Anyone with a DSLR also have P&S camera

[steveG]

Recently my wife purchased a mid-range P&S camera (Nikon S9300) to take with her on an overseas holiday.
She had access to a couple of DSLR's (our older Olympus E-510, and my daughter's Nikon D7000) but decided she wanted to take something small/light as she was going to be doing a lot of walking and public transport etc.

She's come back very disappointed as about half the shots are out of focus.
After an interesting discussion with the camera section manager of the large electronics chain she purchased from (including being told "we aren't a library - so we cant just take it back now you've finished your trip") a refund has been organised.

She's now gone off the whole P&S idea a lot.

I'd like to know if any of you camera buffs out there also have one to complement your DSLR equipment or if they are all disappointing after you've had a good camera.

Steve

[tonyci]

Steve
Yes I have a FF DSLR and a point and shoot. I use the point and shoot when to carry the main camera would be a pain, or if I want a few shots to prepare for a later trip with the main camera. I have a Fujifilm EXR , this little camera is pretty good it even allows you to shoot in RAW.
To be honest I think it is easier to shoot with the main camera, the point and shot requires a lot more practice. The P&S shots are pretty good but not as good as the main camera.
Cheers
Tony

[Slunnie]

I have both, using the P&S for ease of use and light weight. I have an Olympus and it takes pics as good as my Canon DSLR with L-glass but only with better colour saturation.

[isuzurover]

We have a Canon IXUS50 as well as a Nikon D300s and Canon AE-1 Programme (last one doesn't get used anymore).

We frequently use the IXUS instead of the DSLR as it is small and convenient - i.e. you can carry it in your pocket. We are happy with the shots it takes.

In our case we bought the IXUS before the D300s. We were impressed how much better the DSLR is, but haven't stopped using the IXUS.

[dullbird]

I have an Olympus it's an older model the water proof ones but all the metal body not the mix of metal plastic ones, takes great pics!

[dmdigital]

I have a Fujifilm X-100 in addition to my D3s and D200. I guess it's more of a rangefinder than a P&S but it is pocket-able, has an APS size sensor and shoots RAW. It is my "go everywhere" even though it is fixed focus length.

[MacMan]

These days I either want to take a photograph properly or not at all. I have a Canon S5IS (a couple of years old) but I haven't used it once in 6 months. Even when traveling I will pick a body and one or two lenses and put up with the bulk. Having a few truly beautiful shots from a trip or adventure makes up for the inconvenience.

[s7000]

Yeup! I have a 1D and a G9.

G9 is great for when I don't feel like carrying the kit around. :D

[werdan]

I have an IXUS 850 that I still use sometimes. I find the macro is great for reading really small labels.:)

[steveG]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its good to know that those of you who are using them are finding that your P&S cameras are useful and are giving you decent shots.

After doing a bit of research myself, it seems that while Nikon produce good DSLRs, their compact cameras aren't anything startling. I'm thinking that my wife simply chose a poor camera.

Unfortunately its impossible to test drive a camera in a store and you really need to rely on reviews or finding someone that has a similar camera.

The mainstream reviewers pick the cameras to bits in such detail that you're left with the lingering thought of "the xyz bit in this camera is 2 fractions of nothing smaller than its competitor so therefore must be inferior" rather than any getting any sort of feel for its usefulness in the real world (possibly I've been looking at the wrong review sites??).

The problem with finding someone that has the same model camera is that the models change so frequently and if someone has a camera that they find really good they are likely to have it for a few years. The model is likely obsolete now - with no guarantee that its successor does as good a job.

To try and narrow things down for choosing one - what do you consider the essential or most useful functions/features in a P&S camera.
As I see it, the primary one on a completely automatic camera is that it focuses accurately (which is where her Nikon failed to achieve).
What else?

Steve

[33chinacars]

I've got a Nikon D300 & a Canon SX10is. Use the D300 most of the time. Got the Canon for the wife as its a lot lighter. Still does a good job. Went for the Canon compact over the Nikon because of handleing & features.
Also have Nikon F70 & F100 as backup but not used much now

Gary

[lebanon]

In addition to the DSLR we have a Canon G11 that produces excellent quality images and offers all the functions in manual mode like any DSLR.
If you are looking for a more P&S look, Canon offers the S90 which is built with the same sensor of the G11.
Add to this it has a 1/1.7" (7.60 mm x 5.70 mm) sensor size which is larger than the regular P&S cameras and offers significantly better quality images. This was the main characteristic that made me select this model.

Check this site: http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/DxOMark-review-for-advanced-compacts

[slug_burner]

Ixus is small enough to stick in your pocket for when you don't want to take the DSLR. That's what I use, got it for skiing as it is not practical to carry anything bigger.

