Much like the DSLR guide earlier, Gizmodo published an article stating the best point and shoot cameras. Given that I love Canon’s new S90 and the thin Sony, I tend to agree with their recommendations:

• Best for lowlight: Canon S90
• Best value: Samsung HZ15W
• Best video: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7
• Best small size: Sony TX1
• Best weatherproof: Pentax Optio W80

With the strong Canadian dollar, it’s very tempting to buy camera equipment from the USA. However, there’s a big disadvantage when it comes to Nikon by doing so. Nikon does not honor warranties from equipment bought outside Canada. You would have to get it serviced in the USA. A summary of the different warranty programs is on this site.

Gizmodo just published a buying guide for DSLR’s. They recommended four different cameras in four different price points. They were brand-agnostic, picking the best camera regardless of whether you were in the Nikon Camp or Canon Camp (sorry Olympus and Sony).

I agree with all their picks, the Nikon D3000, Canon T1i, Nikon D90 and Canon 7D do beat out their peers in their respective price points.

The S90 is a camera everyone has been waiting for Canon to create for quite some time. Small, compact and fitted with a bright f2.0 lens, it competes with the Panasonic Lumix LX3 and it’s Leica brethren. With it’s 28-105mm lens (f2.0-4.9), it offers a wider telephoto range than the LX3 but not as bright. Stil, the differences should be minimal and it seems to be about $100 cheaper than the LX3.

A unique control is affixed to the base of the lens. A control ring that can be turned to change various settings on the camera, depending on what mode is selected. It harkens back to the days where you used the ring on a lens to set the aperture.

No Canadian pricing was announced. It should be in stores in late September.

The LA Times broke news today that the most popular camera on Flickr is the iPhone. And yes, the Flickr stats do support this, but I’m not really inclined to believe it. If you read the article from the Times, the most important line is at the very end:

“…the iPhone now includes two models whereas other manufacturers separate out their models, which could explain the inflated numbers.”

The iPhone stats are actually stats of all three models of the iPhone – the original, the 3G and the 3Gs. However camera manufacturers differentiate their cameras by model; Nikon’s D70, D70s, D80 and D90 are all different even though they are in the same “family” like the iPhones.

If the data was mined for some better info, I think we would find that while the iPhone is popular, no single model would beat out a single model of some of the SLR or point-and-shoot cameras.

I’ve often tried to picture how the image stabilization optics work inside a camera lens. Both Nikon and Canon offer this technology in many of their lenses. Even compact cameras now come bundled with this feature more often than not. The camera compensates for movement of the camera in an attempt to capture a better image. This works well in low light situations where the camera increases the time the shutter is open to let in more light.

This video at Gizmodo shows how the electro-mechanices of a Canon lens with image stabilization works.

Digital Photography Review (dpreview) rated the high end compact cameras and the Panasonic LX3 came out on top. It doesn’t have the most megapixels or the most zoom, but it has the best features that photographers want: a bright, sharp f2.0 lens, a wide angle lens, and lots of control over manual features of the camera. This gave it an edge to be the leader in all three categories that they used: Outdoors/daylight, Low light/High ISO and performance/Flash.

A lot of my friends want to buy digital SLR’s. Many of them want to become more serious about photography and they think that one of the first things to do is to spend $600-700 and get a SLR instead of a compact camera.

While I agree that an SLR has the capability of producing better pictures, for most people to get what they want out of them, they’re going to need far more equipment than just the SLR body and the kit lens. The kit lenses usually barely allow for much improvement than a good compact camera. A good prime lens and a TTL flash are requirements for most people that want to get the most out of an SLR, and thus begins the slippery slope of needing more equipment than just the base camera kit.

Photography has a lot to do with lighting and composition. Admittedly, my composition is horrible and I have an expensive SLR camera (and prime lenses and TTL flashes) – this results in horrible pictures! Some people have naturally good composition like my friend Andrew who tagged along on a model shoot and got one of the best shots with a Canon SD200 or something like that. It was just a natural pose with existing lighting but it worked.

Good pictures cannot be taken when you don’t bring your camera. An SLR can be unweidly at times. Even when I’m a tourist sometimes i don’t want to lug my SLR and big lens around the city and recently I just left it on the hotel and went out. A compact camera usually can fit in your pocket!

There are some fine compact cameras like the Canon S5 and Canon G9 that have more features than a normal compact but still retain a fairly useable size. THe S5 is a “superzoom” and features a very long zoom and Image Stabilization. It also has a flash hotshoe like an SLR. The G9 loses some of the zoom length but is a much more compact package. In it’s most recent version, the lens retracts completely into the body for easier carry.

So while an SLR has many features and benefits that provide the ability to take great pictures, don’t underestimate the advantages of having a good compact. When your skills take you to the level where you begin to hit the limits of a compact, then you can consider trading up and be assured you’re getting some value for spending over $1000 on camera equipment.

Redflagdeal’s forums are probably the best site out there to find good sales and “deals” available in retail. The best deal I got was last year when Home Depot brought in a bunch of Canon Mini-DV camcorders for one of the long weekend sales. They had a bunch left over and were selling them off for only $200.