Camera Selection Help

[OriginalEther]

I'm looking into getting a new camera for myself.  Casual photos of the family and such.

I'm wanting to get a camera that is about the size of a smartphone, and for it to take better photos than one (my wife, for example, has one of those Amazon Fire phones).

I was looking at the ELPH cameras and the A-series cameras.  Any recomendations?

Along the same lines, what makes a camera like the Powershot ELPH 340S better/more expensive than the Powershot 150 IS?  Looking at the specs for those and others, they look mostly the same; biggest difference I noticed is Wi-Fi capability, which I have no interest in.

Thanks.

[smack53 · Accepted solution]

The PowerShot A series and ELPH series cameras are only slightly better than the newest cell phone cameras as the sensors are only lightly larger in the A and ELPH's. A very nice compact camera that would be superior to the cell phone would be the S120 in my opinion. This is a very pocketable camera that has the same size sensor as the much larger enthusiast G16 camera, and all the full manual controls and scene modes that you could want. The lens is much brighter than the A and ELPH series cameras, with much better low light capability than the cell phones typically are capable of. The S120 can shoot in RAW format as well as JPEG, and has a decent zoom range. I realize the price is probably more than you want to spend, but this would be a real step up from a cell phone camera that you would really notice. The S110 is the older model, and is much less expensive, and would still be a vast improvement over cell phones.

As far as the cost differences on the 340S and the 150 IS, the 340 has more zoom range, the HD for movies is higher definition, has a larger screen on the back of the camera, and wifi. The 340 also has a higher ISO range to work with.

Steve M.

[OriginalEther]

What I was afraid of; I wasn't looking to spend $300+ on one.

Now to decide if I eventually want to buy a good one, or use an old cell phone of hers instead.

Thanks for the information.

[smack53]

You could still get the ELPH 340 and get decent results, it's just that a camera with full manual control and larger sensor can get far better results. The real power in a camera still lies in the ability of the person using the camera. Get to know the cameras' limitations and work within that framework, and you will indeed get better photos. It will take some practice, but with a little effort you should get the kind of results you want. Then once you're ready to take a step up, then you could look at saving for a higher end camera. The ELPH 340 can still be fun to use and won't kill your wallet.

Steve M.