Canon, Sony, Kodak or Ricoh

[JamesDM]

Hi,

Basically I need some recommendations, input and opinions regarding which (ultra) compact digital camera to purchase. The cameras I have narrowed it down to in order of preference are:
1) Canon Powershot SD850 IS (Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS)
2) Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100
3) Kodak Easyshare Z1275
4) Ricoh Caplio R6 (hard to find one in Greece)

Photography Requirements:
I live in a village in mainland Greece (Olympia region), about 2km from the beach, and very close to large towns and cities. I’m going to be using the camera to take pictures of family, friends, places of interests (like monuments and buildings), pictures of nature (a few close-ups, landscapes and panoramic as well) and beaches. Occasionally to rarely I’ll take photos at cafeterias, clubs (manly ones on the beach or next to it), special occasions, during the night, indoors and friendly sports games between friends like football (soccer) and basketball). The night photos will most likely be at low lit places, such as cafes, clubs their surroundings and in cities or towns. I really don’t think I will have the need to go over ISO 200. There is plenty of sunlight, where I live, especially during summer, were it is hardly ever cloudy. Actually don’t know if this is logical, but a photographer advised me to avoid taking pictures having the subject of the photograph at the sun between 11:00 and 16:00.

Image Reproduction Requirements:
I’m learning Photoshop Elements 5. I think that the greatest by far percentage of photos will remain on my PC or on DVD. I’d probably end up creating some slideshows for use on a DVD or use Photoshop Elements 5 to create some other neat presentation. For the time being I don’t have a photo printer, just a HP PSC 1210. I might end up buying a Canon Selphy. For the time being I’ll be giving them out to a photography printing store. Therefore, printing will be at 10cm Χ 15cm (4in Χ 6in) and anything up A4 (21cm X 29,7cm (8,27in X 11,69in)) not more.

Budget:
400 € - ($530 USD)

Size:
Ultra Compact or Compact. Something that will fit in the pockets of my jeans (There not tight and there not loose, just right).

Maximum Dimensions (H x W x D):
89.5 x 64.5 x 31.6 mm (3,52in x 2,54in x 1,24in). Mainly concerned about the depth.

Features:
4X and greater Zoom. Anything other than that is non existent. Really.
Taking into consideration the “Photography Requirements” image quality is the most important aspect.
I’d love aperture and shutter priority but, realistically speaking how often will I use it.
Effective pixels 7.1MP

Miscellaneous:
Are the any full scale images of the Canon Powershot SD850 IS out there. (Not the Japanese site). I’ve seen a lot of photos taken with the T100 taken during sunlight and not in cloudy weather that have blown highlights. Other features like image stabilisation and face recognition are a bonus.
T100 sunlight: http://www.photographyblog.com/revie...dsc_t100_3.php
T100 Cloudy: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...hread=22932310

I greatly appreciate your interest and help.

Thank you,
James.

[danno]

It looks like you have all of the tangibles figured out as far as selection criteria. Some other things to consider are speed of operation and color accuracy. And in those departments, I think that your preference list is in the correct order. You will probably get the best performance overall with the Canon. I have worked with all of the cameras on your list and the Canon is definately my favorite.

[JamesDM]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I found some photos a guy has posted from his review at amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerSho.../dp/B000Q30420 ) for the canon powershot SD850 http://people.clemson.edu/~cchan/sd850/
What's wrong with this image? http://people.clemson.edu/~cchan/sd850/CD_Tele_Auto.JPG
There seem to be some vertical lines.
The EASYSHARE Z885 Zoom Digital Camera http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQueri...q-locale=en_GB
has some great features. Such as the Canon G7 there all I want in a digital camera. It's just that there to big have them on you.

Thank you,
James