My PowerShot Elph impressions (plus photos, of course)
If you follow me on Facebook, you know that at Mr. FG's company Christmas party, I won a Canon PowerShot Elph camera
.
(Here's the updated 2014 version of that camera: Canon PowerShot ELPH 150 IS Digital Camera.)
At first, I felt bad and I was a little like, "What in the world do I need this for?? Someone else should have won it!".
Which is sort of understandable, I think, because I own two SLRs, one of which is super-duper nice (Hi, 7d!)
But I'm discovering that it's fun to play around with this, and I like the challenge of trying to take good pictures with a camera that is not as good as what I'm used to. Plus, I can happily let Sonia take pictures with it (she's always asking if she can use my Rebel, and I'm almost always saying, "No, sweetie.")
Want to see how well this camera works? I went around my house randomly photographing things so I could show you!
Here are a few sets of photos. In each group, the first was taken with the PowerShot and the second with my Rebel.
See the bokeh in that last one? I've never been able to get that with a point and shoot because they're designed to keep as much as possible in focus (that's why it's hard to use them for lovely portraits...the background is almost always in focus.)
However, as is usually the case with any camera, you can take a fairly nice picture if you follow some simple photography rules (I'm working on writing an ebook about that, actually).
Or if you break them all, you can turn out something like this.
For comparison's sake, here's the same set of photos taken with my Rebel and my 50mm lens.
Good.
Not so good. Although, it's harder to take a terrible picture with an SLR.
(props to Sonia for being my guinea pig)
There are a few things I really miss when I'm using a point and shoot.
-image quality
I notice this especially when I'm photographing people. Point and shoots just don't have that fabulous clear, crisp focus. This is less noticeable to me when I'm taking pictures of nature (check out this sunset photo!), but as we all know, I don't do that terribly often. 😉
-the ability to focus on people's eyes.
With an SLR, I always manually choose my focal point, and when I'm taking a picture of a person, I put the focal point right on the eyes. I can't do that with a point and shoot.
-the ability to adjust for non-optimal shooting circumstances
A point and shoot can produce some fairly decent pictures if the lighting is good, but they generally have trouble when you're shooting in low light (gotta use the flash then), or when your subject is backlit.
-the ability to change aperture.
I don't mess with my shutter speed a whole lot, but I do love to change my aperture. There's no way to do that on a point and shoot.
That said, I do think this Elph is quite nice as point and shoots go. I really like that it barely hesitates to take a photo after I press the shutter button (that's normally one of my main gripes with point and shoots), the size can't be beat, and the picture quality, especially outdoors, is good for a point and shoot.
The black/grey Elph sells for $109 at Amazon, although the snazzy blue one I own is $169.
That makes no sense.
I mean, the blue IS very snazzy, but not that snazzy.
Anyway, for $109, I think this is a good camera. It's not as good as my SLRs, but we're comparing a $500 body and $400 lens to a $109 camera/lens combo. That's almost an $800 difference, and if you take that into consideration, the Elph photos are pretty impressive.
If you're looking for an affordable, simple, small camera, the Canon PowerShot ELPH
could be a good choice for you.
Now, I wanted to also share with you my SLR recommendations because I've been getting a lot of emails asking me about that. I was going to add all that info to this post, but it made an already long post unbearably long!
So, come back this afternoon to read about what SLR equipment I like.
disclosure: this post contains affiliate links
I have a Canon Elph camera and love it! It is so small it literally fits in your pocket. For people who don't take many pictures because they don't like having to carry and keep track of their camera this camera is perfect!
I have an SLR. it uses FILM. it's from 1997. I get it out for some of the occasions/situations you described where an SLR is better. However, I also have a Nikon Coolpix S640 which I loooooooove. It has a wider-than-average zoom lens, a faster-than-average aperture, and a Nikon-quality speedlight (a.k.a. the flash, even though I rarely need it) which is why I chose it. It also fits in my purse, which is where I keep it at all times.
I think it's great that Sonia can use this one.
A Rebel is on my Christmas wish list this year after following your blog for a while. My last camera was an Olympus point and shoot that took really good pictures for about nine years before dying. For the last year I've been relying on my iphone which definately does not take great pictures unless the lighting is perfect and the people still (never happens with 6, 3 and 2 year olds!). I have been saving for a while but might need to settle for a point and shoot for now and keep saving for the Rebel.
Can't wait to see that ebook!
I honestly think its good to have a small camera of some sort. I have one on my phone, and I use it all the time. I don't like to carry my large one around when I have a million other things in my hands. As a mom with a very active toddler, its easier not to take pictures when we are out and about, but my hubby really likes it, and asks me to take pics throughout the day. Which can be hard, but especially when he is gone for long stretches of time, I make myself take pictures to email him. I've used my camera phone so much to take a photo and post it to facebook or email him. I think a little elf would definitely be the way to go and also the plus of letting your little one try it out. Looking forward to reading your post this afternoon. 🙂
Yeah, so far I'm finding it to be fun. It's not something I probably would have bought myself, so it's a perfect thing to win.
Honestly, when I read on FB that you had one the PnS camera, I figured you woudl hand it over to the kids to help them get their start in photography as well. [shrugs]
I'm really interested in what you have to say about photography so a forthcoming eBook woudl be nice. I have a Nikon D80 with a variety of lenses and I just love it. When I am shooting outside, it's darned hard to take a bad shot when I use one of the pre-set modes, but I woudl like to delve more into working with aperture/shutter settings to fine tune my photography.
