One of the most common questions I get from friends or people I meet at events is – “what is the best point & shoot camera out on the market right now?”
And you know what?
I’m probably the WORST person to ask about that. I don’t even OWN a point & shoot. The only cameras I use are my cell phone cam and my 5D mk ii. (Half-birthday present, anyone?)
So in place of me telling you what’s best, I figured I would feature a friend of mine that did his research, compared the options, and found a really sick little cam that will get you a lot of bang for your buck.
Last december, I met up with Mike to do a little photowalk in Coronado to test out his new cam. And while there were some cool pics from that little venture, I figured it’d be even better to showcase some of the photos *he* took while on a little stay-cation out in europe this past January.
He posted an album on his facebook, and I went through & selected some of the shots I felt showcased some of the best features of the camera – such as depth of field, contrast, colors, sharpness, and low light/nighttime photos. These were all taken by him, and he’s been cool to add a little back-story on how he did his research in order to find *just the right camera* as well. Take it away Mike!
Recently before embarking across several European countries for a three week venture, I decided it was long past due that I update my camera to something new, convenient, and relatively easy to use. I am not a professional photographer by trade; however I know how to capture quality images through thorough consideration of appeasing color schemes and interesting perspective.
As this trip was going to be a very on-the-go type of travel, I knew I wanted a digital “Point & Shoot” camera over a large blocky one that wasn’t ‘Pocketable’. Next was to find a company with a strong track record of producing quality cams that I could still purchase without paying more for it than I was already spending on the trip itself.
After a good amount of research my choice was finally made on the Canon Powershot s95. With a weight of 6oz’s, a depth of 1.2in, a width of 3.9in, and 10 megapixels image quality, the camera basically sold itself. A great thing about it is the updated image stability that was added in, which did come in handy many times especially while shooting from a moving tour bus.
The manual adjustment ring on the front made switching shooting options a breeze, as well as being able to preset the white balance options: Daylight, Tungsten light, Underwater, Cloudy, Fluorescent light (daylight),Fluorescent light (warm white). Also having a built in microphone was very nice, and the movie recording came out very, very clear in digital quality. The focusing was pretty spot on too, you could focus on something close up & have the background blurred out, which I think is something more rare in digital cameras these days. I feel like that effect gives it a bit more of a “pro” look.
Another thing was the cool special effects that could be used to really add a personal touch to the photos, which were Miniature, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Nostalgic, Positive Film, Vivid, Fisheye, Black & White, Sepia, Neutral, Darker Skin Tone, Lighter Skin Tone, Custom Effect, and HDR.
All and all this small portable camera was more than I expected, and although I haven’t used everything on it to its full potential yet, I have in no way been disappointed.
Here are the shots from his trip: (Note – no post processing other than merging the vertical photos & copyright placement has been done. I wanted to keep the pics in their original form so you could see what they looked like straight-out-of-the-camera.)
Thanks so much Mike!
After going through all the pics on his facebook, it all made me really want to buy one of these for myself. (Not to mention make a trip over to Europe and visit all the sweet spots he went!) If you have any questions about the cam, try to get in touch with him – can’t promise a response ’cause I know he’s a busy guy.
Hope this helps guys!
Ashley Goodwin - Powershots are always da bomb. I always have people asking me this, too, so without even uttering a word I will just send them to your blog.April 15, 2011 – 3:13 pm