Good Digital Cameras for Indoors

Bryan, you can't have both a small camera and great indoor photos. It's from physics. The sensor size in the "point and shoot" size camera is much smaller than that in a larger digital camera. To get the same number of pixels out of a smaller sensor, the area devoted to each pixel has to be smaller on the point-and-shoot camera. This means it is less sensitive, and consequently most small cameras give poor pics above the 400 ISO setting.

The above is simplifying things a bit; you can find out more from a google search or web pages such as http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/digitalbasics.html

In the end you have to decide what you want; I prefer small camera size so bring a pocket camera but I consider it for daylight-only use (where it takes great pics).

Bryan
there are some great reviews out there for various pocket size. I carry the small Canon 1000 powershot for times when I dont want to take out my full dSLR Nikon D40(rainy days, out at night or nice restaurants etc).

Some great places to check reviews:
www.dpreview.com and also ive leaned a LOT from this guy: www.kenrockwell.com

Also - regardless of which you get- you can usually set the setting for INDOOR lighting - like incanescent vs daylight vs cloudy vs shade vs flourescent. Experiment with your current ones too - take the same pict wiht indoor/light-bulb/flourescent to see the yellow-blue-green shift!

Both of mine do real well in low light - better with tripod of course, and even better with a remote-control so you dont shake it (or use a 2-sec timer on the pocket ones).

Hey Bryan,

We use just a small Canon PowerShot 430. I use the manual setting to lower the speed, put it on 2 sec. delay and use my mini tripod. Works great.

Paul

Bryan,

Mike and others have given you some good information a places to find out more. Addidional places would be www.dpreview.com and www.steves-digicams.com

Another possible solution is to shoot in RAW. RAW captures and image and does not process it to JPEG in the camera as most do. It can allow for post shooting correction in both exposure and color. While the best solution,obviously,is to get a good exposure in the first place, if you shoot in RAW you can use the captured date to enhance the photo later.
One point and shoot that allows shooting in RAW is the Canon G9, which is highly rated. I'm considering one to complement my Canon dslr equipment for days I want to travel light. As Mike says though, you'll be limited by the sensor size and the photos above ISO 400 can get noisy (grainy). Good luck in your search.

The Canon A series cameras are reasonably small and many of them have the anti-shake function -- lets you capture a better image with a bit longer of an exposure. I've not noticed any color loss with my A710. You can turn the anti-shake off if you want.

The A720 (replacement and upgrade to the A710) or A570 would do a decent job for you.

You should be able to work with the "custom color" settings on your camera to correct for the lighting. Have the camera "look" at a white card and get that to be white, versus whatever tint the ambient light is; this will correct the rest of your exposure to be like what your eye is seeing.

Tripod or monopod?

What are you photographing? would that influence the camera choice?

Watch eBay for someone selling your "old" Nikon and buy another!

I carry my huge dslr and my little cannon elf (which also works great under water with a case). There is also a really good 10 megapixle Olympus anti shake camera but I don't know the exact modle number that produces great photos and fits in your pocket. Get something that you can manipulate that has a manual setting, my canon elf does have a manual setting and makes a huge difference. Try looking for deals on www.overstock.com and www.newegg.com for good camera deals.

Thanks to all for the very helpful comments!

Guy mentions the Canon G9 - this is the camera that I bought just before my Italy trip. Years ago I bought a Nikon 995 (old swivel body). I loved this camera, but it's time had come and technology had long since passed it.
In 2006 I decided to try the Fuji E900 - a p&s that used the same CCD as their dSLR's. It sounded perfect for what I wanted. Unfortunately I was never happy with it.
I immediately knew that I had made the right choice! It's not small or light, but it still fit in my jacket pocket easily and took great pictures (when I wasn't screwing it up). It felt good to enjoy taking photos again. Of course point and shoot cameras are generally limited indoors due to the onboard flash. The beauty of the G9 is that it has a hot shoe allowing you to add an external flash if you so desire.
My photos are at http://tinyurl.com/2evylw (use image gallery view tab for thumbs). No editing - downsized. Site can be quirky and some thumbs don't show up - it's free...

Incidentally, the bulk of the photos that I will be taking will be inside Roman churches. I was able to get really spectacular photos with my Nikon Coolpix. I have not confidence whatever in my Fujifilm camera. I know a lot of people who have had good results with their Canon Powershot cameras; maybe I will look into one of those as folks here have suggested. I am hoping to get this additional camera for less than $200.

Thanks again.

On other discussions I've talked about taking only a small digital camera rather than major equipment.

Cameras are all about the optics. I've never been disappointed with any Nikon or Cannon product. The new Sony's have great optics but I haven't tried one yet.

I really liked my Nikon Coolpix (it wasn't a 7) but my kids seem to use and lose all my stuff.
I'm using an Olympus now, I bought it mainly because it had 5x optical zoom vs. the 3x most cameras have. I'm still deciding if I'm happy with it.

I use the Sony H5 camera and have not been happier.

I bought a polarizing lens cover, and my outdoor shots are amazing.

