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Best "pocketable" camera?

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
My son took my Casio Exlim 5 mp camera on a trip and really loved it, so I gave it to him. I'm leaving Wednesday afternoon for another trip to Grand Cayman and wanted to take a small camera, so I need to replace that camera right away. My first choice seems to be the newer version of the sub-compact Casio which is a 10.1 mp camera. Here is where I've seen the best deal Casio - EXILM EX-Z1000 Digital Camera

Any comments on other similar cameras or where I may get a better price? The local price is $400 plus at Circuit City or Best Lie. I just got a new Consumer Reports mag this week and it lists that Casio Exlim tops in the sub-compact range point and shoot camera. Any suggestions? I'm going to have to order this morning to get it on time. Thanks!
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Dargo,

Interesting you should post this today. I spent time over the weekend looking for a similar camera. In the other camera thread, Bob recommended I look at the Canon Powershot S series. Unfortunately, there was too many S & SD models for me to choose one in the limited time I had.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
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I'm a big fan of the Canon S500. (I've also got its predecessor the S230, and I presume they now have a more advanced model than the S500?) Not the very smallest camera out there, but the picture quality is very very good for a little pocket camera. I also like some of the features like the print link that allows you to print directly to many printers using the camera controls to edit the photos (as opposed to needing a computer to edit, or as opposed to printer editing with I find to be substandard). I also have a very compact "dive case" for my S500 that is waterproof to 60' so it is great for taking onto the dive boat, fishing boats, etc.

Panasonic Lumix has some small cameras with image stabilizaion that are worth a look, but your time issue my prevent you from finding the best of the best for your needs???
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
It appears as if I'd have to go to the Canon SD9000 to get similar features (mp, iso rate, image stabilization, etc.) and that costs almost $200 more. :eek: The Casio and Canon are the top rated brands with both rated with the best possible print quality.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
I got the Exlim EX-Z1000 camera yesterday. So far it seems awesome! The flesh tones and colors seem to be right on as well as the 10.1 mp camera taking great pics. I'll take some pics in Grand Cayman this week with it.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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OK. My review after 2 weeks.

Camera: Canon SD600

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAMERA.

After doing some checking on the internet, I WOULD NOT BUY ANY CAMERA OR ANY OTHER PRODUCT FROM CANON.

I took some pictures over the weekend. All was fine. I turn the camera on Christmas morning and the LCD is cracked (from the inside).

So, I did a google search on what it takes to fix it. I couldn't believe:
1. How many people have this issue with many of the Canon cameras. There's pages upon pages within google and several forums with 10+ pages of people reporting the problem.
2. Canon's response to the issue. They claim it's due to impact. WTF? I, like many others used it gently then pick it up for the next use and it's dead. They then want about $150 to fix it (but the camera's only $220). :mad:

I'll be calling their support line but don't have high hopes. I did find a couple places where you can buy a new LCD and either they'll fix it or provide instructions on how to fix yourself.

There's actually a couple class-action lawsuits against Canon for ignoring known issues with their products.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Our daughter and son-in-law bought a Nikon Coolpix 8 megapixel camera. I got to play with it over the holidays. Wow is it nice. Very small. Huge viewfinder display. Quickly understood user interface. Long lasting rechargable battery. I think they said it ran around 500. I'll give this one a serious look when it's time for me to buy another camera.
 

bczoom

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Doc - Do you know which model Nikon that was?

Brent - I don't see it anywhere so I'm guessing it doesn't have it but can you take any short videos with the Casio?
 

Gatorboy

Active member
bczoom said:
After doing some checking on the internet, I WOULD NOT BUY ANY CAMERA OR ANY OTHER PRODUCT FROM CANON.
Maybe I'm biased for I own over $12,000 worth of Canon equipment -- but they are the #1 manufacturer for sports photographers -- their products are very good, as well as their customer service.
 

bczoom

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Gatorboy said:
their products are very good, as well as their customer service.
TBD for me...

The camera broke within a month.
An internet seach shows it as a common problem and Canon doesn't seem to want to do anything about it (other than rip-off the customer).
CNet and others won't recommend the camera.
Consumer Affairs is talking about a couple class action suits against Canon.

I called their customer service. Their recording "assured me" that if I left my contact info, I'll get a call back within 30 minutes. It's only been a little over an hour but I have yet to be called back.
 

DaveNay

Klaatu barada nikto
SUPER Site Supporter
bczoom said:
It's only been a little over an hour but I have yet to be called back.

