Does anyone still use cheap, compact P&S cameras?

adrianday said:
Okay, I tried changing the thread title to, “Does anyone use a cheap point-and-shoot camera with a sensor no bigger than 1/1.7” and doesn’t have a control wheel that can be assigned to change aperture, shutter speed or focus these days?”

Unfortunately, this exceeds the permissible thread title length. It is however, absolutely on point.
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I still do have a Sony P150 which is a really nice machine. Decent results too - but I wouldn’t say I use it as I’ve not really got any need to! Although I fully agree it would definitely be better than my iPhone I don’t carry it with me, it’s mostly left at home. But I’d say people lifestyle depends on it. For example, I work in an office generally, couple days remote and any extra time is spent on my side businesses generally. But if I had a career that involved being “on the road” or traveling, I’d make more of an effort to carry it with me, but if it was someplace “good” I’d take a better camera. My 45 minute drive on the same road each way daily does not lend itself to anything. Plus, my R5 and a few lens remain in my car always.
 
I have got a couple of point and shoot cameras, I don't use them much anymore, as I prefer to use a camera that has aperture priority and full manual available.
I do fire them up once in a while, just to see if they are still working.
 
adrianday said:
Okay, I tried changing the thread title to, “Does anyone use a cheap point-and-shoot camera with a sensor no bigger than 1/1.7” and doesn’t have a control wheel that can be assigned to change aperture, shutter speed or focus these days?”

Unfortunately, this exceeds the permissible thread title length. It is however, absolutely on point.
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Anyone use cheap (>£100, Sensor > 1/1.7”) simple P&S camera now?​

Simple/basic?
 
sphexx said:

Anyone use cheap (>£100, Sensor > 1/1.7”) simple P&S camera now?​

Simple/basic?
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Trouble is, some people will probably confuse A Point And Shoot Camera, as a Compact Camera. I wonder why some people still call a Compact camera, a point and shoot? lol
 
davholla said:
I don't think cost less than £100 if it did - please let me know where you bought it from.
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Does that mean you can't include cameras you stole... :naughty: :exit:
 
adrianday said:
The next person that posts that claims that their preposterously large, pro-DSLR with a bag containing a trinity of f/2,8 zooms and 6 f/1.4 primes constitutes a small, cheap P&S is getting one of these...
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I think my R5 is a point and shoot for sure, else why would it have the “do everything for you and you tap the screen to take the pic“ mode?

PS. Just want that awesome pink camera
 
stickytape said:
I think my R5 is a point and shoot for sure, else why would it have the “do everything for you and you tap the screen to take the pic“ mode?

PS. Just want that awesome pink camera
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I wanted the hello kitty strat fender sold for a while but they fetch silly money. :)
 
I suppose my Nikon D600 with its Tamron 28~300 doesn't qualify for the prize? :(

I'd quite like that pink thing... :tumbleweed:
 
adrianday said:
The next person that posts that claims that their preposterously large, pro-DSLR with a bag containing a trinity of f/2,8 zooms and 6 f/1.4 primes constitutes a small, cheap P&S is getting one of these...
View attachment 332371
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There’s a problem that so many (not much on TP) use “P&S” to denigrate cameras. It really daft. The ultimate P&S currently would be something like the Sony A1 which I think, from a quick scan of the review, can do every thing but press the button for you if you let it :).
 
sphexx said:
There’s a problem that so many (not much on TP) use “P&S” to denigrate cameras. It really daft. The ultimate P&S currently would be something like the Sony A1 which I think, from a quick scan of the review, can do every thing but press the button for you if you let it :).
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I've no time for camera snobbery. Doubtlessly, some cameras are better for some tasks than others given the prerequisite competence of the photographer. But there are times when it really doesn't matter. It's just as pleasing for me taking a pin-sharp portrait with my D810 as it is taking blurry instant photos with my Instax Mini.

Some people find solace in buying new gear. Been there, done that. I'm getting more of a buzz now from going back and using the stuff acquired during that period of my life that I had previously considered obsolete.
 
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Tom Pinchenzo said:
I mean, all photography involves some degree of ‘pointing’ and ‘shooting’. Ansel Adams pointed his 8x10 at something and (eventually) shot.
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Sure, and Mr. Adams determined exposure and focus before releasing the shutter.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Probably best to ignore nit-picky forumites trying to be perverse about an obvious concept. We all 'know' a P&S camera is a compact designed to be used in a particular way, and not a DSLR that happened to have a mode the maker called point and shoot. The fact that many P&S compacts may have incorporated 'manual' modes to theoretically permit control of exposure and focussing doesn't matter because they weren't really intended, nor were they used that way.

