HankGreene
08-07-2006, 08:04 AM
Budget
Ideally, I'd like to spend less than $300, but would be willing to go up to $350.
Size
I'd like something reasonably portable. I know that if the camera is too big, I'll be tempted to leave it at home. Something that could at least fit in a roomy jacket pocket.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm fine with just 4mp
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I really want a good zoom. I go on a lot of nature walks, etc., and I'd love to get some quality pictures of birds and other wildlife. 3x just doesn't cut it. 6x-8x would be the minimum.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
It is reasonably important. 7 (?) In all honesty, I never even notice the noise and other image problems that all these reviews point out, but I do want good pictures. Most importantly, my wife has an online clothing store for which she takes many pictures and the colors, etc., need to be as close to real life as possible.
Do you care for manual controls?
Not really.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Lots of pictures of my kids (mostly inside with typical indoor lighting)
Nature photos.
Photos of clothing to be posted on-line.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Never printed out larger than 5x7
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Lots of indoor photos, though not particularly low light. I would love to be able to take good indoor photos without the flash. I lose so many great shots of my kids waiting for the flash to recharge on my current camera (Fuji Finepix 2650).
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Not particularly
Miscellaneous
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I'm really intrigued by the Panasonic Lumix LZ3 and TZ1. I would have probably bought one already if they had a viewfinder. My wife really thinks she would miss this feature (and I probably would, too). Next, I was really sold on the Olympus models, the older Camedia c765 and the newer sp500. Seems like they take good pictures and have a high zoom and a pretty small body. But then, I got to thinking I might regret the lack of optical image stabilization with these high zoom cameras. I know myself well enough to know I won't be taking a tripod with me anywhere. So, now I think I am leaning towards the Canon Powershot S2. It's a little bigger and more expensive than I would ideally prefer, but it seems to get great reviews and have everything I want (big zoom, reasonably compact body, viewfinder). In an ideal world, I'd want something as small as the LZ3 or TZ1 with a viewfinder, but at this point I think I would have found it in my obsessive research on the issue.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image stabilization, as discussed above. I'm assuming that this will greatly enhance the utility of a large zoom as well as allow for quality indoor pictures without a flash.
Any advice on all this is greatly, greatly appreciated. I just need to buy a new camera and use my time to get work done rather than obsessively researching digital cameras :) . Thanks!!
Hank
Ideally, I'd like to spend less than $300, but would be willing to go up to $350.
Size
I'd like something reasonably portable. I know that if the camera is too big, I'll be tempted to leave it at home. Something that could at least fit in a roomy jacket pocket.
Features
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I'm fine with just 4mp
* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)
I really want a good zoom. I go on a lot of nature walks, etc., and I'd love to get some quality pictures of birds and other wildlife. 3x just doesn't cut it. 6x-8x would be the minimum.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
It is reasonably important. 7 (?) In all honesty, I never even notice the noise and other image problems that all these reviews point out, but I do want good pictures. Most importantly, my wife has an online clothing store for which she takes many pictures and the colors, etc., need to be as close to real life as possible.
Do you care for manual controls?
Not really.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?
Lots of pictures of my kids (mostly inside with typical indoor lighting)
Nature photos.
Photos of clothing to be posted on-line.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Never printed out larger than 5x7
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Lots of indoor photos, though not particularly low light. I would love to be able to take good indoor photos without the flash. I lose so many great shots of my kids waiting for the flash to recharge on my current camera (Fuji Finepix 2650).
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Not particularly
Miscellaneous
Are there particular models you already have in mind?
I'm really intrigued by the Panasonic Lumix LZ3 and TZ1. I would have probably bought one already if they had a viewfinder. My wife really thinks she would miss this feature (and I probably would, too). Next, I was really sold on the Olympus models, the older Camedia c765 and the newer sp500. Seems like they take good pictures and have a high zoom and a pretty small body. But then, I got to thinking I might regret the lack of optical image stabilization with these high zoom cameras. I know myself well enough to know I won't be taking a tripod with me anywhere. So, now I think I am leaning towards the Canon Powershot S2. It's a little bigger and more expensive than I would ideally prefer, but it seems to get great reviews and have everything I want (big zoom, reasonably compact body, viewfinder). In an ideal world, I'd want something as small as the LZ3 or TZ1 with a viewfinder, but at this point I think I would have found it in my obsessive research on the issue.
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Image stabilization, as discussed above. I'm assuming that this will greatly enhance the utility of a large zoom as well as allow for quality indoor pictures without a flash.
Any advice on all this is greatly, greatly appreciated. I just need to buy a new camera and use my time to get work done rather than obsessively researching digital cameras :) . Thanks!!
Hank