fav. point & shoot camera

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#1
I love my camera, but I swear I can only get about 15-20 pictures out of a pair of batteries and am in the market for something to take with us to the Bahamas in July.

Suggestions?
 

Snark

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#2
What kind of batteries does your camera use? My DSLR uses 4 AA batteries and I've found the Photo Lithium AA batteries last a pretty long time; I can get 300 - 400 pics (unless I'm using my flash a lot). I always carry a spare pack of batteries in my camera bag.
 

Aleron

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#4
I love my Panasonic Zs3, which is no longer being made. It has 12x zoom, HD video and I ve gotten some excellent shots with it. There are new versions of it now. I think Amazon sells the zs9 for under $200 and if you don't care about a stereo mic then it would probably be a good buy. I have a zs10 as well which has a ton of awesome features but I think I'm probably going to sell it. While the sound would be great for normal video stuff, it's just too muffled for concert footage. Neither of these cameras tend to have the distortion issues with concert footage though, like most P&S and camcorders have. Otherwise, I like it fine so far (have only had it a couple weeks, so haven't tested it a lot) and all the crazy features are interesting.

Anyway the Panasonic ZS line are "travel zoom" cameras - intended to be excellent, compact travel cameras. I've had the zs3 for a couple years and have been extremely happy with it for both it's photos and it's video capabilities for a P&S camera. It's a good size too!
 
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#5
I am happy with my Nikon Coolpix L110. And I only use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. Anything else is a waste of money. I just wish my camera took 2 instead of 4. ETA: They're making a new version of my camera now. I wouldn't mind having one, but I'm hoping my next equipment upgrade is to a DSLR.
 

JessLough

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#6
My sister has the Nikon Coolpix 6200(?), the one that came out end of last year, anyway. She loves it. It's Pretty much the best you can go before getting into DSLRs. I think it was $269CAD just before Christmas
 

SarahHound

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#7
You should get one that takes rechargeable batteries, buying batteries is such a waste really, no matter now many shots they can get. :)

Kodaks are good for rechareables.
 
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#8
#1, you can buy rechargeable AA's, the charger isn't all that inconvenient, I must say I think it doesn't take any more room up storing than my camera battery recharters (actually, I like it better than my camera ones, because it plus right into the wall, I hate those tangled mess of cords!). I do also know, I've heard that some camera also offer a feature that when you plug it into the computer the battery will charge off your computer.

#2, I have a Coolpix S550, hate it! The first year, I loved it, it was great and took some pretty decent photo's, although I found the flash it uses to be on the harsh side, and the shutter speed is CRUD! However, after that first year I started to notice the degeneration of the photo quality. It no longer takes "clean" photo's, they are all de-pixelated grainy, it just gets worse as time goes on, and more of the photo's it takes are out of focus compared with before. The video mode is going dead, there is a dancing white pixel in all my video's, and again the grainy de-pixelation gets worse as time goes on.

By contrast, we also have an Olympus D-380, 2MP. We bought it way back when digital camera were first becoming the big thing to have, and I still to this day LOVE IT! Sadly the outdated card doesn't hold as many photo's at a time that it use to, and you can't get replacements, the one downside to their brand, they've always produced their cameras to run off their own system which is so stupid, but dang I love this cam! I'd have to say, as long as I can get one with a form of memory save that is more convenient, I'd rather go Olympus over Nikon if I had to buy a new "pocket cam" again. Although, the new Nikon with interchangeable lenses is VERY tempting!


Oh, I forgot the topic at hand, sorry! Both my digital's S550 and D80 have their own rechargeable battery, for travel I could see the inconvenience of the battery chargers, again those dang cords! For now I'd suggest for you to find the regular batteries that are rechargeable and get the small plug in recharger that fits 2-4 batteries, they're very easy to use.
 

