What, Me Argue?

Mr. David Pogue, estimable technology guru of The New York Times and auteur (author or producer) of many excellent computer instruction manuals, has declared this camera to be the very best digicam (i.e., digital point-and-shoot) money can buy, at least under $300. (It's $246.95). I can't argue with that.

______________________

Mike "I'm Just Sayin'" J.

Comments

[Seth Kantrowitz]

dpreview agrees.

[BH]

I bought the SD880IS recently, and I love it. The wide angle end of the zoom range opens up a range or creative possibilities. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/technology/personaltech/11pogue.html?_r=1

[Terry Manning]

Pogue's annual review of sub-$300 cameras is an anticipated treat in my household, but you neglected to link to the article itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/technology/personaltech/11pogue.html

p.s. DPReview is doing similar digicam comparisons. They've compared budget, compact and premium compact digicams so far.

[Mark]

Ken Rockwell made this conclusion back in early December.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

[François Colou]

Sorry Mike I don't get it, is there such a thing out there as "the best digicam money can buy" ?
For certain people, USD 247 is a lot of money, so there might be better choices for them. In certain places, such a digicam is probably overkill, even as a professional tool.
It would sound as strange if you had said for example "The Pentax K20D is the best DSLR money can buy, and I can't argue with that".
With the link to the B&H website, your sentence sounds a bit weird to me, like an ad at the wrong place.
François

[Adam]

Given that "iMovie '08 & iDVD: The Missing Manual" was published on October 29, 2007, "Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual" was published on December 15, 2007, "iPhoto '08: The Missing Manual" was published on February 1, 2008, "Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition" was published on February 26, 2008 and "iPhone: The Missing Manual: Covers the iPhone 3G" was published on August 20, 2008, I'd say that Mr. Pogue is more likely to be the "producer" than the author of these books... Still, I love his column and videos over at the New York Times.

Best,
Adam

[Adam]

Oh, and I think Mr. Pogue's pick is probably right. I use Nikon SLRs, but I own (and always recommend) Canon digicams. They just work the way they're supposed to and make the most out of the small sensors inside. Also, a lot of Canon digicams can use CHDK firmware (search Google) to provide additional functions and even RAW capabilities. But don't expect miracles.

Best,
Adam

P.S. By way of explanation of my previous post: I still haven't recovered from the childhood trauma of finding out that "Franklin W. Dixon" didn't write all of the Hardy Boys books...

[John Roberts]

Ken Rockwell is real high on this camera too. I haven't read Hitler's take on it yet.

[Cateto/Jose]

As a very old Mac user, I have long thought that David Pogue was, besides a brilliant tech writer, an informed journalist that knew what he was talking about.

Now let me say that I find this very statement ridiculous as hell.

So no: I won't argue. I will just say that Pogue's credibility has completely vanished, in my book.

Just sayin'.

[Christopher Lane]

Ordinarily I might be suspicious, but the Canon SD880 IS is topping nearly every list that I’ve seen.

[Chris]

Do you have a link to where he says that?

[Bryce Lee in Burlington Ontario Canada]

Pogue is a paid journalist, however I must disagree in part with his "best" camera choice.
Best means many things, to many people.

Bottom line, I purchased a Canon Powershot A590\with Image Stablization for CAN$125.00 at a local Staples here in Burlington a week ago.

Have a love-hate relationship with digital; comes from a lifetime of shooting colour slides I suspect. Digital gives one a colour print.

I have had any number of point and shoots
over the years of digital starting with a Canon G2 and going the whole range of the Canon P&S line and the entire range (save the D300, D700, D3) of Nikon digital SLR's.

None of the cameras could get me out of the
feeling/desire that film is better for me. So I now have sold once again a Nikon D80 and now have the above named Canon P&S and the Nikon F100. I might add it both cameras use the universally available AA batteries, a bonus IMO.

[kirk tuck]

Funny that Pogue and world renowned camera expert, Ken Rockwell, are in total agreement about the best point and shoot camera....

Balance in the universe.

Kirk Tuck

[Patrick Perez]

Question for John Roberts: To whom are you refering when wondering about Hitler's take on it?

Not trying to start anything, I just don't know the players on the interweb except for a few established writers who, to the best of my knowledge, aren't hated.

And I'm not ruling out the possibility of a writer named Hitler...