BTW, the Lightscoop totally works for me indoors. 😉
Holy moly! Auto-incorrect strikes again. That is supposed to be WON the PnS camera... and please excuse my dyslexic fingers this morning. (would/woudl)
Well, Joshua and Lisey both already own point and shoots and Zoe's got her kid-tough camera, so only Sonia is without a camera. And I told her that she and I can share this one. 🙂 That way she can have camera privileges, but I can be sure to store it in a safe place and also not lose it!
I have a Rebel but have so far only used the pre-set modes. How do I manually choose the focus points?
Thanks so much for the tips. My goal for the past year has been to get comfortable with my big Canon. You get spoiled pretty quickly but it is really heavy to carry about.
Lucky you. 😛
Katy
While I absolutely love my slr, I like having a point and shoot around too. I keep the little camera in my purse and take it on backpacking trips. I have an Olympus SZ-30MR and it is a great little camera. It has a wide angle lens for a p and s, and an amazing zoom. It does reasonably well in low light and is much faster than my older p and s.
That's a really interesting post. I used to have a Kodak Easyshare C120 camera. It was awesome...it didn't have a very big zoom lense, but the transition when I was zooming in on something was smooth. For the most part it took great pics, and there were some extra picture-taking features.
Then my pastor and his wife gave me their old FujiFinepix S1500...definitely a step up from what I had. It's a fabulous camera and lets me set the aperture...but I have no idea how to do that, or when....so I'll be looking forward to any tips you hvae on using a big girl camera 🙂 🙂
Oh, I gave my first camera to a friend, who didn't have a digital camera. She really love it 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of CAlifornia, Heather 🙂
Oh My Kristen I'm going to have to hide this post from the Hubby. I've been hinting at an SLR and he has 'nearly' given in. He is a pretty good photographer and reckons that a lot of the talent is the photographer not the camera. He's recently been photographing all sorts of random things to prove a point (including my slow cookers!) - we have a point and shoot digi camera at the moment...
Okay so you've proven him right!
Two things - firstly I'd be really interested in the e-book about photography and secondly I would love a recommendation for an SLR. Currently I'm surveying all my friends as to what they have. I want one that takes good video also...
Oh no it gets worse...just realised our camera's a Canon...
Oh, I'm not saying you wouldn't enjoy an SLR. There's no way I'd ever want to give up my SLRs for a point and shoot. 🙂 It's just that photographic skills work to your advantage no matter what camera you have.
Just commented on SLR post...looks like we may bite the bullet in the New Year - but there's such a lot of choice and the prices seem higher in the UK (surprise surprise!). My friend has a Canon 550D, and she seems pleased with it, it's lower spec than yours, but as I am an absolute beginner may be the way to go. Keen to get good video also. Reckon I'll be dreaming about cameras tonight...9pm isn't the time to start browsing the net and collecting info.
Thanks again for this great post (which I did show the Hubby!)
Just had to put this out there--I have a point & shoot, but it has manual settings (you can change aperture, for example). It also has a really good low-light setting as well. There are point & shoots out there that are a step below SLR's but a step above general point & shoots. I have the Canon Powershot S95 for those interested.
The more I read these comments the more I reckon I'm being lazy with my small Canon digital camera. It's got quite a few features! Perhaps I ought to check out the instructions?
Yes, do!!! I did a lot of research before getting the camera we have. However, I'm still jonesing for a SLR lol!
🙂
Oh, I can't wait for your photography book!!! I've actually picked up a lot of tips just from reading your blog. For instance, I now take most of my photos without a flash.
I have a point-and-shoot that is actually "too much camera" for me. It's a Canon Powershot S95. My brother-in-law is a semi-professional photographer like you are, doing weddings and portraits on the side but not as his full-time job. He recommended this one; said it's the one the professionals keep in their own pockets. It's a bit more than the one you've got...I could change the aperature settings (if I knew what aperature settings were or how to use them) and adjust a whole bunch of stuff (again, if I knew what I was doing). I love it because it has an awesome zoom that I use all the time for my kids' sports/band events, and has an 8-gb memory chip so I can take longer videos.
Hopefully your photography book will help me learn more about how to use my camera!
Have a wonderful Christmas!!!
I have the S95 too! Once you learn to use it (it has decent macro too), it's such a great intermediate camera!!! Keep at it 🙂
I'd love to know more about what the "photography rules" are. My photos look embarrassingly like the ones you used as examples of how NOT to take pictures! Could you do a post on this, or direct me to where to learn more about it?!
I must be a weirdo, but I can hardly see the difference between the expensive camera photos and the inexpensive camera photos!
I guess it is good thing that I only bought a point-and-shoot last year when I needed a new camera. I'm not sure the exact model, but it is a Sony and has so many features I don't know how to use. I pretty much only use it on the "Auto" setting. I wish it came with a physical instruction manual, instead of just a CD so I can only read the instruction on my computer.
Kristen, will your e-book on photography have advice for everyone, or just SLR owners?
The first one I'm working on is tips for photographing children, and pretty much all the information in there will not be specific to SLRs...just general tips that can be applied by anyone who owns a camera. 🙂 So you'll be in good shape!