I was just hoping someone has, or had, a compact Canon, with the qualities I mentioned, that they would recommend.
Okay - you are looking for the "best" upgrade for an a590.
You do realize that's a bit like asking "I have a 2004 Pontiac Aztek that I like so what used car should I buy to replace it?" As there is not really any answer to that question, I'll leave you with some ideas.
First of all, the a5xx/a6xx series were ahead of their time (like the Aztek) - great image quality compared to everything else available for a reasonable price. (I own an A560 that I paid $25 for). But their sensor size was very limited by current standard, the OVF was marginally usable (and only when it was too bright to see the LCD), and the LCD quality was for the most part terrible.
Having said that, almost all EVF's prior to 2016 were pretty much terrible too. The much vaunted SX50 might have been Canon's "high water mark" for a super zoom camera (even several years later) except for it's EVF. The SX60 fixed that but image quality suffered when they extended the zoom range.
So, here's my very biased opinion of how to surf eBay / Canadajiji. Free advice always worth what you pay for it.
- Stay away from the later A series cameras. Nice point & shoot devices that have the huge advantage of using standard AA batteries but not very interesting from a photographic capability perspective. (And I did the A1200 port, have two,
and helped with several other Axxxx series ports.) - Any SXnn series (SX10/20/30/50/50/60) with a working zoom is a good choice
- The three digit SX series (SXnnn) are all over the map on quality and CHDK support. Be careful there.
- The G series (from the G7 forward) are all excellent. Pricey but even an old G9 will push your photography skills - and they all support CHDK.
- The D series are fun because they are sealed and basically waterproof / sand proof.
- The IXUS cameras are "hit and miss". Too many models to make a usefull comment here.
- If you can get a good deal on an "S" series ( S90/S100/S110/S120) snap it up. I have about 10 Powershots but only my S100 travels with me.
Too many options?
Cutting to the chase, just surf and buy an SD4000 / IXUS 300 HS. I paid less that $50 for mine on eBay. Why?
Well, read some of the post by
robert1975 starting with this one :
CHDK on SD4000/IXUS 300 HS. Nice camera - almost as good as the recently releasesd Nikon D850 DSLR
according to robert1975 except that it fits into your pocket. And it has the advantage of its CHDK release being supported by someone who has been around for a while.
