Reddit reviews Canon PowerShot S95 10 MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD

The Canon S95 is a great camera that features most of the same features as the G11/G12. It's small so it won't pack the zoom range that you desire, and it's nearly in your $300 price range.

i would only recommend either the Canon S95 or the Panasonic Lumix LX5.

i have the s95 and so far as point and shoot cameras go, it is excellent. i like that i get various controls (aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode) and the 720p video has stereo audio. from my research the LX5 is feature-for-feature similar but with a slightly wider lens and obviously different ergonomics.

Canon S95 can be had for around 250 I believe.

Oly E-p1 about 200 with lens

Sony Nex 3 about 350 ish

Fuji S4200 A bit cheaper still

Hard to narrow it down any with the only known criteria being sub 500 dollars. But the above are all (in my opinion) very good cameras for the money. I'm a fan of buying used because you can get a little bit more for your money since digital stuff just depreciates like crazy.

I think for an upgraded P&S the Nikon is a solid camera as well. You can nab it used for a pretty deep discount.

I'm still trying to figure out why the D50 and D70 are so similarly priced

Cameras appear to lose their value more slowly over time, and eventually reach about ~$200, which is about as low as you'll find a working dSLR.

So my question is would the extra $100 or so be worth it for the DSLR/Lens over the point and shoot or would the quality of the images be too little to notice the difference

Depends on what you're trying to do. A modern point and shoot will probably offer video and, possibly, better low-light performance in some circumstances. A DSLR with a 50mm prime will offer much better bokeh, decent low-light performance, better flash performance (if you buy a flash), and, probably, more manual controls (for, say, very long or very short shutter speeds), as well as manual focus (if that becomes important).

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably try to stretch for a Canon s95 or s90 (about $250 used or refurb'ed). But then, I value the portability; if you value the other features (especially the ability to produce bokeh in pictures of people), an older dSLR will serve you better.

Canon:

Canon S90 or S95 - S90 does 480p video, S95 does 720.

S90/95 was upgraded to the S100 which is currently regarded as the 'best' P&S fixed-lens camera out there.

Powershot G series, not listing them all...

Panasonic:

LX3 or LX5, LX5 has a lot of various tweaks that make it better than the LX3.

Samsung:

TL500/EX1 (regional naming) Worth noting that though not a 'big brand' camera, this one has an ultra-fast f1.8 Schneider lens, legendary optics.

Nikon:

P7000 or P7100, P7100 is pricey and afaik has no game changing changes compared to the P7000.

*Ricoh

GR Digital III and predecessors.

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Personally, I'd go for a S100. If I wanted that extra partial stop faster lens, I'd go for the TL500, note that the canon has more zoom range.


**more info: Snapsort it

Video
>12X optical point and shoot with amazing low-light performance.

That pretty much disqualifies zooming on every P & S camera. Typically zoom lenses have a max aperture of f5.6 or greater at the longest end. This problem is made worse by the tiny sensor built into p&s cameras.

Also...

Audio
>the mic was crap and you couldn't hear anything over the amazing bass (I heard a paper tape over the mic can help in these cases!).

Sound pressure at concerts is way too high for clear audio on the built in mic of any p&s or even a DSLR camera. To record clear audio during a show you'd could try getting an external digital recorder (like a Zoom H1 audio recorder), record the audio and video separately, then re-sync them in your video editing software. See what I'm talking about >HERE<

I figure you want a p&s to keep your setup small, discreet, and allowable at a concert venue, so all DSLRs are out in this reccomendation.

So, what you'll need to do is this:

• Get p&s camera with a fast lens (f2.0 - f2.8) Try the Canon 500 HS for $200 or the Canon S95-s100 for $400ish
  
• Get digital audio recorder (Zoom H1 for $86)
  
• Get good seats
  
• Forget about zooming so you can get a decent image
  
• Record video and audio seperately
  
• Combine video and audio in your video editing software
  
• Be happy?
  
  Note* - If you must zoom, you need to stabilize the camera (preferably a tripod or monopod). If you cant use either cause of the venue, then tuck your arms against your body tight, and hold the camera with two hands. In any case, your video is still gonna look like crap if it's zoomed, grainy (cause the camera will raise the ISO to try get a decent exposure), and jerky (cause your holding the camera with one arm above the crowd).
  
  

There are some good point and shoot cameras on the market. But a lot of them have a problem with low light shooting. I settled on the Canon S95 after trying several other Powershots. Been happy.

Canon S100 looks good too.

I would recommend the Canon s95. Its a high end point and shoot which can shoot raw, f/2.0, M, AV, TV (etc) modes, 720p HD video recording and just overall is a very solid P & S. Regrettably Amazon JUST had a sale on them for $220 but they normally go for $300. Here is a link to Amazon and its reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-S95-Stabilized-3-0-Inch/dp/B003ZSHNGS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1324359321&sr=1-1

400+ reviews 4.5 stars, cant go wrong with this camera

For the Canon s95, do you mean this?

Your help is more appreciated than you know!

I'm guessing amazon decided to be a creeper after I was searching for this camera for you...so I figured I'd share what they emailed me with. best deal ive seen on the s95 (so far at least...I'm not looking too hard lol). And this one might be the newest model in that series. I stand by the canon power shots because they've always been better than the nikon point and shoot cameras (even though I'm bred to be a Nikon DSLR kid)...and I assume having HD video is great. I'd go into a store to experience the audio quality first hand though.

Edit: typos

EditEDIT: Basically what you want are manual controls so you can handle low light situations (that 2fstop option is NICE) and a lot of flexibility with exposure while still maintaining a quality image. I know jack shit about sound but from what I understand the video capabilities on DSLRs and possibly point and shoots (esp like this one) are getting better and better as time goes on. Plus its a tiny, lightweight model...safer and easier to bring to events without breaking it.

I've been eyeing the Canon Powershot S95 or the updated one recently.

Would be nice if that also has the boot image thingie.

Cannon s95 and the housing for it

They cost about $200 more than the newer versions now, not sure why. I've had mine for over a year but I only put it in the housing when I go diving.

One last question, comparing the camera you linked and the Lumix LX5. Which would you recommend, as you seem to have a lot of knowledge about cameras?

Well, I'm not familiar at all with that camera (or even Sony as a camera brand) so it may have a lot more features than you're aware of (the user manual is your friend!) that would allow you to make better pictures. I will say that I know as far as point-and-shoot cameras go the Cannon S95 is a very nice camera cause it gives you a lot of nice options that you would normally only find on much higher end DSLR type cameras. It's pretty damn expensive at ~$350 for a point and shoot camera though. Being a photographer is very expensive as a hobby I can attest as my mom is a semi-pro photographer and has spent a shitload (that's a technical term in photography) on all her camera gear.

$140 cheaper then the S100: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-S95-Stabilized-3-0-Inch/dp/B003ZSHNGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322168502&sr=8-1