Nikon P7800 or Olympus Stylus 1S - or something else altogether?

[Orangeman]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and I'm sorry for posting the kind of 'which is best thread' that I'm sure can become a little tiring! The trouble is, I've spent literally 8 hours comparing cameras and reading reviews and still can't decide what to go for.

I currently have a Canon 100D but despite it's small size for a DSLR, I find I simply don't use it very often. When I go out, I rarely can be bothered to take a large camera and lens out with me and certainly don't want to take several lenses and have the hassle of having to change lenses regularly.

I'm also not a fan of doing post-editing, so I often find myself shooting in jpg or doing one big mass conversion. All of this makes it sound like I'm not in to photography at all but I still like to have a decent camera that I can play around with a bit.

Anyway, long story short I've decided to sell my 100D and all the accessories and downgrade to something smaller and simpler.

I've looked at CSCs but because you still have the different lenses to mess about with, I don't think they are right for me.

Most bridge cameras seem too large and wouldn't be much smaller or lighter than my 100D so they don't seem like a good choice either. But then, most compact cameras seem to be lacking the features or quality that I'm looking for.

What's important to me? Image quality obviously and decent ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed ranges are definitely up there although I'm still very much an amateur so they aren't massive deal breakers. Same with resolution - obviously I prefer a bigger one but I doubt even a 12MP would give me any real negatives. I think I would like a viewfinder although, again, I reckon I could get used to not having one. Price isn't too much of an issue but would prefer to keep it under £500. Zoom is quite important to me, I've seen compacts going up to 720mm which is tempting but then I also wonder when I would ever use that much zoom and the stability issues that would come with it so anything around 200-300mm would probably do the job.

The two I've narrowed it down to are the Nikon P7800 and the Olympus Stylus 1S - both seem to be around the spec and price I would want and both seem to sit on the fringes between being a compact and being a bridge camera giving me features and quality at a size that still (more or less!) fits in my pocket.

Anyone have any thoughts on which would be the best choice given my requirements? Or, is there an alternative you would buy instead?

I also considered the Sony HX-90V compact too - it's still under consideration but I figured I was probably sacrificing some quality just to get a zoom that I'll probably never use to it's full potential.

Really undecided so any views welcome!

 

[Ed Sutton]

I know this is the usual advice, but try to get your hands on the cameras. I have a P7800 and love it to bits. However...

If you need a viewfinder the one in this camera is a bit 'pokey' so I find I use the screen more frequently, using the viewfinder mostly when the screen is hard to see.

 

[Orangeman]

Thanks for the reply. I'll definitely try and take a look at both before I buy.

To be honest, I'm not sure how much I'll use the viewfinder. I use it all the time on my 100D but, I'm rubbish at closing my left eye and keeping my right one open so I usually have to squash my face in to look through my left eye. In that respect, maybe the P7800 would be better as it looks more left aligned than the 1S. Since I have that problem though, I doubt using the viewfinder would be a deal breaker for me - I reckon I may well end up using the screen a lot myself too.

I do also wonder if my attraction to the S1 has a lot to do with the fact it looks more like a DSLR in the layout. I'm concerned I'll regret selling my 100D so not sure if the fact the S1 isn't a million miles away from the 100D in terms of looks is a factor - maybe it feels like less of a risk. That said, I'm also conscious the S1 is pretty much the same size and weight as my 100D without a lens on. That means it's smaller but is the size still going to stop me taking it when I go for a long hike in the hills for example? I'm not sure but that doubt swings me back to the P7800 as its a little smaller and lighter.

I know no camera is likely to be 100% what I want and I'll need to compromise somewhere - it's just trying to figure out where I'm happiest with that compromise being!!