Small Fast Response Point & Shoot?

I'm looking for a few fast response P&S digital cameras 4-6MP. I need
to take some action shots of my pets, but would like the portability.
I realize that I would be better served with an SLR, but I really need
it to be small.

Thanks,

Doc

 

I found the Canon S-60 to be very fast for the price. The larger models tend
to be a bit slower. You should to a camera store, enquire, and try it for
yourself.

Make an agreement where you can have your camera exchanged for another
model, in case you don't like it. Most places may charge a re-stocking fee,
but this is a fact of life when doing this type of business.

--

Jerry G.
======


I'm looking for a few fast response P&S digital cameras 4-6MP. I need
to take some action shots of my pets, but would like the portability.
I realize that I would be better served with an SLR, but I really need
it to be small.

Thanks,

Doc

 

Sony DSC-P100. Quickest around.... small too.

 

Jerry,

I have a S60 and "fast" for me depends on situation. BTW: I really
like this camera and I work within it's limitations. I judge fast by
old mechanical camera principles, so fast is in milliseconds. However,
the S60 can be tuned to be reasonably fast. The camera can like all
P&S cameras be exceedingly slow.

Let's start with slow: Slow is taking a picture on a dark wedding
reception dance floor with the camera in nearly any mode. Slow is
pressing the shutter release and holding it till the system fires and
having an out of focus picture of slow-dancers who have now turned 180
degrees from when you pressed the shutter. This camera is not "fast"
in low light, but it can be tuned.

The camera startup time is very reasonable - that's from camera-off to
ready-to-go in daylight.

The auto focus time in "auto" mode is reasonable in daylight - but it
can be made faster by picking a mode other than "auto".

The auto focus time in Av mode (aperture priority) is even faster in
daylight.

For shooting on the street, I've developed a "custom" mode. That's my
setting up the custom mode using "M" mode as a base, with manual focus
set on 8-10 feet, the focal-length set at 28mm (equiv) and the
aperture at f4.0. That gives me a very quick response time with
subjects that are reasonably close and good depth of field. It becomes
a snapshot camera - and a darn good one at that.

The camera is exceedingly slow (not the slowest, but slow enough to
drive type-B personalities bonkers) in low light with the zoom at
maximum extension. But you shouldn't expect it to work like that with
a minimum aperture of f5.3...

Under reasonable light, using the flash (note this helps cut down the
exposure-measurement interval to determine shutter speed), in Av mode
the camera can be fast enough to capture children at play. You may
have to learn some zone focusing techniques or other short cuts.
However, in my experience the S60 is one of the faster cameras for
this kind of work. But it is a p&s and it does have the p&s design
limitations and drawbacks.

Just to reiterate, I do like this camera very much. I especially like
the f2.8 28mm lens equivalent. I shoot it mostly at the wide-angle
settings and rarely use the zoom. I keep the ISO on auto or 50. I
boost it to 200 on occasion, but when doing so I know I'll have to use
some noise removal software. Just run of the mill photo processing but
it is not free of digital noise above ISO100 - then again it's not a
disaster.

I like the camera's size and especially the features and the abundant
ways you can configure it to take great pictures. The 5MP allows ample
cropping freedom for excellent 4x6 prints.

The one thing I've found with the 28mm (equiv) lens is that when
handing the camera to someone else to take your picture, you need to
either zoom the lens a bit or walk them to the place you want the
picture taken. They will normally place themselves at a comfortable
distance which is far too distant with the wide 28mm. Then you might
not have enough crop freedom to avoid pixelation when you crop.

BTW: The reviews of the Canon S70 state that the S70 is a better
upgrade to the S50 than the S60 is to the S50. I think they are
stating that the S70 really makes better sense than the S60. I don't
have any experience with the S70, but if the extra 2MP means anything
to you, you might take a look. As I've stated, I've found the 5MP of
the S60 to be very adequate for my 4x6 travel snaps. I usually take
the S60 and at least one Nikon professional SLR kit when I travel for
business (every other week for a week). The S60 gets a lot of work.
The other gear, although not ready to be replaced by the S60 yet is on
the edge for those times when I might be "weight limited" in my
travels. I have quite carrying a strobe with me as the strobe on the
S60 is adequate for the close up people-having-fun pictures that make
up this kind of photography. I also use the S60 raw mode when lighting
gets tough as it adds a bit more flexibility in working with marginal
exposures. The are also some interesting flash exposure controls on
the S60, while a bit fiddly I found them very much worth learning.

Bottom Line: My S60 is a great camera and very versatile. If "speed",
however you define it, is your main goal; I recommend that you try one
in lighting conditions similar to your shooting environment. The
camera's focusing performance can widely vary depending on lighting
levels. You might be able to judge a bit in a store.

Regards,
Roger

 

Ricoh came out with one of their Caplio models, which claims to have the
fastest shutter response available. It is not officially imported into the
USA by Ricoh, but I have seen them periodically offered new on eBay by
someone in Virginia that apparently directly imports them from Japan.