OK, so as many of you know, I am planning a really cool trip to Arizona and Southern Utah. This is one of those "Once in a lifetime" deals (well twice, I did this trip as a teenager almost 25 years ago) and I don't want to miss a thing. I m kind of wanting to do a photo journal experience and blog about it.Here's my problem. I have a REALLY REALLY REALLY just "ok" camera. (sanyo t1495)
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I guess it is my fault, really, I bought it on clearance at Walmart. It was only 79$ and is a 14mp point and shoot digital camera. Nothing special. I thought "Hey it's 14mp and it's on clearance. This sounds like a good idea to me!"
CONS:
It takes Good pictures. GOOD...not great. Decent. But I don't want decent. I want great.
It has 14 million "settings" I can choose from. Water. Sunset. Sunrise. man. woman.pets.night sky. mountains. So every time I want to take a picture of something specific, I can go all the way into my menu, choose presets and toggle one of these special functions and it will automatically set to ISO and Aperture/f stop thingamajig. Those pictures tend to turn out really nice, it is just a matter of toggling those settings. What happens when I need to do something fast because I don't want to miss a shot, but here I am stuck trying to get my functions together? I wound up with a missed shot, or a crappy shot because I didn't pick the setting I wanted(or mis-picked)
I can only set the ISO speed manually. It wont allow me to set my own shutter speed, my own aperture etc.
And if I have it on Auto, everything turns out kind of grainy and just "blah". Unless it is a decent day outside...not too bright, not too cloudy. Then they are great. But lets be honest. Southern Utah and Arizona in the middle of July. It is going to be bright. It is going to be hot. These auto photos don't stand a chance.
PROS:
it takes fantastic Macro function photos. I get crisp, clean gorgeous detail, which is one of the reasons I got that camera in the first place. (photographing my jewelry, flowers and other things close up)
, it is slim, easily pocketed and lightweight.
If I do use the preset settings, the photos really are nice.
it is easy to use, point and shoot and it is pretty idiot proof as far as what buttons to push and how to get into menus etc.
It has a tripod mount and a great self timer.
WHAT TO DO??
So here's my dilemma. I am sure I will be taking close up macro photo settings of the various cacti and flora, so that camera is a plus. However I am not going to be wanting to fiddle with my speeds and presets every time I take a picture. That camera is a con.
HELP!
I need a new POINT AND SHOOT camera that will take good pictures both normal and macro. I need something that I wont have to fiddle with a whole heck of a lot. Something I can just point and shoot.
I am not wanting anything with a zillion lenses to tote around. I am not wanting something that I have to have a PhD in engineering to figure out how to use. I want a camera that is lightweight and not too bulky.
Something that I can take photos of the night sky while in the desert, yet the next day be taking photos of waterfalls, animals, kids, hoodoos and more.
AND most importantly, it needs to be affordable. My budget is NOT very flexible these days.
I would like something with a minimum 10mp.
So any point and shoot recommendations would be greatly appreciated. And please no foreign language spam to some questionable website with knockoffs of purses, shoes, tablets etc.
THANKS IN ADVANCE!
