Please Help Me Choose A Sony DSC

[janisko]

Hi everyone!

I currently own a very old DSC-S30 and absolutely love everything about it, except that it's the size of a Sherman tank and outdated. I did replace it with a high-end Nikon Cool Pix that I absolutely hate because of the shutter lag, poor color and extremely poor quality of indoor flash photos.

Since I was extremely pleased with my S30 in every way I figure I should go back to a Sony. What I liked the most was no first shot shutter lag, ability to take amazing low-light night shots without a tripod, good/true color quality, ability to shoot directly into the sun, excellent indoor flash quality and ease of use, particularly in changing the settings for a quick shot. I know more about cameras than most women but just enough to be dangerous. That said, I like to fiddle with settings when I can't get a good shot, trying until I get the results I'm looking for.

Here's my dilemma... I want a camera with little shutter lag, as wide angle as possible with a higher optical zoom than 3X if possible, one that does well with both indoor flash and low-light night shots and is easy to use.

I've read reviews all over the Internet and Consumer Reports. I've looked at the DSC-T70 and DSC-W200. I like the size of the T70 as well as the lack of first shot shutter lag but it doesn't do extremely well on the night shots in low light (according to Consumer Reports). The W200 does handle the night shots well but has more shutter lag. I also saw comments that it tends to over-saturate red colors.

I thought I would choose between the two of them but then saw the newer W170, which has the 5X optical zoom, Carl Zeiss lens and seems pretty darn good on shutter lag, although I couldn't find exact numbers. So I started doing more reading and found that the W300 is supposed to be the top of the "W" series, even though it has only a 3X optical zoom. I couldn't find anything on shutter lag.

I use my camera mostly for typical people shots and vacation scenery. My most important requirements are little to no first shot shutter lag, ability to shoot good low-light night shots, true color, good indoor flash and ease of use when switching between settings. The S30 is amazing for quick change of settings. Having a 5X zoom would be great and somewhat important but wouldn't rule out a camera if everything else was excellent.

Can you experts help me decide? I'm lost here. What would you recommend? Thanks!

[Anbesol]

to be honest you sound like a better fit for a more advanced camera than those series. The Canon Powershot G9 will give you the full control, in the style and menu settings that SLR users are accustomed to, but a size so that it fits into a pocket... well, a decent sized pocket.. Link

[jack54]

Hi everyone!

I currently own a very old DSC-S30 and absolutely love everything about it, except that it's the size of a Sherman tank and outdated. I did replace it with a high-end Nikon Cool Pix that I absolutely hate because of the shutter lag, poor color and extremely poor quality of indoor flash photos.

Since I was extremely pleased with my S30 in every way I figure I should go back to a Sony. What I liked the most was no first shot shutter lag, ability to take amazing low-light night shots without a tripod, good/true color quality, ability to shoot directly into the sun, excellent indoor flash quality and ease of use, particularly in changing the settings for a quick shot. I know more about cameras than most women but just enough to be dangerous. That said, I like to fiddle with settings when I can't get a good shot, trying until I get the results I'm looking for.

Here's my dilemma... I want a camera with little shutter lag, as wide angle as possible with a higher optical zoom than 3X if possible, one that does well with both indoor flash and low-light night shots and is easy to use.

I've read reviews all over the Internet and Consumer Reports. I've looked at the DSC-T70 and DSC-W200. I like the size of the T70 as well as the lack of first shot shutter lag but it doesn't do extremely well on the night shots in low light (according to Consumer Reports). The W200 does handle the night shots well but has more shutter lag. I also saw comments that it tends to over-saturate red colors.

I thought I would choose between the two of them but then saw the newer W170, which has the 5X optical zoom, Carl Zeiss lens and seems pretty darn good on shutter lag, although I couldn't find exact numbers. So I started doing more reading and found that the W300 is supposed to be the top of the "W" series, even though it has only a 3X optical zoom. I couldn't find anything on shutter lag.

I use my camera mostly for typical people shots and vacation scenery. My most important requirements are little to no first shot shutter lag, ability to shoot good low-light night shots, true color, good indoor flash and ease of use when switching between settings. The S30 is amazing for quick change of settings. Having a 5X zoom would be great and somewhat important but wouldn't rule out a camera if everything else was excellent.

Can you experts help me decide? I'm lost here. What would you recommend? Thanks!

Seems like you posted this exact same question on Steve's Forum, so I'll post my exact response there... here:

May I suggest the Sony DSC-H50. It has the fast shutter lag times you want: 0.17 seconds between shots. DSLR would be nice, but for me it just doesn't justify the bulk and price, compared to these superzooms. Try packing around 3 lenses that will reach the 31 - 465 mm range that the DSC-50 has! With the loads of exposure control and a 15x stabilized optical zoom, this model is thousands of dollars cheaper than the equivalent options on a dSLR with an image stabilized lens.
Check out my mini-review here:

http://forums.steves-digicams.com/fo...31&forum_id=28

[sutherland]

Hi everyone!

I currently own a very old DSC-S30 and absolutely love everything about it, except that it's the size of a Sherman tank and outdated. I did replace it with a high-end Nikon Cool Pix that I absolutely hate because of the shutter lag, poor color and extremely poor quality of indoor flash photos.

Since I was extremely pleased with my S30 in every way I figure I should go back to a Sony. What I liked the most was no first shot shutter lag, ability to take amazing low-light night shots without a tripod, good/true color quality, ability to shoot directly into the sun, excellent indoor flash quality and ease of use, particularly in changing the settings for a quick shot. I know more about cameras than most women but just enough to be dangerous. That said, I like to fiddle with settings when I can't get a good shot, trying until I get the results I'm looking for.

Here's my dilemma... I want a camera with little shutter lag, as wide angle as possible with a higher optical zoom than 3X if possible, one that does well with both indoor flash and low-light night shots and is easy to use.

I've read reviews all over the Internet and Consumer Reports. I've looked at the DSC-T70 and DSC-W200. I like the size of the T70 as well as the lack of first shot shutter lag but it doesn't do extremely well on the night shots in low light (according to Consumer Reports). The W200 does handle the night shots well but has more shutter lag. I also saw comments that it tends to over-saturate red colors.

I thought I would choose between the two of them but then saw the newer W170, which has the 5X optical zoom, Carl Zeiss lens and seems pretty darn good on shutter lag, although I couldn't find exact numbers. So I started doing more reading and found that the W300 is supposed to be the top of the "W" series, even though it has only a 3X optical zoom. I couldn't find anything on shutter lag.

I use my camera mostly for typical people shots and vacation scenery. My most important requirements are little to no first shot shutter lag, ability to shoot good low-light night shots, true color, good indoor flash and ease of use when switching between settings. The S30 is amazing for quick change of settings. Having a 5X zoom would be great and somewhat important but wouldn't rule out a camera if everything else was excellent.

Can you experts help me decide? I'm lost here. What would you recommend? Thanks!

If you had to choose between the "W" and "T" series, I would certainly opt for the "W" and for a couple of reasons. First, "W" series features optical zoom, as the "T" series is only digital (don't even bother). Second, they both use the same system software, both have quality Zeiss glass, a the same IQ, except one is much more capable (as previously mentioned with Zoom) and more affordable. I think of the "T" as Sony's appealing lifestyle camera, it's more of a selling point to attract more people to their market.

H50 is fantastic for manual control, stabilization, and overall image quality.

[Anbesol]

Or you could go with the big boy - the Sony DSC-R1 - then it gets a bit bigger though.... Did you make a decision yet?