P&S - what do you recommend?

[alanhill]

I bought my first SLR in 1971 (if I remember correctly) and I have never owned any other sort of camera since. But I have used point & shoot digital cameras at work from time to time in the past few years, and my experiences in 12 months with my D70 have convinced me that I ought to get a P&S camera of my own. I feel that I want to have a camera with me all the time - I have missed some wonderful aquarium shots and some even better 'dry' ones.
I think I know what I want ideally, although I know I will have to compromise a little:
a good quality lens, with a good range of focal lengths (perhaps one of the long zooms)
a decently sized sensor (>5Mp)
macro capability
RAW file format available
a small, easily portable body& lens
full manual control available as an option
compatibility with my D70 in terms of media etc
built-in flash some distance away from the lens axis (useful for aquarium photography)
At the moment I'm attracted to the Olympus SP500 ultrazoom (I still have a soft spot for Oly gear), which I can buy for about £200, although I'd need a new 1GB card as well. Has anyone tried this model for aquarium photography? Or for any other types of work?
I know some APF members perform minor miracles with their P&S cameras, so I'd appreciate any comments about this camera and any suggestions for alternatives.

Alan

[chubasco]

Alan,
I was looking at the Olympus FE140, 6MP, 2.5 LCD screen. Unfortunately the flash is right above the lens
and has only 3x optical zoom (38-114mm, 35mm equivalent). But it is certainly compact. Goes for L170 in
GB, but there's a vendor on ebay selling them for $129USD. It also has a Super Macro mode (5cm);)

[alanhill]

Thanks Bill, I'll look that one up. I agree that the flash above the lens is a problem, the SP500's flash pops up a bit, which might be a bit better.

Alan

[chubasco]

Alan, let us know what you come up with...and post some pics!:-D

[alanhill]

Alan, let us know what you come up with...and post some pics!:-D

I will, but I'd appreciate some comments and suggestions first - I'm not going to be able to spend serious time in camera shops for a week or two, but time spent on research is never wasted.

Alan

[chubasco]

Alan, I just read a review of the Olympus SP-500. Doesn't have IS/VR for the long zoom but it has some
interesting focusing programs. And, maybe not as small as the compacts, but has a nice hand grip
and looks like it would be more comfortable to shoot over time. Obliviou$ posted a Ricoh P&S with a long
zoom that gave some impressive results....

[Schnauzer]

I know nothing about the P & S cameras Alan but what about something like this?

Nikon Coolpix 5000 5.2 Mega-Pixel Digital Camera -Refurbished (4 pcs left)
Abe's Price: $199.00
View Product/Add to Basket Available
ONLY ONE UNIT LEFT!!!5.24 Megapixel CCD produces high definition 2,560 x 1,920 pixel images.
NEW! 3x Zoom-Nikkor lens with enhanced wide angle 28-85mm coverage, for incredibly sharp, crisp images, plus a stepless 4x Digital Zoom.
EXCLUSIVE! 256-segment Matrix Metering; or choose Center-Weighted, Spot, or Spot AF Area Metering. Works in conjunction with TTL White...

[alanhill]

Thanks Ron, that looks interesting. I found it difficult to choose a DSLR last year: I know a lot more about digital photography now, but there are so many cameras in this general P&S range now, that I find it even harder to assess the options and choose the most suitable camera for the sort of work I want to do).

Alan

[alanhill]

I got the little Oly SP-500. The deal with case, 1GB card, card reader, NiMH batts & rapid charger was £270 - which seemed OK to me. First results look promising but the RAW files are in Olympus's own ORF format and I have been away from the net for a while, so I haven't been able to download and install the plug-ins I need on my laptop yet. I will put some photos here soon.

Alan

[petsno123]

I bought my first SLR in 1971 (if I remember correctly) and I have never owned any other sort of camera since. But I have used point & shoot digital cameras at work from time to time in the past few years, and my experiences in 12 months with my D70 have convinced me that I ought to get a P&S camera of my own. I feel that I want to have a camera with me all the time - I have missed some wonderful aquarium shots and some even better 'dry' ones.
I think I know what I want ideally, although I know I will have to compromise a little:
a good quality lens, with a good range of focal lengths (perhaps one of the long zooms)
a decently sized sensor (>5Mp)
macro capability
RAW file format available
a small, easily portable body& lens
full manual control available as an option
compatibility with my D70 in terms of media etc
built-in flash some distance away from the lens axis (useful for aquarium photography)
At the moment I'm attracted to the Olympus SP500 ultrazoom (I still have a soft spot for Oly gear), which I can buy for about £200, although I'd need a new 1GB card as well. Has anyone tried this model for aquarium photography? Or for any other types of work?
I know some APF members perform minor miracles with their P&S cameras, so I'd appreciate any comments about this camera and any suggestions for alternatives.

Alan
Alan,I use a Sony cybershot DSC-92, It's getting on a bit now.It has effectively 5 mega pixels,a 35mm acquivalent 39 to117 lens.F2.8 to5.6 r.Very portbleange and works just fine with my software and hardware.Haven-t yet put any of my photos on this site.That's my next job.Spent 40 happy years as a professional photographer in the UK until I retired at age 60.Hope this is of some use to your searxch.645 bRONICA'S AND SPOTMATICS ARE THINGS OF THE PAST.Regards from Peter J Snowden.