SarahHound

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#10
In the UK we have Energizer Lithium batteries, do you know if you have them there? They are meant to last about 600 photos in a camera, my sister bought them for my Canon P&S when she borrowed it for a trip as she forgot the charger (I use rechargeable AA's in it usually). It kept going for around 4 hours and 300 photos. It's only now going flat after about 350 pics and 3 videos.

ETA: Found them
http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Ult...IEME/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328366376&sr=8-1
 
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#11
Don't waste your time with rechargeable batteries, IMO. I bought some for my camera. Yes, they do recharge, but they go to "low battery" warning within a few minutes of putting fresh ones in. And they don't hold a charge all the time while sitting. Get the Lithiums, IMO.
 

Snark

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#12
Don't waste your time with rechargeable batteries, IMO. I bought some for my camera. Yes, they do recharge, but they go to "low battery" warning within a few minutes of putting fresh ones in. And they don't hold a charge all the time while sitting. Get the Lithiums, IMO.
^This^. My DSLR came with rechargeable batteries and I never had any luck with them.
 

Equinox

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#13
I love my Panasonic Zs3, which is no longer being made. It has 12x zoom, HD video and I ve gotten some excellent shots with it. There are new versions of it now. I think Amazon sells the zs9 for under $200 and if you don't care about a stereo mic then it would probably be a good buy. I have a zs10 as well which has a ton of awesome features but I think I'm probably going to sell it. While the sound would be great for normal video stuff, it's just too muffled for concert footage. Neither of these cameras tend to have the distortion issues with concert footage though, like most P&S and camcorders have. Otherwise, I like it fine so far (have only had it a couple weeks, so haven't tested it a lot) and all the crazy features are interesting.

Anyway the Panasonic ZS line are "travel zoom" cameras - intended to be excellent, compact travel cameras. I've had the zs3 for a couple years and have been extremely happy with it for both it's photos and it's video capabilities for a P&S camera. It's a good size too!
Is that what you have been using for your photos? I have/had the same camera, only one I've used for the last year or so and I completely loved it. I got my ZS3 November 2010 and it was perfect for everything I needed. The low light was rough and sometimes the color didn't come out perfectly, but I really, really loved that camera.

Unfortunately, just a few weeks ago it died on me and is gone for good. Told my friends I felt like I had lost an arm and a leg.

Some of my favorite shots from the Panasonic DMC-ZS3









Actually I have been looking for a replacement Point and Shoot (though have made it my priority to hunt for a good deal on a DSLR). How is the ZS10 in comparison to the ZS3, just for normal, every day pictures?
 
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#14
This was bumped up to a higher priority. I pulled the camera out on Saturday to take some new pictures of the house and it was giving me a 'zoom error' or a 'battery empty' error. The batteries were new, I bought them last week because I knew I was going to be needing the camera.
 
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#15
I just had to replace my P&S, the old one was a Sony Cybershot and I don't recommend it. It was ok, but annoyed me to no end for a variety of reasons, mostly that it didn't have a very responsive shutter time and I was constantly "missing" pictures. A real drag since I mostly take pictures of my dogs. Also it didn't take very nice pictures in low light/indoors.

I replaced it with a Canon Powershot (I got the A2300) and so far I've been very happy with it, although I've had it less than a week. It comes with its own little rechargeable battery.
 

stardogs

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#16
I had a Canon PowerShot before I got my DSLR and liked it a LOT, I just wanted the ability to have interchangable lenses and work more in manual if I chose. My PowerShot was 6yo and still going strong when I accidentally dropped it in the lake...
 

Doberluv

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#17
I don't know much about cameras, so not much help. I just wanted to say what nice pictures those are Equinox....just gorgeous. Not only the subject matter itself and the quality, but you seem to be good at capturing just the right thing at the right time. Really nice!:)
 

Lizmo

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#19
I had a Canon PowerShot before I got my DSLR and liked it a LOT,
Canon PowerShot cameras, definitely. Best P&S I ever owned. I've tried the Nikon Coolpix and I can't work the thing to save my life. :eek:
 

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