Patrick

[Justin Watt]

I appear to be in good company. Here's a camera recommendation list I made for a friend, that I turned into a post, based partly on the things I read here:
http://justinsomnia.org/2008/12/so-you-want-to-buy-a-new-camera/

[Christopher Lane]

Who is Ken Rockwell? I only read Mike.

[Dennis]

A year or two ago, I would have agreed that Canon has the best lineup of digicams - while still good, they're in rapid decline. Nothing like the A610 - the grips are disappearing, fast lenses are going away, the articulating VF is gone. Right now, I like the Panasonic lineup, but then I'm very partial to having something to hold when I shoot a camera; some semblance of a grip. These little finger & thumb subcompacts remind me of little teacups that you can't grab with your hand like a coffee mug :) I bought my wife an LZ8 for XMas; a stepup (wider, faster lens) is the TZ4 and the LX3 seems like a great high end compact. The SD880 looks nice enough for a tiny camera. 28-112 that's f/5.8 at the tele end with a 1/2.3" sensor just isn't that terribly impressive for over $200.

While shopping for my wife, I looked over lots of digicams and honestly, I can't say there's anything out there that I'd rather have than my 5MP 1/1.8" sensor A610 with f/2.8-4 lens and articulating LCD. IS would be icing on the cake, but I can already hold the camera steady at shutter speeds a stop or two slower than on my DSLR.

[Gary]

No, darn you! You just made me buy a Lumix DMC-G1 last week - you're not going to do it again!

Mind you, my old IXUS 40 could do with replacing, so let's see what the fuss is about... Oh, thank goodness for that - the 880 doesn't appear to be available in the UK. :-)

BTW Why are certain compact Canon cameras designated as an "ELPH" in the US, but an "IXUS" in "Europe, Asia, Oceania"? ELPH has always seemed a daft name to me and I've always wanted to see "DWARPH" or "PHAIRY/PHAERIE" models announced!

[Rob]

A thoughtful and interesting review, thanks. You mentioned liking the B&W with the Nikon; could you specify how you found that better/more effective/impressive than with the other two?

I'm very used to using Leicas and a Pentax LX with Tri-X/HP5 and would be very happy to achieve a higher ISO, higher resolving digital alternative.

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

Mike J, not arguing?
Mike, take your temperature.

[Andre]

Ha ha. I thought you said it didn't matter what compact you bought because they're all crap. I think I'll keep my fingers crossed for the Sigma DP2 (it's certain to weigh in at well over $300 though).

[Michael Barkowski]

I recently recommended the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS over the 880 to someone, just from reading the specs...
The 880 has 28 mm-e wide angle and is smaller/lighter.
But the SX110 is cheaper, focuses closer, has a longer telephoto, and most importantly has shutter and aperture priority modes.

[Jim Hart]

http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-to-choose-digital-point-and-shoot.html

I'm just sayin'....

[Eolake Stobblehouse]

Ken Rockwell is very popular and ranks high on Google searches. But his credibility is shot, he tends to make things up.

Hitler is a critic who is very popular on YouTube.

[Cateto/Jose]

To me it's clear: the very best of the compact bunch, by very far, is not a model from this year. Or even last year.

The very best is the Fujifilm generation of compacts using the magic 6 Megapixel sensor. This is why I have looked around like crazy to buy an F20 for someone of my family. If you are lucky enough to find a new F30 or F20 or F31 in any shop, the price will be ridiculously low and the image quality wipes the floor with current models.

But yeah, you will "only" have 6 megapixels, which is unacceptable of course... :P

[John Roberts]

Patrick:

Eolake got my attempt at humor. A university literature professor once told our class that if you have to explain your poetry, you've wasted your time putting your thoughts into verse. I guess that goes for humor sometimes too. Hitler recently gave a humorous rant on the new Nikon D3X on YouTube.

[Nick]

I own the SD 870, the precursor to this camera. It too is truly, the wide angle and daylight exposure metering are truly excellent. The colors are really punchy in Film Positive mode. If they would make this camera with RAW and manual controls, I would be in heaven. Fooling the camera into doing what you want is lame.

[Tim]

After a bit of research (lots of viewing sample pictures), I picked the sd800is for myself. I have since recomended the SD series to several people, all are happy with them.

Compared to others, the high points are: Speed, the camera moves quick enough to be unobtrusive. Color, the color is just lovely, exposure too. And that fantastic folding plug charger! Bottom line, good solid dependable cameras which do the picture taking thing just as you'd expect. And no tetris either, thankfully.