Need Help Chosing a digital cam....

[XxRobankxX]

Hey.....I have been stressing over trying to find a camera that would be right for me. I already have the Cannon S50 and I really like the camera, but I want a different type of camera...so if you can give me any suggestions or recommendations for a camera that would be great...


BUDGET

I am planning on spending about $500 for the camera...so a little less or a little more is adjustable....
SIZE

Should be easy to carry around everywhere, even while being active...so it should be light.

FEATURES

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

I was thinking along the lines of 5+ megapixels.

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

I will be taking many pictures from a long distance as well as a short distance, so I was thinking about a Ultrazoom camera...a little less would be fine.

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

Image quality is very important to me, so i would have to say a 9-10.

Do you care for manual controls?

They are nice, but not that important to me.

General Usage

What will you generally use the camera for?

I usually take many pictures of friends, family, and landscaping. I also take my sports pictures so that object(s) that I would be taking will be moving and active. I also love to take landscaping and scenery pictures so the pictures would have to be clear....

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

Sometimes, but not likely

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

I would be shooting a lot of indoor/ night shots.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Yes.....definitely sports and a lot of active pictures.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I have a strong dislike of Samsung electronics (long story), and I really prefer brands that usually only make cameras like Fuji, Nixon, Cannon, etc. (I am a little picky about what I buy)

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

I've been searching long and hard and so far, I have set my eyes of the Fuji S51000....but I am still not really sure that it would be the right camera for me....

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

I really like to taking pictures of sunrises, and sunsets so the picture quality has to be perfect. Besides that, I would also, if possible, to be able to take a non-stop video rather than the 60-90 second stop that my Cannon S50 has...

[tclune]

The 5100 sounds like it wouldn't be a particularly good choice -- if I'm not mistaken, it maxes out at ISO 400 and lacks image stabilization. So those night/indoor shots will be a bit of a problem. However, the 5200 looks intriguing. I haven't been able to find a review of it yet, but a description can be found here: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05072802fuji_s5200zs5600z.asp

FWIW.

[coldrain]

Like tclune said, the fuji S5200 is a better choice, it has a sensor that is more sensitive. It will have less noise at higher ISO values, that is why it offers upto ISO 1600. The ISO 1600 will be crap, but its ISO 200 and ISO 400 setting will be better than all other ultra zooms.

Another one to consider is the Canon S2 IS, it is not as sensitive and therfore noise free at higher ISO settings as the Fuji, but it for that is has Image stabilization which will let you make sunset pictures with longer exposure times without teh pictures becoming unsharp.

Panasonic has the FZ20 with image stabilization, but that one is bigger, more heavy and a bit more noisy. Their FZ30 is huge in comparison and is very noisy.

Sony and Kodak have similar models as the S2 IS, and may be worth considering too, but the Canon is the only one with a very cool and handy swiveling display that even makes self portraits easy to do (or making pics over crowds heads, or around corners, or close to the ground without having top lay in the dirt...)

[XxRobankxX]

Right now, you have really changed my interest in the cameras. A few of my replys have mentioned the Cannon PowerShot S2 IS and the Fuji Finepix S5200.

Between those two cameras, which would you prefer, the Canon PowerShot S2 IS or the Fuji Finepix S5200? (Based on your own opinion for a active, sports photographer)


I am still open to suggestions about other cameras, but if you can, PLEASE stay away from samsung brand cameras.

[tclune]

The Fuji S5200 looks like it should be the camera of choice for this type of use at the given price-point. However, very few people seem to have seen it yet, and everything looks really promising before it exists! Nonetheless. my expectation is that the Fuji will be the camera to beat for sports photography on a budget.