[Julie]

I'm looking for something small with a fixed zoom lens that I can use for quick Etsy and Ebay product shots...

It can be used, doesn't need to be the latest and greatest. I primarily shoot between 5- 10 MP depending on the product and where I'm advertising it. Doesn't need all the bells and whitstles, just one requirement that I have is that it have a hot-shoe where I can mount a hot-shoe flash or flash trigger.

Something small and sleek like the MX-1 would be nice... I don't want a bridge camera, though. Small and compact p&s is what I'm looking for.

Ideally, something +/- $300 or so would be nice, but I'm open to older/cheaper used cameras as well.

No specific brand preference, just shoot me some ideas of camera models that may be a good fit, I'll take a look at them.

Thanks!

[wombat2go]

I have a M43, year 2010 Olympus E-PL1. Less than $200, 10 Mpx, Good up to about iso 640. The inbuilt pop up "Fill Flash" is quite intelligent, even for close up, and much better than my Pentax dslrs.
While fine indoors where we can see the lcd vf, the camera is almost useless outdoors. Its claim to fame, I suppose, is the big M43 sensor in a quite small body
Good Luck on your quest and let us know what you ended up with..

[Action Jackson]

Even though it's old, I had a Canon S5 that would fit your bill nicely. I never used the hotshoe flash. For macro you can pretty much shove the lens mm's away from the subject. It also had some quasi aperture feature to give you some DOF control. And it had in lens stabilization which was nice, took videos and was one of those superzooms.

And it had a nice swivel screen (ahem Pentax? Are you listening?)

Canon Powershot S5is Review: Digital Photography Review

Does not shoot in RAW, however owners of the previous S3 managed to hack firmware to shoot RAW. I never tried it.

Should be pretty cheap to buy now.

[carrrlangas]

I´d go for a Lumix LX7. $328 at amazon.
I have the Canon S100 at $280. I choose this one because of the truly compact size although the lens gets slow pretty fast as you zoom in. Else, I´d have gone for the Lumix
I think there was a used one on the marketplace for $250

Good luck!

[Aegon]

Once the Q7 arrives people will be selling their Q and Q10s for good prices around here.

I think the Q series makes great product photos. Huge DOF at sharpest apertures. Very fast flash sync. Close focusing lenses. More than sufficient IQ for product shots.

Plus you'll have a Q for days you want to travel light.

[snake]

Samsung EX1? Very inexpensive, sharp lens, plentiful. I still use mine.

[MSM]

Try the Fuji X10. Great design. Nice fast zoom and great for macro. Should be found used in that price range. Very sleek and stylish.

[snake]

Try the Fuji X10. Great design. Nice fast zoom and great for macro. Should be found used in that price range. Very sleek and stylish.

Only if it was retrofitted with the redesigned sensor. Fuji was very sneaky about the original's defective sensor and kept shipping new ones with the poorly designed one. I'm certain they are no longer replacing them with the fixed one.

[Julie]

Thanks for the options, guys! I'm not in a super hurry right now, but I'll keep my eyes peeled should some good deals spring up locally or on the forums.

I love the look of the Fuji X10, that Panasonic and Samsung look nice and sleek as well, and a Q would be nice to have, but I don't think I want another interchangeable lens camera nor one with a fixed length lens.

[Rupert]

A word about the X10...I have the X10 and the X20. The sensor problem with the X10 is extremely overrated and in my use of the X10 maybe a factor in one out of a thousand shots...if that.
This is a superb and superbly built little camera, gives excellent results, is small with a nice zoom and a boatload of features that most other small cameras lack, The OVF alone makes it a step...or three... above most other small cameras. At the current prices I see for the X10, I consider it a steal.
I shoot mostly with my X20 now, but in all honesty, consider the IQ of the X10 to be slightly superior in most instances. The EXR of the X10 is wonderful, and I think the colors are better than the X20. I bought the X20 to get the silver body, and the faster AF, but otherwise, the X10 would be my choice.

Regards!

[snake]

A word about the X10...I have the X10 and the X20. The sensor problem with the X10 is extremely overrated and in my use of the X10 maybe a factor in one out of a thousand shots...if that.
This is a superb and superbly built little camera, gives excellent results, is small with a nice zoom and a boatload of features that most other small cameras lack, The OVF alone makes it a step...or three... above most other small cameras. At the current prices I see for the X10, I consider it a steal.
I shoot mostly with my X20 now, but in all honesty, consider the IQ of the X10 to be slightly superior in most instances. The EXR of the X10 is wonderful, and I think the colors are better than the X20. I bought the X20 to get the silver body, and the faster AF, but otherwise, the X10 would be my choice.

