Looking for better zoom.

[naenae]

Hi,

I'm going to answer the questions below as well, but I wanted to say the ultrazoom is a must and is the whole reason we are buying a new camera. We have a Canon A85 that we have had for ages and has never let us down yet but my husband is ready to move onto bigger and better things and the 3x zoom is just not good enough. Also, we'd prefer something that will let us take very short movie clips (20 seconds) though that is not as important as the zoom.

Thanks in advance for any help. I don't really know what is good from bad so would appreciate some pointers in the right direction.

Budget

£350 English.

Size

Nothing huge, something that I can carry around easily. I looked at the Panasonic FZ7 in a shop and that was a good sort of size to me.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? - 6mp.

What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)[/B] Ultrazoom - this really is the big selling point.

How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)A 9.

Do you care for manual controls? It's not vital but to some degree, yes.

General Usage

Camera will be mostly used for family photo and sports - football/soccer and equestrian events specifically. Also short movie clips would be a plus point - to catch the baby taking a few steps (20 seconds), we have a camcorder for the big stuff.

Photos will be printed up to 10 x 8 but I wouldn't imagine going any bigger.

Equal mix of indoor and outdoor photos - no real low light though.

Will be used for sports - football/soccer and horses mostly.

Miscellaneous

We've always had Canon cameras, if the perfect camera is another brand that is fine but Canon have never let us down yet.

We've been looking at the Canon S2 and S3 and the Panasonic FZ7.

[DonSchap]

The Canon S3 IS is the best thing just short of seriously investing dSLR cameras. With that said... buy it, use it and produce photographs you thought only a professional might.

It has a 12x telephoto... which equates to 35-432mm zoom at f/2.7-3.5 aperture. No other camera is doing this, at the moment... and it has Image Stabilization (anti-shake). So... if you hand the camera to "Grams" for a quick shot... you shouldn't be able to tell who pulled the trigger.

Throw in a 2GB or 4GB SD card... and you can actually zoom during a "movie" shoot. This still has yet to be done with any other P&S camera.

Why you are wasting time asking about this particular camera vs all the others... if you are already looking at it is... is... just maddening. You really need to be using it and telling us how much you love it. LOL :D

Ahem... we're waiting... (tapping foot). You still here? :mad:

[Sintares]

Assuming you have lots of SD cards already then go with the Canon S3.

If you are not fussed about the swivel screen and stereo sound recording then the H2 takes the better pictures (according to Dpreview), it has higher usable ISO, and should cost less than £350, plus it has all the things included you need to buy for the Canon (add on lens adapter, rechargables and a charger)

Quotes from the Dpreview conclusion

There are few cameras I can wholeheartedly recommend to both novice 'snappers' and experienced photographers, but the H2, like the H1 before it, is that rarest of beasts; a 'compact' camera with handling and control close to a DSLR, yet one that - even in inexperienced hands - can be left in 'idiot-proof' mode and trusted to produce the goods time and time again.

....

Of the current crop of 5/6 megapixel super zoom cameras the H2 is still, by a whisker, my personal favorite, and is in many respects a better camera than its high profile competitor, the Canon S3 IS. That it costs a good $100 less than the S3 IS is just the icing on the cake, and will for many I suspect seal the deal.

[naenae]

LOL Don!

I really like the look of the S3, especially given that we have been a Canon family since the year dot. We only have on local camera shop and they don't stock it so I can't go in and hold/feel/use it before buying, which is not that big of a deal anyway.

Sintares - We don't own any SD cards, yet! I hadn't looked at the H2, but it definitely looks like another camera to consider. Thanks for mentioning it, do you know if the newer H5 is a big improvement on it or is there not much in it?

Thanks again for you help.

[nism]

i never held my s3 before i bought it
i took a punt and just ordered after after reading reviews/comments etc

seriously good camera though
go and buy it


now
:D

[naenae]

I'm all set to order the S3 I think :D

One (or two!) other things - which are the best SD cards to buy? I did look but there are a million different speeds and such. I'm not really sure what I should be looking for? This will be used for family snap shots, a few short movie clips and sports photos.

Also, which is a good camera bag/case/pouch that fits this camera. What do you use to carry yours around?

Thanks again!

[scupking]

Get the Transcend 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Media Model TS2GSD150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820163158
It works great with my S2. I had anohter brand but it wouldn't low level format.