[Glen A Cleeton]

I am still stumbling into this decade and with a want to upgrade from my bulletproof Canon S330 Powershot. Granted, it is a dozen years old and resolution less than most phones, it has done an amazing job. Stuff like auto settings and image stabilization a must and woe is, an optical view so lacking in newer point&shoot pocket cameras.

I could be convinced to go dslr but my specialty has always been good snapshots from pocket cameras, even back to the film days.

My new tower refuses to accept my dear old S330 and I am destined to get a universal card reader to solve that issue but the latest technologies urge me to bow to the times and get a new camera. Having toasted my last spare XP machine, I am shrugging that off and moving on. Heck, I now have three Dell chassis/processors but only one good drive left.

I am hoping to get going with all the necessaries at less than $150.

Thoughts? Latest impressions? Must be Win 8.1 64 bit compatible and hopefully still run on 32 bit xp machines.

Cheers

GC

[Nathan Robinson]

Here you go:

http://www.dpreview.com/buying-guides?utm_cam...f=mainmenu

[Glen A Cleeton]

Thanks Nathan


it is much like that first production sword type of window shopping. I may end up going for a dslr but the dollars don't add up right now. It looks like there are some great options at three times my budget and plenty of compacts that have most of what I actually need.

Cheers

GC

[Matthew Bunker]

I take a lot of shots in museums (a LOT) so big sensor for low light and excellent OIS as well as being able to operate on everything from fully manual to fully automatic are my priorities.

The best, the absolute best (after test driving a dozen different types) is the Sony Cybershot RX100.
It's not the cheapest but the 1st gen model is dropping in price as it has been upgraded twice with crap I don't need (tilt screens and wi-fi).
It doesn't have an optical viewfinder but, frankly, once I got used to it I don't miss it at all.

If you're prepared to spend a bit more then I promise that you won't regret it.

[Glen A Cleeton]

Thanks Matthew

I am starting to look at Sony options and as you mention, low light has always been a priority for me as well. Some of these earlier models are actually rising in price and companies are discontinuing left and right. I am often a long study on stuff like this.

I have been somewhat surprised with the macro with this decade's compacts. I am sure I will get over no optical. I see some cameras with an add on viewer but those look easily lost or damaged. Manual settings are a must for me as well.

Cheers

GC

[Raman A]

$150 is a very, very small budget for a camera. In the photography world you get what you pay for. You wouldn't expect a $150 dollar sword to be good, would you?

I understand that you're not a professional photographer, neither am I, but I'd recommend going for an entry-level DSLR like http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/produc...i_lens_kit

Obviously it's many times your budget, but I think these type of entry level DSLRs are the best cameras you can get. They take extremely high-quality photos while retaining a small form-factor and ease of use. More expensive SLRs can take better pictures, but the price spikes incredibly fast and you end up lugging around a backpack with 30 pounds of equipment. Cheaper cameras drop off very quickly in the quality and versatility departments.

I started off with an older model of the rebel, and it was immensely helpful towards learning photography. The camera gives back what you put in. It can be set to automatic, point-and-shoot mode just like a cheaper camera, or if you're ready for more control you can manually set different attributes like f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, etc. for better pictures. This gives it a versatility and level of control you just won't get in cheaper cameras.

The camera I linked is the most popular Canon camera on flickr for a reason. Check out some of these pictures taken with one:
https://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/eos_rebel_t3i/

And here are some pictures that I took a long time ago at the Jacksonville Zoo with an older model of the rebel:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrhetoric/sets/72157618761188280/

[Glen A Cleeton]

Thanks Raman

Yes, I am also looking at refurb dslr cameras but funds are really tight right now. I can liquidate an arms collection and guitar collection to pay off current debt or manage a smaller budget right now. The recent additions of replacement monitor/TV and PC tower haven't made it easier.

In reality, a cf card reader would enable me to continue with my archaic Canon on the new tower or simply shuffle images from the XP to Win 8. That old Canon still meets my needs, albeit a lot less resolution by any standard. A replacement compact brand new is only a month's worth of groceries.

The Canon Rebels are on my view list, along with some Nikons and others.

Since I concentrate on antique swords, one might be surprised what $150 means in street value.

