Trying to upgrade and totally lost

[cumar]

I currently have a Canon Poweshot A410. I am unsatisfied with the picture quality of this particular unit. Especially, for indoor photography the flash appears at fall short of reasonable expectations. Furthermore, the edges of the photo appears a bit fuzzy.

I am looking for a replacement with extern flash option that will produce good quality indoor photos. Also, I am look for good quality lense that will eliminate the fuzzy picture issue.

I spoke to several local Camera shops in Australia and they are recommending the Canon G6 @ $799 (special price) or Konica Minolta z6 @ $699 as well as a Panasonic Limux (I forgot the model number) @ $699.

I am not concerned about the size of the camera and willing to pay for good quality, max budget $799.

Any suggestion?

thank you in advance.

Cumar

[tim11]

What $ currency is that? US or Aus? Can you clarify that before I make some suggestions.
Not many cameras have hot shoe to support external flash.
If you still can get Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20, you should pay more interest to it. But most shops now don't have it in stock anymore. G6 is a very capable camera but it's old technology now.

[Rhys]

I currently have a Canon Poweshot A410. I am unsatisfied with the picture quality of this particular unit. Especially, for indoor photography the flash appears at fall short of reasonable expectations. Furthermore, the edges of the photo appears a bit fuzzy.

I am looking for a replacement with extern flash option that will produce good quality indoor photos. Also, I am look for good quality lense that will eliminate the fuzzy picture issue.

I spoke to several local Camera shops in Australia and they are recommending the Canon G6 @ $799 (special price) or Konica Minolta z6 @ $699 as well as a Panasonic Limux (I forgot the model number) @ $699.

I am not concerned about the size of the camera and willing to pay for good quality, max budget $799.

Any suggestion?

thank you in advance.

Cumar

Would you be prepared to consider a dSLR? If so then you might like to consider a Pentax *istD

[cumar]

The currency is Australian dollars. Unfortunately dSLR is out of the question as it is too expensive in Australia.

Thank you.

Cumar

[tim11]

Not many PnS cameras come with hot shoe. If you still can buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 you should really look at it further; though I doubt any shop still has one in stock.
The others that fit your budget (camera only and no extra accessories) are Kodak Easyshare P850:
http://www.teds.com.au/www/6/1001102/displayproduct/1422781_1005967_.html

...and Fujifilm Finepix S9500:
http://www.digitalfunstuff.com.au/prod62.htm

P850 has Image Stabiliser but S9500 hasn't. As for image quality, you can search for sample images from this website REVIEWS & INFO link.
As for dSLR, as Rhys suggested, it might stretch your budget by a couple of hundreds but it may worth considering. On Teds' dSLR link, Pentax *istDL/Sigma 18-50mm Kit cost $900.

[coldrain]

The Kodak 850 does not have great photo quality, mainly due to its lens... and the S9500 is soft if you do not want to do post processing.

I think the G6 is actually a very good choice, it has a very nice lens and very good image quality, and does have a hotshoe. It probably will give you a lot of satisfaction. On the other hand, so may a Canon PowerShot A610 and A620, you can buy an external flash for them (it sits next to the camera, not on top).