy to control via the click wheel (you jump between the two by pressing up and then spinning to adjust)
Control flaws aside, this one does boast HD video recording and a burst speed that the S90 doesn’t have, all for 50 bucks less, but you have to give up RAW shooting and one Aperture stop (f/3.). Shocker Alert: the main draw to me for the S90 was the compact size, but with the SX210 is Canon managed to make them both just about the exact same size, which impressive considering the differences in zooms.
---Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5---
While this isn’t the top of the line Lumix it’s probably good enough to judge the higher end models on.
I didn’t spend very much time with this one because after a few seconds with the manual control I was about to vomit. Fatal Flaw: NOTHING SPINS!!!! Every setting on the camera is controlled via the 4 way d-pad. This method of controlling Aperture and Shutter speed is terribly inefficient and takes way too long, even for simple things like going from f/3.5 to f/11 seemed to drag on forever.
However, this is more of a personal preference of mine, but it was slow, seemed buggy and I really didn’t like it. For the price though, it’s probably the cheapest shooter you can get that has true full manual control (explanation later). Also it has a zoom range matching the SX210 is for a cheaper price
---Sony H55---
I wasn’t expecting this but after I saw the $200 price tag (at Best Buy!) I looked up and was presently surprised to see an M setting on the dial. Wow! I though, I might as well pick this up now because nothing can beat that price…Wrong! Just like the Lumix, it was all controlled by a single d-pad, with no dials or wheels. Also, there was no histogram or exposure meter…sure you don’t need those, but with manual control it’s really nice to have, especially when you have to judge everything off a low res LCD.
The absolute worst part of the Sony was that the Aperture "control" had two settings, minimum and maximum aperture at every focal length….WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?...Maybe I just haven’t had that much experience with different cameras but I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Want to shoot at f/11 on a sunny day? Better stay locked at the right focal length or GTFO.
I couldn’t imagine anyone buying this for control when for 40 more dollars you could get the Lumix; that while hard to control, still has true full manual operation and a much longer zoom range.
The verdict
I’m torn right down the middle between the two Canons. I’m leaning slightly towards the S90 because I eventually want to move to RAW shooting, and with the controls and interface it was simply a joy to use. I haven’t enjoyed using a camera that much in my life, it was so simple and straightforward. It also has a larger sensor. Giving up the zoom range, HD video, and burst mode of the SX210 is will probably easy for the superior image quality and control.
S90 wins!!
***I’m not a pro, never will be. I’m just a hobbyist and there’s far more people here on giz that can give you a real photographers perspective on these cameras if they choose, I’m guessing they just don’t have the spare time to do something like this. I’ll also point you to some links for real pro reviews with sample shots
Feel free to reply with any questions, and if you please, criticisms or insults…are all welcome
Most importantly, To the editors at Giz: Please please do a pro review/battlemodo of some point and shoots to help us all pick the best one at different price ranges, I know I’m not the only one who is interested and it would be greatly appreciated by the whole Giz community
@Korrupt: I haven't done really any research on the new iPhone because I know I won't ever get one. Not because I'm a hater...I actually would like to buy one but I'm stuck on Verizon with my folks until I move out and I'll probably grab a prepaid to save $$ when that happens.
I do read the blog reviews though and that's usually when I get any need to know info on the products that I have little interest in
@KevlarAllah: Thank you, and I going to wait a few days and read some more reviews before I decide between the two, it's pretty close...Manual control is really the only essential for me because I like to to do light painting with traffic at night. Also a lot of my photography is on hikes and it's not always easy to pull the DSLR out at every single opportunity so I'd still like good to great image quality if possible.
@Future Retro: Haha, no worries. I don't really mind. It is after 1 AM, so it's not like this place is hopping at the moment. It was just a suggestion.
@Future Retro: If you were going to review a sony camera between the 200-350 range, you should have gone with the upgraded version of the H55, the HX5V. It is 350, so it is at the top end of the price bracket, but takes the best pictures for a point and shoot that i have ever had. If you want to do a review with cameras of the same price range, at least do some searching to find the best one of the bracket.
Hands down, best camera i have ever had as a point and shoot. It has all the upgrades that the H55 doesn't have. They look like twins, but one is definitely Danny DeVito and the other is Arnold Schwartznegger.
The camera you have pictured is the HX5V($350). The H55 camera you have reviewed is a much lower end, stripped down version of this camera. Your review is essentially useless because of this mistake, as the HX5 is the best camera on the market, with features such as a CMOS image sensor, and built in GPS. @Future Retro:
The camera you have pictured is the HX5V($350). The H55 camera you have reviewed is a much lower end, stripped down version of this camera. Your review is essentially useless because of this mistake, as the HX5 is the best camera on the market, with features such as a CMOS image sensor, and built in GPS. @Future Retro:
$200-$350 Point and Shoot battle: Build quality and control schemes
I’m sick of DSLR maintnence and have finally decided to get a little point and shoot to slip in my pocket when I don’t want to deal with the hassle of the big camera. I spent a good hour or so at Best Buy testing the 4 models they had there with manual control or priority modes at least. Now this isn’t a full review by any means, some more premium models weren’t carried by Best Buy and I wasn’t really able to test picture quality since they were all display models…but this is at least a start since many people have been wondering which is the best to get.
The contenders:
the favorite: Canon S90, street price: 350
the protégé: Canon SX210 is, street price: $300
the new guy: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, street price: $240
the underdog: Sony H55, street price: $200
The selection of point and shoots with manual control was pretty bleak, but there weren’t many places I could go to test them all out side by side.
