Which camera

[stevep]

I am researching a new camera to buy and need a little help. I was using a Minolta Dimage E323 camera, but recently, after about 20 months, the camera stopped working on me (viewscreen says 'system error' and lens won't retract when shut off)

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

Under $1,000

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

something compact, easy to carry around

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

over 3

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

4-6

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

7.5

Do you care for manual controls?

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

vacation, sports photo's

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

probably not

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

possibly

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

definately

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

not too happy with Minolta right now

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

have looked at a couple panasonics (LX1, LZ2), briefly at some canon and nikon as well

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

[tim11]

Panasonic LX1 seeems to be an impressive camera. Compact with Leica lens, IS, all the controls.... but at a price.
What about Canon A620?

[stevep]

I have actually been leaning more towards the Panasonic LZ2, but have also looked at the Nikon L1 and the Canon A610. I like the image stabilizer and 6x optical zoom that the panasonic has (good for sporting events)

[John_Reed]

I have actually been leaning more towards the Panasonic LZ2, but have also looked at the Nikon L1 and the Canon A610. I like the image stabilizer and 6x optical zoom that the panasonic has (good for sporting events)I had a Nikon CoolPix 4500, with a 4X zoom. If you'd have asked me how much zoom I needed, I'd have said: "Well, I guess 4X is enough. Maybe once in awhile..."

Then I got my first Panasonic 2.5 years ago, an FZ1. With its image stabilizing system, I was suddenly able to freely shoot photos all the way to the end (12X, 420mm) of its super zoom range, and get crisp, sharp results, even in relatively low-light conditions. Nowadays (I've graduated to the FZ30), a high percentage of my shots are taken in the upper end of the zoom range. You mention "sporting events," but have you ever used a short zoom at a football game or baseball game? They just don't reach! Even the 6X of the LZ2 is kind of short for getting any kind of closeups.

I'm thinking you'd be well served by a Panasonic DMC-FZ5, which is quite a compact 12X zoom camera, 5MP, has satisfied a lot of users with the kind of images you seem to want. You can find reviews of it on this site and elsewhere; you might want to take a look, anyway.