Regards!

I don't think it's overrated. I was easily able to duplicate it without trying, even testing in-store.

If it's any indication, DPR, who is often questioned about biases and masking problems, basically stopped their review of it because the problem was very prevalent. It actually does not make sense; Fuji touts it as a prosumer compact that can shoot in low-light, still preserving DR. The moment you get out there and have a point light source, it turns to an orb.

All those characteristics that you mentioned are available, but with the replacement sensor, which I recommend, if Fuji is still offering it.

Being a consumer forum and looking to offer the best advice possible to fellow consumers, it makes little sense to basically work for free for a manufacturer that made a huge screw up in a string of huge screwups in getting this X-line up and running. The apologists looking to only justify their purchase and falsely keep their resale values up don't do anyone a service.

[Clicker]

If you can find a Panasonic LX5 on fleabay, it's worth it, i passed mine on earlier this summer because i got the LX7...only difference between the two is a slightly faster lens! *slightly*

[Rupert]

All those characteristics that you mentioned are available, but with the replacement sensor, which I recommend, if Fuji is still offering it.

Being a consumer forum and looking to offer the best advice possible to fellow consumers, it makes little sense to basically work for free for a manufacturer that made a huge screw up in a string of huge screwups in getting this X-line up and running. The apologists looking to only justify their purchase and falsely keep their resale values up don't do anyone a service.

I don't work for Fuji and owe them nothing. My X10 was never sent in for sensor replacement, and I never felt the need. Some people with the X10 spent most of their time "Orb Hunting" to see how badly they could screw up a shot, and were successful at doing it. Many seemed proud with each new defective shot they posted, and maybe they worked so hard to get it, they had that right.

I just used my X10 for normal everyday shooting. Here are 9 pages of just a fraction of my X10 shots. I post the good, bad and ugly, and never deleted any shots due to orb issues. You can take a look for yourself and decide if orbs were an issue for me......of course, I never was an "Orb Hunter", so my experience may not count in your view?

Fuji -x10 - a set on Flickr
Regards!

[snake]

I don't work for Fuji and owe them nothing. My X10 was never sent in for sensor replacement, and I never felt the need. Some people with the X10 spent most of their time "Orb Hunting" to see how badly they could screw up a shot, and were successful at doing it. Many seemed proud with each new defective shot they posted, and maybe they worked so hard to get it, they had that right.

I just used my X10 for normal everyday shooting. Here are 9 pages of just a fraction of my X10 shots. I post the good, bad and ugly, and never deleted any shots due to orb issues. You can take a look for yourself and decide if orbs were an issue for me......of course, I never was an "Orb Hunter", so my experience may not count in your view?

Fuji -x10 - a set on Flickr
Regards!

Unfortunately, this is how people minimize the contributions of others in order to justify their purchases. "I have not had an issue, therefore no one else's exists". Note that the majority of this post is spent basically making fun of people that have found an issue, including DPR, who did what they never do- they stopped their review, which forced Fuji to make a sensor replacement, which was yet another mistake they made in rolling the X-series out.

I was easily able to produce orbing in a store selling them while testing. I didn't even try. I took my SD card home and saw the retarded spots all over due to such things that occur in the real world, like lights and reflections off shiny things, like floors and frames and windows.

[Rupert]

Like I said, I was not an Orb Hunter, and I gave you 9 pages of X10 photos to prove it. While I could also reproduce the issue, it was so minimal that it was not worth sending in my X10 for repair. For some it might have been a more severe issue for their needs or maybe it was worse on their copy of their X10, I wouldn't have any way of knowing that....and neither would you.

It's easy enough to find a used X10 without the issue or a later model with the newer sensor if that is a concern. I still think this is one of the best small cameras made, and if you go to some of the Flickr X10 sites and view the many thousands of photos, it would be hard to deny that it is a very capable small camera. Read the PF review of the X20...and keep in mind it is not all that different than the X10 in many areas. Same excellent high quality body, still has a greatly appreciated OVF, and still has great Fuji colors...even better than the X20 in my view.

Regards!