---Canon S90---
This thing has been reviewed to death, and most people know what it’s all about. However, when you pick one up for the first time it’s like holding a true masterpiece in your hand. The aperture ring on the front really makes it fun to use and give you the closest to DSLR-like control scheme possible since you can assign Aperture and Shutter speed to each of the 2 dials. Also the body is rock solid and has some decent heft, sure felt like they stuffed a lot in there. Menu navigation is rapid and you usually only have to dive into one menu to change vital settings like ISO and white balance
Even though it has a pretty short focal length the f/2 lens in sample shots still produced some surprisingly good bokeh across the entire focal range, which tops out about 24mm (35mm equivalent) over the standard DSLR kit lens. Thanks to the large aperture clear shots could be taken handheld over the entire focal range in the Best Buy store lighting.
---Canon SX210 is---
Myself, I was a little biased to this and the S90 going into this, the S90 because…well it’s the firkin S90, ever heard of it?...and this one because it’s preceding model, the SX200 is was my first camera and I learned how to shoot with it.
The SX210 is doesn’t really stack up to the S90’s design, but the 12x zoom range is very valuable though if you don’t have DSLR with a few extra lenses that can achieve up to the ~400mm (35mm equivalent) focal length. The control scheme and button layout isn’t exactly the same, and a few of the buttons, mostly on the top of the camera were too hard to press. Also, the zoom lever is horrible, they went away with the standard forward facing lever and went with a tiny (probably 2mm) rocker sticking up and out of the top, it was horribly hard to use and offered no variable zoom speed since there is so little play in the rocker. Aperture and Shutter speed are very easy to control via the click wheel (you jump between the two by pressing up and then spinning to adjust)
Control flaws aside, this one does boast HD video recording and a burst speed that the S90 doesn’t have, all for 50 bucks less, but you have to give up RAW shooting and one Aperture stop (f/3.). Shocker Alert: the main draw to me for the S90 was the compact size, but with the SX210 is Canon managed to make them both just about the exact same size, which impressive considering the differences in zooms.
---Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5---
While this isn’t the top of the line Lumix it’s probably good enough to judge the higher end models on.
I didn’t spend very much time with this one because after a few seconds with the manual control I was about to vomit. Fatal Flaw: NOTHING SPINS!!!! Every setting on the camera is controlled via the 4 way d-pad. This method of controlling Aperture and Shutter speed is terribly inefficient and takes way too long, even for simple things like going from f/3.5 to f/11 seemed to drag on forever.
However, this is more of a personal preference of mine, but it was slow, seemed buggy and I really didn’t like it. For the price though, it’s probably the cheapest shooter you can get that has true full manual control (explanation later). Also it has a zoom range matching the SX210 is for a cheaper price
---Sony H55---
I wasn’t expecting this but after I saw the $200 price tag (at Best Buy!) I looked up and was presently surprised to see an M setting on the dial. Wow! I though, I might as well pick this up now because nothing can beat that price…Wrong! Just like the Lumix, it was all controlled by a single d-pad, with no dials or wheels. Also, there was no histogram or exposure meter…sure you don’t need those, but with manual control it’s really nice to have, especially when you have to judge everything off a low res LCD.
The absolute worst part of the Sony was that the Aperture "control" had two settings, minimum and maximum aperture at every focal length….WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?...Maybe I just haven’t had that much experience with different cameras but I thought that was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. Want to shoot at f/11 on a sunny day? Better stay locked at the right focal length or GTFO.
I couldn’t imagine anyone buying this for control when for 40 more dollars you could get the Lumix; that while hard to control, still has true full manual operation and a much longer zoom range.
The verdict
I’m torn right down the middle between the two Canons. I’m leaning slightly towards the S90 because I eventually want to move to RAW shooting, and with the controls and interface it was simply a joy to use. I haven’t enjoyed using a camera that much in my life, it was so simple and straightforward. It also has a larger sensor. Giving up the zoom range, HD video, and burst mode of the SX210 is will probably easy for the superior image quality and control.
S90 wins!!
***I’m not a pro, never will be. I’m just a hobbyist and there’s far more people here on giz that can give you a real photographers perspective on these cameras if they choose, I’m guessing they just don’t have the spare time to do something like this. I’ll also point you to some links for real pro reviews with sample shots
S90: [www.dpreview.com]
SX 210 is: [www.photographyblog.com]
DMC-ZS5: [www.photographyblog.com] (I think)
H55: [www.photographybay.com]
Feel free to reply with any questions, and if you please, criticisms or insults…are all welcome
Most importantly, To the editors at Giz: Please please do a pro review/battlemodo of some point and shoots to help us all pick the best one at different price ranges, I know I’m not the only one who is interested and it would be greatly appreciated by the whole Giz community
#gizretro
#bestmodo
#tips
#whitenoise (Edit comment)
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The pictures from the iPhone 4 look pretty legit. Have you taken a look at that?
Edit: Here is the site where Apple shows them off. To my untrained eye, they look decent enough.
[www.apple.com]
#whitenoise (Edit comment)
You should probably put up a post about it and reply to yourself with the novel next time. Haha
#whitenoise (Edit comment)
I do read the blog reviews though and that's usually when I get any need to know info on the products that I have little interest in
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#whitenoise (Edit comment)
@Lacara: My Bad Dawg
This was my only post of the day though so at least I haven't been spamming too much.
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lnmk;kjn;n/,nm/.nm
.nm .m,n;k.jn'lk
#bestmodo (Edit comment)
Hands down, best camera i have ever had as a point and shoot. It has all the upgrades that the H55 doesn't have. They look like twins, but one is definitely Danny DeVito and the other is Arnold Schwartznegger.
#bestmodo (Edit comment)
@Future Retro:
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@Future Retro:
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