Cheers

GC

[James Arlen Gillaspie]

For museum work, where being able to see in the dark is a must , I bought a Canon S95 Powershot a couple of years ago. It was top of the list back then, for cheap point and shoots in low light. You might find one pretty cheap, used.

[Glen A Cleeton]

Thanks James

I am seeing some decent deals on this model and it has the newer sensor.

I have a lot of window shopping to do and a final choice down the road a bit. Most likely by spring. So far. all the cameras suggested look good. My first impulse, of course, was to look at the latest Canon ELPH models which fall exactly in the budget bracket but they seem to have some of the same issues a lot of cameras in that range share. Honestly, most of my picture taking since going digital has been for sharing on the net. The only time I ever ordered prints was to share with a relative who doesn't pc well.

Digesting the processing of RAW files something to learn as well. Most newer cameras seem to go both ways (RAW or Jpeg), as it were and I wondered at first at why I was seeing some pretty lousy previews on someone's camera. Just consider I have been under a rock as far as photography technology advances in the past decade. At any rate, I doubt I will be doing studio quality prints but rather much like what I shoot now. Most of the newer p&s cameras actually do quite well for hand held macro and that is what I struggle most with with the current dinosuar. That and low light with no flash.

My only full frame 35mm has been gathering dust since the 1980s with hundreds of pictures after that with a pocket 35mm throughout the 1990s.

Auto focus and settings slow down fps but I am rarely trying to capture action via sequential stills. One good capture does it for me.



Thanks again guys

GC

[Aaron Hoard]

I bought a Canon S110 Powershot for my last trip to London. I was pretty happy with the performance. I took lots of pictures in museums and other dark places - never needed a flash. It was small enough to carry around in my pocket. It has a pretty wide lens which I found more useful than having more zoom. Lots of manual settings, but I used mostly auto mode. At $179, it's a little more than your budget, but may be worth checking out.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/889962-...amera.html

[Glen A Cleeton]

Thanks Aaron

The s100 has much the same capabilities and skips the wifi. A smaller sensor than the Fuji and Sony but again, less expensive. I like the museum and forging shots, while it seems longer shots will benefit while tweaking settings. Canon aways seems to rate pretty well on color accuracy.

I had a Minolta 16 back in the 1960s and that was my first full manual camera. I found my boxes of slides when I last moved and wish I had never let it go. Of course no one has offered cartridges since the early 1990s. Something tells me I will hang on to the ELPH I have running now even once I upgrade.

Cheers

GC

[Glen A Cleeton]

An update of sorts, those Sony RX100 are coming down in price, as the mkII and mkIII were introduced. If I was buying today I would seriously look again at the Canon 110 mentioned earlier because they too are dropping in price.

My solution right now was to get a Kingston card reader and that will let me continue in my outdated Canon 2mp hell for general shots. It still does ok for now. Insurance is still bouncing adjustments around but I still have a couple of grand to deal with. Maybe next year.

One asked me in a sidebar what a CF card was. It is the square jobbies. My piddly 128mb is nothing compared to the 64gb cards available now.



Cheers

GC

[Glen A Cleeton]

Gosh, it has been a few years since I began a quest to update to a newer camera. The Canon 330 has continued to be tried and true but pales in comparison to newer cameras, indeed just via a phone.

Sony has continued to update the RX100 and I have continued to watch them. Will there be an M6 this next year? I settled for a slightly used minty RX100, I do mean minty and the price was right. I will probably relegate the old Canon to the glove box of the car but with phones these days, hardly needed.

Having just begun in playing with the first generation RX100, I have to say it is a case of my expectations have been exceeded. I fooled around with the flash and then promptly shut it off entirely. Wow, is all I can say about low light imaging. Some settings a little redundant but fully functional in a manual mode. I will be growing into this one for many years to come. It is really more camera than I will likely ever use. I could never get into swapping lenses on full frame 35mm cameras and digitals feel the same to me. Give me a good usable pocket point and shoot every day. Cameras one is likely to carry without lugging a studio around with you.

Thanks for the pointers on the market back then and particularly re the Sony RX100. These are way compressed via Shrink Pic running on my destop






Neat camera

One of the same but with no compression but uploaded to imgur


Cheers

GC