Best Coolpix for HD and low light too?
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: Jane Galt on 13 Jun 2010 15:19 I'd like to consider a newer purse sized Coolpix. I have the 4500 which is nice, but not exactly purse sized. I like to do a bit of low-light shooting without flash, so it looks like the S8000 isnt up to that, though the 10x optical zoom sounds nice. I enjoy mostly scenery and non-flash shots of our shoulder pet birds. My purse cam is now a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S750 but the image quality isnt as nice as the Coolpix. I suspect Nikon makes better quality lenses? So suggestions? I need to keep this in the under $300 street price range.
From: Neil Harrington on 16 Jun 2010 19:51 "Jane Galt" <Jane_G(a)gulch.xyz> wrote in message news:Xns9D9687834354EJaneGgulchxyz(a)216.196.97.142... > I'd like to consider a newer purse sized Coolpix. I have the 4500 which is > nice, but not exactly purse sized. > > I like to do a bit of low-light shooting without flash, so it looks like > the > S8000 isnt up to that, though the 10x optical zoom sounds nice. > > I enjoy mostly scenery and non-flash shots of our shoulder pet birds. > > My purse cam is now a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S750 but the image quality isnt > as > nice as the Coolpix. I suspect Nikon makes better quality lenses? > > So suggestions? > > I need to keep this in the under $300 street price range. Of the current crop of Coolpixes, the S640 looks about the best for your purposes. Its lens is a relatively fast f/2.7 at the short end and it also has Nikon's "4-way VR" -- both of which will help in low-light shooting. The "4-way VR" is actually a combination of optional features and includes Nikon's exclusive Best Shot Selector feature, by itself a big help in low-light shooting (BSS lets you hold the shutter release down for up to 10 shots, then saves the sharpest one; since slow-shutter-speed shots usually vary a lot in sharpness, this helps a great deal). Also part of the "4-way VR" is the camera's offering auto ISO settings up to 6400 -- great for low light, though at the cost of increased noise. I have found high-ISO settings very useful in Coolpixes despite the increased noise, but I may be more tolerant of noise in photos than some other people. I don't have that particular model myself so can't speak about it from experience, but I do have a gaggle of other relatively recent Coolpixes and have consistently fine results from them all. The S640 has a MSRP of $219.95, so street price should certainly be no more than that. And it is very compact -- no problem at all for your purse, you could carry two or three there if you wanted to.
From: Jane Galt on 17 Jun 2010 03:37 "Neil Harrington" <nobody(a)homehere.net> wrote : > > "Jane Galt" <Jane_G(a)gulch.xyz> wrote in message > news:Xns9D9687834354EJaneGgulchxyz(a)216.196.97.142... >> I'd like to consider a newer purse sized Coolpix. I have the 4500 which >> is nice, but not exactly purse sized. >> >> I like to do a bit of low-light shooting without flash, so it looks >> like the >> S8000 isnt up to that, though the 10x optical zoom sounds nice. >> >> I enjoy mostly scenery and non-flash shots of our shoulder pet birds. >> >> My purse cam is now a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S750 but the image quality >> isnt as >> nice as the Coolpix. I suspect Nikon makes better quality lenses? >> >> So suggestions? >> >> I need to keep this in the under $300 street price range. > > Of the current crop of Coolpixes, the S640 looks about the best for your > purposes. Its lens is a relatively fast f/2.7 at the short end and it > also has Nikon's "4-way VR" -- both of which will help in low-light > shooting. The "4-way VR" is actually a combination of optional features > and includes Nikon's exclusive Best Shot Selector feature, by itself a > big help in low-light shooting (BSS lets you hold the shutter release > down for up to 10 shots, then saves the sharpest one; since > slow-shutter-speed shots usually vary a lot in sharpness, this helps a > great deal). Also part of the "4-way VR" is the camera's offering auto > ISO settings up to 6400 -- great for low light, though at the cost of > increased noise. I have found high-ISO settings very useful in Coolpixes > despite the increased noise, but I may be more tolerant of noise in > photos than some other people. > > I don't have that particular model myself so can't speak about it from > experience, but I do have a gaggle of other relatively recent Coolpixes > and have consistently fine results from them all. The S640 has a MSRP of > $219.95, so street price should certainly be no more than that. And it > is very compact -- no problem at all for your purse, you could carry two > or three there if you wanted to. Before coming back here to see this, I've been loking around, and am very tempted by the Powershot SD4000IS now, except for the price. Whew. Then the Coolpix S8000 is PHAT too. <sigh> What to do, what to do.... -- - Jane Galt
From: Jane Galt on 17 Jun 2010 04:19 Looking some more, the S90 is also tempting, so it's between the S90 $350 S8000 $250 and SD4000IS $350 It would stretch the budget for the more expensive two ( $350 street price ) if it would bring $100 more joy to my shooting, but what's a credit card for? :) -- - Jane Galt
From: David J Taylor on 17 Jun 2010 09:50
"Jane Galt" <Jane_G(a)gulch.xyz> wrote in message news:Xns9D9A179C458ABJaneGgulchxyz(a)216.196.97.142... > Looking some more, the S90 is also tempting, so it's between the > > S90 $350 > S8000 $250 > and SD4000IS $350 > > It would stretch the budget for the more expensive two ( $350 street > price ) > if it would bring $100 more joy to my shooting, but what's a credit card > for? > :) > > > > -- > - Jane Galt If you're paying that much you might as well get a DSLR - the larger sensor will make for better low-light performance. David |