Possibly the easiest way to define things would be to require the digital sensor (see what I did there) to be no bigger than 1/1.7" (to include things like the older Canon G series) and exclude the distinctly more intentionally controllable 1", M43 and APS-C offerings from various makers. Also excluded should be any camera with a control wheel automatically assigned to change aperture, shutter speed or focus rather than being required to dig into a menu: i.e. if manual control is obvious and intentional then the camera is immediately NOT a P&S device, even if it can be used that way.
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Touch a nerve, did I? Please accept my apology, it was not my intention.
 
Does anyone still use cheap, compact P&S cameras? Oh yes! £10 from eBay a couple of years ago... and it's full frame too! ;)

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And if I want better image quality I just buy better film! ;)
 
Winslowe said:
Touch a nerve, did I? Please accept my apology, it was not my intention.
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Every discipline and forum attracts certain types. Bass players tend to be miserable with an inclination to cross dressing. Mountain bikers want to know what tyres for Kylie. Photographers appear to niggle away at minutiae while pulling down the original topic or poster.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Every discipline and forum attracts certain types. Bass players tend to be miserable with an inclination to cross dressing. Mountain bikers want to know what tyres for Kylie. Photographers appear to niggle away at minutiae while pulling down the original topic or poster.
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I think, in general, that some people lack a sense of humour. They look to be offended at everything that doesn't fit their ideal of normality. Life's too short for that. Accept that your opinion is your own and move on unless you've something constructive to contribute.

I like taking photographs. Don't care what equipment I'm using unless there's a specific aim or purpose. Take a pinhole to your next meal in a swanky restaurant; 90+ min exposure; capture the entire meal in one frame; fine by me. Go to a party; take an instant camera; watch and enjoy as to how people react to the media; fine by me. Spending time metering light, controlling light, composing and reposing until you've got the portrait you wanted in the bag; fine by me. Wandering around in abysmal weather looking for an ideal viewpoint and a magical break in the cloud; fine by me. Taking cliched photos that everyone else takes but you're happy because you took it; fine by me.

We should congratulate ourselves on finding a pastime that's so rewarding. But as they say, haters gonna hate. I'm happy not to be part of their joyless world.
 
Something of a blast from the past: a Sony F55E with a non-zoom lens and a battery that's currently good for half a dozen shots.

It's been hanging around for ages so I thought I'd give it a try. In its time, this was a high quality piece of kit, retailing for around £450. I got mine for £10 in a charity shop about 5 years ago...

Sony Cybershot DSC F55E camera P1130380.JPG

Here are some pictures made just now but it's too much hassle to reset the date every time I take the battery out to charge it, so they think they were taken in 1999...

Two Green Apples F55E DSC00007.JPG

Glazed double door F55E DSC00001.JPG

Eye whiskers and glazed door F55E DSC00002.JPG
 
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Like you Adrian I like taking Photos ,I once took my 1930 Kodak Brownie out for a spin at a local reservoir and bumped in to another guy with a Sony something or other with one of those look how big mine is lens .He proceeded to tell me how crap film and my camera was and how I should get one like his. It is rather Unfortunate that some people/photographers think that anything less than the latest 1 billion mega pixel 10 million pound camera with a lens so long you can be 3 inch's away from a subject while your standing a mile away that attitude would mean very few of us would ever bother entering the field of photography. If that's what someone likes and can genuinely afford then fair play to them but for myself I get a lot of pleasure from using everything from my Sony A6000 all the way down or up to My Holga or Kodak box camera I find photos from any of these can be just as good or bad as each other. It probably part of my personality but getting a good result from something which requires much more effort is much more rewarding for me rather than using something which is easy, Sort of you only get out what you put in !


Anyway long live Film and Point and Shoots, death too DSLR's , I would say death to mirrorless cameras as well but that would include my Holga and collection of 1960's/70's genuine Lomo (not Lomograthy) made cameras from Leningrad as well as all my film point and shoots so I'll let you keep them as long as you don't boast about them :):)
 
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BADGER.BRAD said:
Like you Adrian I like taking Photos ,I once took my 1930 Kodak Brownie out for a spin at a local reservoir and bumped in to another guy with a Sony something or other with one of those look how big mine is lens .He proceeded to tell me how crap film and my camera was and how I should get one like his. It is rather Unfortunate that some people/photographers think that anything less than the latest 1 billion mega pixel 10 million pound camera with a lens so long you can be 3 inch's away from a subject while your standing a mile away that attitude would mean very few of us would ever bother entering the field of photography. If that's what someone likes and can genuinely afford then fair play to them but for myself I get a lot of pleasure from using everything from my Sony A6000 all the way down or up to My Holga or Kodak box camera I find photos from any of these can be just as good or bad as each other. It probably part of my personality but getting a good result from something which requires much more effort is much more rewarding for me rather than using something which is easy, Sort of you only get out what you put in !


