Need a Compact Recommendation for the Parks

You can get third party memory sticks. Lexar and Sandisk make them, so don't use that to rule out a Sony.

But, if you want #1, you're going to have to go a little higher than the pocket P&S and more towards the P&S SLR cameras. The problem I've seen is that #4 has gotten worse as a result of the MP wars.

Found this info in a reply on photo.net

"According to recent tests in a French photo magazine (Reponses Photo), on the low shutter lag end are the Casio Exilim and Z1200 models, the Kodak Easyshare Z812 IS, the Sony Cyber-Shot W90 or G1 models and the Ricoh Caplio GX100. Between 0.25 and 0.3 seconds are found the Canon IXUS 860 IS, the HP R937, a Kodak Easyshare model (VI 237) and the Panasonic Lumix FX 100 and FZ18. At 0.65 or 0.7 seconds are the Nikon Coolpix P50, S51 and S510 models, the Olympus FE-90, the Pentax Optio S10 and the Samsung L74W."

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00O15u

Guess they are saying it's not the shutter lag anymore, it's the focus lag....

If I remember correctly, one of the Sony SLR looking models with 6MP is better in low light than it's more recent brothers. And I think Wal-Mart is still selling them - very cheaply if I remember correctly. Perhaps look at a used Canon G series? Maybe one of the ones that added (back) RAW?

 

Geek...I honestly wouldn't use that as much of a reason anymore to not buy a brand of camera - it's too limiting to you and for no good reason. 3 or 4 years ago, memory card differences would be a primary reason not to switch to another brand - but nowadays when you can buy a Sony Memory Stick Pro 2GB card for $30...their prices are within a few dollars of SD cards and CF cards...I think people's priorities should just be on which camera you like the best and not worry about what card they take. And unlike the Olympus XD cards, Sony's MS cards can equal the speed and capacity of SD...making them much more competitive.

Besides...there really isn't Sony vs all other manufacturers: Olympus & Fuji use XD, many of the newer cams now take SDHC, and are not backwardly compatable to regular SD, some cameras take CF, and Sony uses MS and CF.

As for a compact camera recommendation - The Canon SD models are very slim and seem quite well built...so they are certainly an option to consider. Sony's W series is roughly an equal competitor to the Canon SDs...or you can go the more stylish route and look at the T-series cams which are a little slimmer in use since they have internal lenses. IMHO, the Sonys are better at low light than Canon, Oly, or Panasonic...running a close second to Fuji. Fuji's F-series compacts don't look as fancy, but they have been the low-light leaders in the compact world for many years. The newer cameras like everyone else's are busy packing in the MP...but the Fuji SuperCCD sensors still seem to be capable of better low light performance than everyone else. So that's worth a look too. Panasonic makes nice, well built cameras competitive in almost every way, but they are still at the back of the pack with regards to high ISO noise, so low light performance will struggle.

I bought a Sony T100 in November, and have been very happy with it as a carry-all compact when I don't feel like bringing a bigger camera with me. Start up is 1 second or less...as soon as you slide the cover open. Focus is instantaneous in good light, and a little slower but accurate in low light. There is no discernable shutter lag at all. It even has a decent 2.5fps burst mode. Low light capabilities are far better than I expected from a compact - up to ISO400 look great, and ISO800 is still usable...you wouldn't want to go much further than that though. Focus in low light is usually around 1/2 to 1 second, and seems to lock on accurately. The steadyshot IS system is almost unbelievable - far better than any other camera I've ever tried - I can handhold at 1 second shutter for stationary subjects, and get no blur 2/3 of the time. Handholding at 1/30 or even 1/50 is not really a problem at all. Build is excellent - all metal, and solid as a rock. LCD screen is gorgeous - 3 inches and 230,000 pixels. And battery has been crazy - lasting days and days, and over 500 shots per charge. Having 5x range in a slimline camera is very nice too.

 

Roger - you're right - all of the new compact cameras are a compromise over the ones from just a few years ago - Canon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji - all their newest models suffer from more noise reduction artifacts and high ISO noise, smearing, blooming, and PF than their previous models...all because of the MP race. It really is silly to think that a 1/2.5 chip needs to be packed with 10 MP...especially when the performance in the end isn't as good as the 6MP version was!

 

Not unless you're buying one that uses "SmartMedia"

 

Well if it helps at all, I can at least assure you that my T100 works great with any brand of Memory Stick Pro Duo card. I use Sony and Sandisk cards. The Sandisk is 1G I picked up for $34 a few years ago for my old L1...then a few months ago I picked up a 2G Sony Duo card for $36. Amazing how the prices drop...twice the memory for $2 more. Now with the 4G cards coming down, the 2Gs are dropping even further.

The reason I picked the T100, besides being slim, nice-looking, and better at higher ISOs than most competitors, was the 5x zoom range, unusual for an ultra-compact, especially with the internal zoom mechanism. I've found it quite useful. My L1 went a little wider - at 31mm versus 35mm - but i haven't really missed that too much...and the 175mm tele is much greater than the L1 had. The biggest pleasant surprises with the camera have been the battery strength, which has been extremely good, and the image-stabilization, which is simply amazing (much better than my H5). It's the only camera I can routinely hand-hold at 1 second and expect to get a usable result.