It has a 12X zoom, so landscape photos are fun to take, and my inside shots come out great too with the anti Shake feature.

It has a larger lens opening, so low light photos in churches (never use the flash) usually come out too - sometimes a bit grainy, but what do you expect when not able to use a flash?

The H5 is more a mid size camera...you need this size to get the features you need to take great photos. Those "square" compact cameras are fine in a pinch, but if you value your photos (like I do) then a larger camera is called for. The H5 fit in my shoulder bag with no problems.

I'd also recommend looking into the Gorilla Pod tripod. That tri- pod is amazing to use, easy, and I got some great photos in silly places where a normal tripod would never work!

Bryan,

Some excellent suggestions so far. The Canon G9 mentioned in a previous Post would be one model to consider. It has a good feature set including a hot shoe and RAW capability, and also offer accessories such as wide angle adapters, etc. However, apparently performance at ISO 800 & 1600 can be "noisy".

Be sure to check www.dpreview.com or www.steves-digicams.com for comprehensive reviews of any models you're considering, so that you'll be making an "informed" buying decision.

One point to mention about "indoor photos", is that many Churches, etc. in Europe don't allow Tripods and / or Flash. Whichever Camera you choose will need to have low light capability (ie: higher ISO range). That's one of the reasons I choose to haul around a dSLR and kit when I travel. I've just bought a Tripod, but still debating on whether or not to pack it on my next trip (would offer some benefits for outdoor night photos, but a lot of extra weight to haul).

Good luck and happy travels!

Thanks again to all. I was surprised when I got my Fujifilm camera, because it was the same size as the Nikon Coolpix, but took such lower-quality shots. Another thing, the Nikon lens telescoped when I zoomed, but the Fuji apparently has a multi lens system so that it does not have to protract and retract the lens in order to zoom. I'm not sure I understand exactly how it works, but perhaps that, combined with poorer quality optics, is a reason why the Fuji takes lower quality shots.

I wouldn't want to use a flash in most churches anyhow, because usually the flash is not powerful enough (e.g., to sufficiently light up the dome of St. Peter's Basilica!... it wouldn't work), or if it is able to illuminate the area, the whites become too white and the rest of the colors are a bit darker or otherwise distorted. I have never had good luck using flashes in churches. And I can't bear having to carry around special equipment that would do the job properly.

Probably I.... (continued)

Probably I will bring the Fuji camera with me for the outdoor shots, since it has a 10x zoom, and for indoor shots I'll try to get something that will do the job a little better, perhaps one of the Canons mentioned above. I am hoping to find something for $200 or less, as I have a relatively limited budget. I know that I can get good indoor shots with a slightly smaller camera -- I've seen friends do it -- although I know the quality probably won't be as great as with the original Nikon I had.

Anyhow, thanks again to all; I will research the suggested sites.

Mike (first post) makes a good point: you can't have both point and shoot and the best indoor results. The digital SLRs give the best indoor shots esp. in the low light conditions often encountered in European churches and other interiors. If the best indoor low light results are your most important criterion, you'll want one of the digital SLRs and you'll remind yourself of that when you're hauling around the extra bulk.

Thanks Kent. I understand what you are saying. Someday I will get the dSLR. For now, funds are limited, so I am trying to maximize what I can do with the funds I have. I am thinking that the Powershot A720 might be good for the money. Still trying to do more research on it.

I used to have a Finepix 5700 (I just found that out; I said above that I had the 7 mp version, but it was actually the 5MP one). I did a comparison on dpreview.com between the Finepix 5700 and the Powershot A720. I am going to have to do more reading so that I can learn to interpet the comparison results and find out if the A720 has enough of the features of the Finepix that made it work so well for indoor photos when I held it absolutely still or used a tripod. In Rome, since tripods generally cannot be used inside, I have instead balanced myself against a column or pew in the past, or on rare occasions been able to hold it absolutely still while I clicked.

Thanks again.

Bryan,

You may want to wait until the end of the month before you make your final selection. At a recent photographers convention, Canon, among others, displayed the new cameras about to be released. You'll be able to newer technology at a similar or reduced price than what is out there now. One new camera that will be released is the Canon 590IS. It has some really terrific features, including the ability to shoot at ISO 1600. It may be a bit "noisy" buy you would be able to get indoor shots. A very reputable dealer is www.bhphotovideo.com. The camera is available for preview on their site and they will notify you when its released if you give them your email address.
Happy hunting!

Thanks a lot, Guy! Reading the press release for the A590 -- especially the part about the new Motion Detection Technology -- I think I'll wait for it, plus it is a little cheaper than the A720.

Press release: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012401canona470a580a590is.asp

Again, I appreciate everyone's suggestions and help.

The camera is now available if anyone is interested:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=ShowProduct&is=REG&Q=&O=&sku=542272

Thanks, Guy. I pre-ordered it through Buy.com, which seems to have the lowest price currently ($160.99 with free shipping). They do not yet have it in stock but I am willing to wait a little to get the better price.