Good P+S for indoor use

I'm looking for a good P+S camera for indoor stuff mostly...

Good w/a view
Good AF in low light (AF assist lamp?)
Good flash (?)
Accurate WB

A decorator friend of mine wants to take pictures of rooms in houses
before/during/after restoration.
Unfortunately this appears to be where most P+S cams are at their worst -
low light.

Anything around 4 or 5Mp around the GB£220 mark jump out as a good choice?

Best solution would be to get a good tripod but it's not too practical on a
building site... ;-)

Any suggestions?

Guy

 

Interior details under available light, eh? That's a tall order for
most point-and-shoot cameras.

I have no idea of camera prices in the UK, but I suspect you'll have a
hard time finding a good low-light digital camera in that price range.
Two important determinants of low-light capability are lens aperture and
digital sensor size. Generaly, point-and-shoot cameras in all price
ranges use small image sensors that result in greater digital-image
noise at high ISO settings. Finding a P&S with a reasonably large
aperture may be easier, but bear in mind that many zoom lenses stop down
as they go toward the telephoto end of their range -- this isn't a big
problem at the wide-angle end of things, but keep it in mind for getting
"detail" shots.

Ordinarily I'd suggest additional lighting, but I can't think of any P&S
cameras with either powerful-enough flashes or a provision for accessory
flash units that might fall into your price range. Besides, I doubt you
want to bother with one or more accessory flashes.

One way to get the pictures you need using a P&S is to mount it on some
sort of steady support and use a longer exposrue time. A tripod is the
obvious first choice, but you might also consider a monopod ... or even
a beanbag. The key is to reduce shake as much as possible, so that the
image doesn't blur at longer exposrues.

If price were not a consideration, I'd recommend a DSLR using a large
(APS-C or 35mm) image sensor and a large-aperture wide angle lens. Even
then I think I'd prefer to use a tripod, but that's just me.

 

Hi,

Metz makes a small slave flash unit for digital cameras, that has a computer
chip built in. It automatically synchronizes with the light output from your
built-in flash, while it ignores the pre-flash. It really extends the flash
range a lot, and works nicely. It is called "Metz Mecablitz 28 CS-2 digital" in
the USA, but might have another name in other countries. The unit has a
built-in bracket that screws into your camera's tripod socket. It is also small
and attractive. This is one way to expand your indoor photo capabilities.

Good luck.

Morton

 

The Nikon 8400 has 24mm wide-angle and good flash coverage (for a built-in
flash), but fails to meet your cost criteria.

To cover the low light situation, which implies low shutter speeds, you
could look for an image stabilised camera such as the Canon S1/S2,
Panasonic FZ20, Nikon Coolpix 8800, but you would need to get a wide-angle
adapter to improve the wide-angle coverage. The Canon S1 is about £250,
but only 3MP.

Cheers,
David

 

The 6.3Mp fujifilm finepix f10 has 1600 iso, so takes pretty good low light
pics without flash and costs about £230 online.

 

Thanks for this suggestion Adrian - just what I was looking for... I'll try
and get a look at one this weekend...

£229 inc VAT http://www.ukdigital.co.uk/fuji_finepix_f10.htm
Reviewed here
http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Fujifilm-FinePix-F10-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm

Guy

 

Adrian Boliston wrote:
[]

What qualty are the ISO 1600 images from this camera?

David

 

Though Sony no longer makes it the V-1 was a GREAT indoor point and shoot.
It has the "lazer" focus assist which will allow the camera to focus in full
darkness if the target is within range (about 20 feet in real world use).

The camera is still being sold by a few vendors.

Picture quality is GREAT for a 5mp P&S.