Inexpensive Shop Camera?

[Matt Meiser]

Its getting to be about time to replace the digital camera I have in my shop which is an 8yo-next-month hand-me-down Fuji S5000 that has decided it likes to eat batteries, and loses its memory when changing them. We have a nice 1yo Canon and LOMLjr has a 2yo Canon we had before that. Both are great and I don't want to replace them and do the hand-me-down thing. I just need something for documenting work (often for posting on the forums) and general photos in the shop. I don't need a long zoom, but it does need to work well indoors under fluorescent light. It needs to do closeup well, one problem I have with the Fuji which doesn't like to focus, and will often go out of focus right as you take the picture. I don't really use video now, but an OK job at that would be nice since I definitely use video on our camera more now than 5 years ago and could see that changing in the shop. I'd like to stay under $150 and under $100 would be even better. I want to buy from a non-Best Buy big box, Costco, or Amazon.

I did a little looking at Costco yesterday and the $99 Panasonic Lumix S3 caught my eye. It seems to be a decent camera from the reviews on Amazon and I observed that its great at closeups at the store--could hold it a couple inches from a sign on the display and get a crystal clear image. One drawback is the proprietary $20 battery, which I'll almost have to buy a second, but it seems like everyone is going to that?

I'd like it to use SD cards--the Fuji uses an XD card which I can't plug into my iPad's adapter. I have a few small SD cards and an 8GB microSD card/adapter sitting unused in my desk which will probably all work with a new camera.

[Joe Angrisani]

If it was my money being spent, you'd be hard-pressed to talk me out of a Canon point and shoot (and I'm a Nikon guy for the serious stuff). Nobody does point and shoot exposure and out-of-the-camera-wonderful JPEGs the way Canon does.

Take a look at Canon's A1200. You can get it for $89 at B&H in New York with free shipping (B&H is a great company I've used for 20 years, not a NYC bait-and-switch nightmare shop). SD memory card, plain ol' AA batteries, and a 28-112mm lens. Amazon has it for $89 with free shipping as well if you must give your business to the huge guys.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/750178-REG/Canon_Powershot_A1200_Digital_Camera.html

[Matt Meiser]

That looks like an excellent option.

[Dick Strauss]

Matt,
I wouldn't buy from Ador### again (I think they are one of those bait and switch stores from my personal experiences). With B&H, I've never had a problem with my orders.

[Kent A Bathurst]

FWIW -

Cons Reports has the Canon and the Panasonic with roughly the same rating - middle-of-the-pack for point & shoot.

Panasonic rated a bit higher for image quality; both rated below average for LCD quality.......but at one bill, what would you expect?

I got a Nikon 8100 6 months ago, because it was one of their top recommendations, and I love it - first point-and-shoot, and it was too difficult to pry the Nikon SLR away from LOML. But - mine is well above your price point.

[Myk Rian]

+1 on B&H. Great company to deal with.

[Matt Meiser]

Office Max had the Canon ($20 more though) so I got to play with it some. Seems like it will meet my needs nicely.

Edit: However, LOML really thinks I should buy something at Costco due to their customer service.

[Norbert Ploetz]

Matt. Be aware that SD cards are being phased out.SDHC are the next generation. Make sure your new camera is formatted for these,or else you'll be looking at getting another camera soon.Norbert Ploetz PS I just went through this with an expensive DSLR camera.

[Matt Meiser]

I was reading more reviews and all the detailed reviews for a number of these small cameras cite "weak flash" as a con. I'm wondering how they will do in my shop, where I'm frequently taking photos in the evening with the flourescent lights on? I know my current camera almost always uses the flash.

Maybe I'm going to have to spend more to get something that meets my needs?

[Dick Strauss]

Matt,
Costco also extends the manufacturers' warranty on all purchases as far as I know...just food for thought!

[Matt Meiser]

I think they only do that on TVs, projectors, and computers. The thing my wife was big on is that they let you return it for 90 days for any reason.

[Joe Angrisani]

I was reading more reviews and all the detailed reviews for a number of these small cameras cite "weak flash" as a con. I'm wondering how they will do in my shop, where I'm frequently taking photos in the evening with the flourescent lights on? I know my current camera almost always uses the flash. Maybe I'm going to have to spend more to get something that meets my needs?

Maybe, maybe not. How far away from the subject is the camera when you take these shots?

Which Canon models are the two you have in the house now?

[Matt Meiser]

We've got an SX110is and an SX30is.

But an update, LOML and I were talking about this last night. LOMLjr piped up that she'd rather have the smaller camera (she was with me at Office Max the other night) and honestly her photography interest has not really moved beyond taking 100's of pictures of the dogs like we thought it might so she'd probably be more than happy with it. So we ordered the A1200 for her and I'll take the SX110is for the shop.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I would suggest to you that small digital cameras are very quickly going the way of the buggy whip (or dodo). The latest gen smart phones (iPhone in particular) now have 8 megapixel or better, full size screens and great ability to transmit back to a computer for editing or printing/web publishing. The dig SLR are different story, but the point and shoot dedicated device is just about to be obsolete.

[Matt Meiser]

True, but I'm pretty unimpressed by my iPhone 4's (not 4s) camera. My iPad 2's borders on awful. The EVO I had before was better but not great. Both are more of a pain to pull the pictures from than an SD card. Not saying we aren't almost there, but I don't think we are there yet.

[Joe Angrisani]

I would suggest to you that small digital cameras are very quickly going the way of the buggy whip (or dodo). The latest gen smart phones (iPhone in particular) now have 8 megapixel or better, full size screens and great ability to transmit back to a computer for editing or printing/web publishing. The dig SLR are different story, but the point and shoot dedicated device is just about to be obsolete.

Unfortunately, this rings of the typical incorrect knowledge a photo consumer posseses. Megapixels means nothing. The P&S won't go the way of the buggy whip just yet because smart phones have TINY sensors (which mean tiny individual pixels which means high noise and low dynamic range) and they have TINY lenses (which means distortion and poor details). And an LCD does not make a camera (that's what fails a camera in Consumer Reports-type testing). P&Ss will be around for quite some time because they offer realistic sensors and lenses. In fact, the current trend is toward physically larger sensors in the pocket cameras (witness the Canon S90 and the Nikon V1 and J1).

Matt M.... Glad the SX110is/A1200 is going to work for you and your daughter. Happy shooting!

[Jim Becker]

The Lumix is nice...Panasonic does point and shoot very well. But honestly? I use my iPhone for 90% of the photos I take these days and only pull out the DSLR for "serious" situations where I need the benefits of the zoom lens, etc.

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I wasn't trying to insult anyone's need or beliled in point and shoot cameras. Obviously like any consumer products category you can divide and subdivide along price point and feature/benefit lines any way you want. Since many of the traditional producers of snap-shot technology are gone or going away (polaroid and Kodak) it is not suprising That the New York Times reported in a tech blog that camera phone pics were the leading source for Flickr. (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/iphone-4-becoming-most-popular-camera-on-flickr/) For me cheap shop camera meant not much beyond $150...and primary feature being able capture step by step work in progress, or share images via email/net/txt.