I think you will find that most cameras will struggle to focus in low light particularly the P&S that don't have huge apertures when fully open.

[ozscott]

I combine my D5000 with my Samsung Galaxy S3 - amazing HD movies and stills and its with me all the time. I am considering a new GoPro black edition for 4wding, boating, snorkeling etc.

Cheers

[uncadazza]

Hi Steve,i have a couple of slrs and a couple of back up cameras my fav is a pentax optio WG2 16meg has heaps of programs even a microscope.waterproof,sand and drop proof a great allrounder.

[oldsalt]

We have a D7000 SLR which gets a fair old work out - but took our Panansonic Lumix DMC-FT4 point & shoot on a recent five week trip to the US and it worked great - it's waterproof to 40 metres so no dramas taking it diving in Hawaii and it was dropped in the snow a few times in Pittsburgh - no worries, and the shots are all sharp with a good colour balance, overall I'd say we were very happy with our "holiday snapper".
cheers

[Brian]

I recently found the Sony DSC-HX30V, with 18.2 mega pixels and 20x optical zoom, to be good enough to sell my Canon 500D and multiple lenses. Canon and lenses and extra flash, and tri-pod getting too heavy in most situations.

The Sony takes equivalent photos to the 500D and even better in some instances, it does all I need. Other features is GPS, Wi-Fi, 40x clear image zoom, full HD movie, 3D sweep panorama, macro down to 1cm, yes 1cm. Very good in low light situations as well. Excellant small camera.

Brian

[steveG]

Thanks everyone - plenty of good options to choose from there :D

Steve

[rick130]

I bought SWMBO a Canon PS A1000 a year or two back and it's our carry around, chuck in the car camera as i still have film SLR's (yeah, I'm a luddite :D)

I find the auto focus frustrating, where the camera chooses to focus isn't where I want, so I try to fool it but it isn't always successful.

Maybe I should read the instruction book sometime, but it is a P&S :D

[WhiteD3]

7D and a Sony RX100

[p38arover]

I just bought a Pentax Q today. Ted's Camera had them on special a couple of weeks ago for $200 (they were originally about $750) and I managed to get one today. See my thread posted today.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/PENTAXQ/PENTAXQA.HTM

[bidds]

I don't think a P&S is a 'bad' camera that takes 'worse' photos. The photo is more about the photographer than anything else and there's really no substitute for spending time with the manual to understand how your camera works.

Two of the big camera issues are focus and colour/tone of the image - both mentioned in this thread. Learning how to set the focus mechanisms of the camera will fix the first and figuring out the image settings of the camera (saturation, sharpness) will probably fix the second.

Fully automatic focus point selection can't read your mind and the results will be hit and miss, especially when using shallow DOF. Setting the focus system to focus only on a specified area is how I get around the problem.

The saturation and sharpness settings can usually be tweaked to get images looking the way you want them. I find that all Canon cameras tend to have a really nice look to them straight out of the box; I have to make changes to my Nikon's settings to get a similar effect.

So my criteria for whether a camera is any good or not revolves around the amount of control I can get of it, to do what I want. That usually ends up revolving around the menu system and I've found Canon P&S to have the easiest to use.

On DSLR's, I lean toward Nikon as I just don't get with the Canon DSLR menu's - yes, they're kind of similar to the P&S but for some reason it just doesn't work for me. Olympus has me baffled with their DSLR menu's. Pentax aren't bad at all and I should probably have one given I've always had Pentax film SLRs (still do) but I just find the ergo's and menus on Nikon DSLRs work well for me.

We have a few P&S in the house, from a sub $100 Samsung to the Canon G1X. My favourite is the Canon S90 as it has full manual control and is nice and small - it lives in a small pelican case and has been everywhere. The images that come from it are great - the only time I get 'poor' results are when trying to get action photos but there are work arounds (pre-focussing and anticipation being the main one). The G1X is our 'car camera' for travelling and works very nicely in lower light but still sucks for action.

[DeanoH]

Before my wife went overseas earlier this year she bought a new D90 to replace her ageing D80 and a Nikon Coolpix S8200 'handbag' camera. Both cameras performed well and Kaye was pleasantly surprised with the results from the compact camera.

Her friend on the other hand bought a Nikon Coolpix S9100 and had the same problems as your wife, most photos out of focus/blurred. I don't know if this was a camera or user issue but the results were very disapointing. Kaye did take some pictures for her friend with the S9100 and said the results weren't as good as she expected, certainly not as good as her S8200, but she hadn't set the camera up for the shots, just pressed the button for her mate. Maybe on the wrong mode ?

I guess the lesson learned here is to try out a new camera before going on the 'big trip'.

Deano :)