I think a little leeway is warranted on the day after Christmas for any customer service hotline. :whistle:
 

bczoom

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DaveNay said:
I think a little leeway is warranted on the day after Christmas for any customer service hotline. :whistle:
I called their Tech Support line.

Based on their recording, it sounded like the "you will be on hold for approximately nn minutes" type of recording.

I'm in no hurry for the next hour or 2 but need to get an idea from Canon so I know what kind of new camera I'm buying tonight.
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
By chance I came to this thread straight from the Panasonic forum on dpReview.com.

I like my Panasonic TZ-1 and just gave one to Younger Daughter for Christmas. This model is the only pocketable 10x zoom on the market and it makes excellent short videos also. There are better cameras for primarily indoors use, but outdoors for nature or tourism photography there is nothing like it.

Here's what I was reading. It's typical of many posts in that forum:

"A friend of mine and a family member recently purchased the TZ1 based on my experience with Panasonic camera's and a little bit of research.
Firstly, their expectations did not exceed the capablity of any prospective camera, and they wanted a point and shoot with big zoom and compactness, so enter the TZ1! Both were very pleasantly suprised with what they got - I have now spent some time assisting them and taking lots of different samples to demonstrate the capability of the camera.
The construction of the camera is excellent, it fits in a pocket, the zoom is very good, the optics first class - pictures and sharp, clear and have good colour balance. Outdoor results are excellent, indoor results very good.
The video is very impressive, and the stabilisation and zoom capability during video is very usefull and very good.
The high angle lcd adjustment is good, so you can hold the camera high above your head and use the screen.
It all comes down to your needs and your own opinion in the end - In my opinion, if you want the best compact large zoom camera on the market today, that offers full point and shoot, no fuss, with all round excellent results, and excellent value (check the excellent Leica optics for example)then have a serious look at this camera - On top of that its fun to use, and you won't put it down.
For travel, and every day use it would be hard to find a better little all round camera."


Younger Daughter is interested in nature photography. No kid is going to listen to Dad's advice for more than 5 minutes on Christmas day, so I followed up with an email to her pointing out some sample TZ-1 nature photos on the web:

"For the TZ-1, John Reed is the most prominent disciple [on dpReview.com]. He lives [near SF Bay] and occasionally organizes birder outing to his nearby marshlands.

Reed Examples:
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/6/66835144
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/8/69002498
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/9/69691616
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/9/69692961
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/10/69693188
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/12/70786911
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/19/104167534
http://john-reed.smugmug.com/gallery/1357189/20/106406229


Enjoy!"
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
Photography rule #1.

It doesn't count if you don't have the camera with you.
 

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bczoom

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Staff member
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Thanks guys.

The Casio doesn't seem to have video capability so I'm leaning away from it.

I'm currently high-bidder on an e-bay auction for the Panasonic.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
bczoom said:
Brent - I don't see it anywhere so I'm guessing it doesn't have it but can you take any short videos with the Casio?

Oh yeah, they are great. I thought that I was told by someone that there is a 2 minute limit. That isn't so. I've probably taken about, well I can look and see.....887, pictures with the camera so far and a couple dozen videos. I bought five 2gb SD chips at Best Lie the day after Thanksgiving for $29 each. I know I've done over 20 minutes of video on a chip along with dozens and dozens of 10 mp stills.

About the only thing that my Coolpix 8800 does better is the image stabilization. It sort of sucks of the little Casio, so I just leave it turned off. So far, the only thing I don't get good pics with is when I'm sitting in the stands of a school assembly and I'm trying to take a picture of my daughter about 50 yards away. The zoom works fine, but the flash is obviously worthless at that range. Without the flash, I get dark pics. I assume that there is some way I could use my tripod and do something with the settings to get a good pic, but I haven't read that far in the instructions yet. Heck, I have the same issue with the CoolPix 8800vr, but sometimes it selects something automatically that comes out okay. Maybe Gatorboy can tell me what to do? Maybe he'll tell me to go pound sand too...:whistle:

Anyway, I have to agree with Consumer Reports on their ratings of the little Casio 10 mp camera. It takes great shots, the battery lasts forever, and you can get tons of images and video clips on a 2 gb chip. And, as I figured, I seem to be willing to carry it along nearly all the time so it gets used the most. :thumb:

I don't know how to shrink a video clip down enough to post, but BC, if you want to see a 15 second clip of my dad "unwrapping" my youngest yesterday, I can email the clip to you. Just send me an email if you want me to send it to you. It seems to take better video clips than my aunt's Panasonic "camcorder" that doesn't use any media and uses only memory. Plus, it is just so much better at stills. I can send you some stills from Hawaii or Grand Cayman from it if you want as well.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Thanks Brent.