Anyway long live Film and Point and Shoots, death too DSLR's , I would say death to mirrorless cameras as well but that would include my Holga and collection of 1960's/70's genuine Lomo (not Lomograthy) made cameras from Leningrad as well as all my film point and shoots so I'll let you keep them as long as you don't boast about them :):)
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I wouldn't say death to DSLRs, any more than I would say death to auto-focus cameras, or auto exposure cameras, or cameras that take a roll of film and didn't need a photographic plate inserting into them for each manually focused and exposed shot.

While a totally manual camera may sort the technically minded sheep from the goats, the rest is down to personal preference and how much faffing around you are either prepared to put up with or enjoy, depending on your outlook. Do you need a fully manual camera to be a 'proper' photographer, or are you being an old fashioned dinosaur if you don't have the latest tech dangling from your neck? I say life it too short to even think about it, let alone debate it, so let's just get on with taking photos.

Truth is, all you need to be a photographer is a good eye, the knack to put yourself in the right spot at the right time to capture what you are looking for, and some kit you know how to work and that is up to doing the particular job you need it for. Anything else is down to personal preference and budget.

I enjoy using all sorts of cameras, be they auto everything digital or fully manual film. In the right conditions every dog can have it's day, and the photographer can have a great deal of fun playing ball with it. :)
 
It's a while since we did anything with this thread but my tiny Ixus 70 is still living on my belt and still plugging away.

A record shot of some unexpected and unwanted extra organic material on our grapes...

Sainsburys grapes mouldy 2 days before best by Ixus 70 IMG_4261.JPG
 
And a quick image with some graphics added to illustrate another post...

Lenspen Sensorklear kit Ixus 70 IMG_4266.JPG
 
Let's try and bump this thread up the ladder a bit...

Taken with the Ixus 70...

Spiky leaves garden Ixus 70 IMG_4394.jpg
 
A blackbird in the garden, taken with the Canon Powershot Zoom at the 400mm (equivalent) setting...

Blackbird and wild cherries PSZ IMG_0136.JPG
 
My son (age 7) used my old Canon S90, which is still a great little camera.
 
I’m going to a friend’s birthday party this weekend. I’ve been agonising as to if I should take a camera but perhaps more so, which one. This revived thread has provided the answer. Thank you @BADGER.BRAD
 
I've found the little Nikon point and shoot and have been putting it to good use today

A water tower being converted into a home near Ditton Priors ,It looks bazzar in the landscape but because of it's previous use it is sited on top of a hill with stunning views in every direction hence the window I'm guessing. The glass tower on the right is an elevator . Would have also made a good site for my VHF,UHF ham radio use !

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Stone age Darlek in Much Wenlock

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For some reason Alleys are called shuts in Shropshire much Wenlock, Shrewsbury has a massive collection of them which I'm saving for a future visit !
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I like simple cameras but I haven't used my Medion or Canon Ixus for a long time.

A previous GF of mine insisted that I took a camera to a friends wedding and I really didn't want to take my honking great Canon 20D so I took my Medion compact. The pictures often have way of WB so I import them as raws and do my best.

This has had WB correction plus some curves, a boost to the shadows and some vignetting correction and a slight crop.

2006-05-13-15A-1.jpg
 
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Abandoned nest that seems to have fallen off a tree, captured by the Ixus 70...

Abandoned nest Ixus 70 IMG_4332.JPG
 
Today's random photo ! As we all know English men like warm beer. I brought these from the local shop and they had kept them in the chiller ( Yuk) so I put them in warm water to bring them up to ambient temperature then for some obscure reason decided to get the point and shoot out !

BEER2.JPG
 
So: I've resurrected my Nikon S10 with a pair of batteries and it works!

Nikon S10 Camera HX90 DSC00244.JPG
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
So: I've resurrected my Nikon S10 with a pair of batteries and it works!
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Actually, 6MP is more than enough for many of the pictures I produce.

This was shot in a London cafe, many years ago. The young lady was at a table ten feet away but the top end of the zoom range put her right across the table from me...

Young woman in London erotica cafe S10 NIK_0575.jpg
 
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