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Question

Point and shoot camera for kids

Nov 2, 2011 3:00PM PDT

I'm interested in buying a point and shoot camera that is great for indoor and outdoor shoots of constantly moving toddlers/young children.

I already have a SLR camera so I will use the automatic settings on my point and shoot most of the time. I dont care about video quality as I already have a good camcorder. Zoom probably isnt a priority at this point as I stay close to my toddlers. If anything, I'm sometimes too close to take a good photo of them.

The followings are important to me
1. how fast does it take for camera to turn on and be ready for the first shot
2. the speed between shots (both with and without flash)
3. great image stabilization so that even when my kids move, the photos are not blurry
4. good sharp photo that can be printed up to 12x16

Does anyone have any recommendations please? So far from what I read, seems like it is between Sony HX9V and Canon S95. If you know of something better, i would really appreciate it if you could let me know.

there are 2 bonus features that i would like to have but i would not want to compromise much on speed and sharpness of photos. they are shock proof and water proof. I understand that only Olympus does that kind of cameras. does anyone know how the olympus point and shoot compare to sony and canon?

thank you

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Rugged Cameras
Nov 2, 2011 3:29PM PDT

Just about all the major manufacturers makes shock/water resistant cameras. The best of the current bunch is probably the Panasonic TS3. Here is a group test of such cameras:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcompactgrouptest/

As for other compacts, you might take a look at the Sony NEX-3 with the 16mm lens. It is a discontinued camera that you could probably get for about $400. It has a DSLR sensor, so it has incredible low light capability, and coupled with the 16mm lens, it is not much larger than the HX9V or S95. Its speed will be much better than either of those two cameras as well. However, the 16mm lens does not have image stabilization. Sony does have a Anti-Motion-Blur mode, though.

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Answer
Canon S95
Nov 4, 2011 11:31AM PDT

I have a couple of D-SLRs with some decent lenses and accessories. But I find my Canon S95 quite capable and adequate for most family and travel photos, even kids shots. Since you have a SLR, the S95 also allows manual adjustments that can help to optimize tougher shots. But the auto mode of the S95 is actually quite good. Since I bought the S95, I find myself leaving my D-SLRs and HD camcorder at home more and more often. I even use it with the underwater case and got some pretty decent scuba diving shots.

Blurring from kids movements in lower lighting situation is due to slow shutter speed, not something image stabilization can correct (IS only correct your hand shaking movements, not the slower shutter speeds in lower lighting). With the S95, you can try to dial down to f/2 and crank up the ISO, +/- flash.