The CoolPix 8800vr isn't a pocket size so that's out.

Dang. :confused2:
Get the Panasonic, the Casio, the Nikon or all 3?

I'll have the Canon as well once I fix it but I'm giving that one back to Mrs. Zoom. It is her camera as a Christmas present to herself but I was using it so at least one of us knew how to use it by Christmas so we could get pics of the kids. She was livid when she found out it was broken right before Christmas morning

PS. It's now 3 hours later and Canon hasn't called back...:whistle:
 

cj7

New member
I have a Coolpix 6 from Nikon very nice unit. Lots of features and fits in my back pocket if I need it to.

My wife uses a Canon and it has been great too and she is hard on them. wonder why your LCD cracked bc?

I did some searching on the net first and went to wally world to try them out, then bought it the Nikon from Amazon.

I have heard that if you buy from Costco you can return them at any time for any reason and they will replace it.....
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
bczoom said:
Doc - Do you know which model Nikon that was?

Sorry I don't know the model number. But I'll find out for you.
Another feature it had which might help you pin down which it is, was a panoramic view. You could take 3 or more pics in paneramic view and it puts them side by side for an extra wide angle view.
This one was pocket size for sure. Small and thinner than most I've used.

Edit to add:
I believe it is the Nikon P4.
I double check with my daughter tomorrow.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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OK, I've just spent the past couple hours reading up on cameras. I think I have it narrowed down to one of the following.

Thanks to all thoughts so far. I have looked into every camera mentioned and several others. A couple got removed due to an inherent something that won't work for us but I did find a similar model as a substitute.

Since this will be a substitute for Mrs. Zoom, I'm having her go to the store and look at these cameras, in the sequence listed to see what she likes.

Any thoughts????

Casio Exilim EX-Z1000
Casio Exilim EX-S770
Casio Exilim EX-Z600
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1K (aka Panasonic TZ-1?)
Nikon Coolpix L6
Nikon Coolpix L5
Nikon Coolpix P4 - This one is at the bottom only because it's a bit more than Mrs. Zoom wants to spend but I'm keeping it on the list for myself
 

DaveNay

Klaatu barada nikto
SUPER Site Supporter
bczoom said:
Any thoughts????

Casio Exilim EX-Z1000
The EX-Z1000 is the small format camera that is at the top of my list. The feature in particular I like is the very fast shutter release. My wife can't deal with a slow shutter, and she squeezes harder, causeing the camera to shake and get a blurry picture. It also boasts a ISO3200, but I don't know what the picture quality is like at that speed.

I thought Dargo mentioned once before that he has this model?
 

California

Charter Member
Site Supporter
bczoom said:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1K (aka Panasonic TZ-1?)
Yep.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1K = black,
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1S = silver,
and they also have blue and champagne gold.
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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DaveNay said:
I thought Dargo mentioned once before that he has this model?
Yep. The other Casio's come pretty highly rated as well so I want Mrs. Zoom to look at those as well.
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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A "sort of" follow-up.

The SD model is gone. Mrs. Zoom got a Canon A630 instead.
It's not a pocket camera but that was something more important to me than her. She did get a Canon so her dad is happy.

I bought the Casio EX-Z1000 for myself but haven't received it yet.
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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Doc said:
Sounds like a win win situation for sure BC. :thumb:
It's a win-win now that we each have our own.

We had a couple ugly conversations over the holidays...
1. I got blamed for braking her new camera (she never even had a chance to use it). An internet search proved they break on their own but that didn't seem to change anything.
2. I downloaded all the pics from her new camera onto the PC and erased the SD drive for re-use (which has been the process for the past several years). Well, since she now has a stand-alone photo printer (and in this case was going to give the SD drive to her Dad so he had Christmas pics), I got in big trouble. I wish someone would tell me the new rules when they change them...

After those 2 fiascos, I decided it's time for her to have her own stuff that I won't touch...
 

bczoom

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Staff member
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I received my Casio today.

I've only taken a half-dozen shots but this thing is sweet!!!

All the controls and menu options are easy to navigate.

Picture quality is very good. I took 1 quick video and the quality is a bit grainy but I guess that's to be expected from a pocket camera...

Brent The only manual I received is titled "Basic Reference" and it tells me how to do very basic things. Did you get an advanced manual?
 
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