Which camera should I get?

[bossyman15]

I have done a lot of research. So far I'm lending toward Canon SX10 IS but I have looked at Nikon Coolpix P80 however i read some review that P80 don't do well on some shot or maybe that's because pictures were enlarged. or something.

But i was wondering if there are any other similar cameras (or possibly cheaper??) I might be missing.

Right now i have Casio Exilim EX-Z55. What I mostly want is to be able to take a good picture at night. This camera doesn't really allow me to do that.

Take a look at my website http://www.bossyman15.com/pictures.html
Just to let you know what kind of picture I mostly take. As you can see its mostly of arcade games. Of course arcades takes place in darken room. If I take a picture with flash up close it comes out fine but you can see on bottom of pages under "Misc Pictures" I try to take picture of the room but it becomes blur and/or too dark.

Not only that I surely would like to be able to take pictures like these...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyv/2805394342

Its hard for me to take that kind of picture with my current camera.

so which camera would you suggest? the Canon SX10 IS or Nikon P80 or something else?

[Anbesol]

Use tripods, forget the flash. Arcades are stationary objects, no need for the handheld shutter speeds, this also opens up ability for HDR composite imaging - a huge benefit for the strange lighting of arcade rooms. Also - with the many straight lines and distinct geometry of arcades - I would look into a camera with a lens that has better then average distortion control. This also means shooting as telephoto as possible (as far away from the arcades as possible). With limited room in arcades, thats of course a difficult or impossible feat often, but use telephoto as much as you can.

Most importantly, whichever camera model you do end up with, learn manual mode for your application. With the bright lights and the odd lighting of arcade rooms, automated program modes would be seriously challenging. If you want to have more photographic control, you'll have to take your camera off of autopilot.

My last piece of advice, with the very unusual and constantly changing color temperatures of the lighting in arcade rooms, learn about, understand, and utilize white balance control.

The cameras you mentioned I wouldn't be particularly fond of for your application. For the price you pay for those, I'd even look into something more prosumer, like the Fuji S9000, or the Sony DSC-R1. Both of those cameras would run circles around the Canon and Nikon.

[bossyman15]

Yeah I had known I would need the trioid for those dark shots. I will take a look at those 2 cameras you suggested.

Thank you for the reply.

[Anbesol]

Not a tripod just for the dark shots, tripods for many of the lighter shots as well - keeps you at ISO 100, good f-stop leverage, and the HDR compositing will be an perfect technique for arcade room shooting.

[fabio]

the panosonic dmc fz8 is a dandy all around camera. It's an older model but I think you can still find them new for under 250.

to shoot pics like the link you put up.
buy a tripod, set the camera to aperature priority and for starters move the aperature to the loweset number. The camera will adjust the exposure and snap the pic. Make sure the flash is turned off. Experiment and try using different aperature numbers and see what it does. Have fun. The reason why you need a tripod is it's low light levels indoors and the camera will have to compensate and slow down the shutter speed. Since the shutter speed is going to be real slow any movement will make the image blurred.

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

The P80 does suffer from poor low light performance. But the Canon SX110IS is getting great marks for performance thanks to it's updated DIGIC IV processor. I'd look there for a good zoomable camera.

[p.instructor]

P.Instructor is here to help!!!!!!!!!!!

You are missing the one of the best camera (my opinion) which is suitable for your recommendations.

Canon PowerShot G9

Headline features

12.1 Megapixels (1/1.7” sensor) with RAW mode for maximum image control
6x optical zoom lens with optical Image Stabilizer and SR coating
DIGIC III and iSAPS for lightning fast response, superb image quality and advanced Noise Reduction
Face Detection AF/AE/FE and Red-Eye Correction in playback
Good Quality night pictures
3.0” high-resolution, PureColor LCD II with extra wide viewing angle
ISO 1600 and Auto ISO Shift
Compact body with dedicated ISO and Multi Control dials
25 shooting modes including full manual control and 2 custom settings
Extra telephoto reach with Digital Tele-Converter and Safety Zoom
Hot shoe support for Canon Speedlite flashes and optional lens accessories

[SmartWombat]

I've actually got the G9 and wouldn't recommend it.
The ISO1600 is a bullet-point on the spec, with a tiny sensor crammed with 15M tiny pixels - the quality hasn't proved usable. In fact I won't use it above 100ISO unless there's no alternative to get the shot.
Biggest drawback? It's slow writing images, even with an Extreme III memory card.
Weakness? In less than a year it filled up with dust, with no way to clean it off the sensor (unlike a DSLR).