Fujifilm Z3 or.......????

[Princess Geek]

I've been trying to decide on a digital camera and the best I've seen so far is the fuji Z3. I'm looking for something small (pocket sized), with 5 mp or more, preferably with a high ISO. I'm new to the digital camera world, so I'm not sure what this is called, but I want the camera to take the picture when I push the button, not 3 seconds later, and I want to be able to take another picture immediately after. I did test out the canon powershot elph, and was more impressed by the Z3 on these points. I've recently read about the Samsung digimax i6 and think it seems great on paper but have read only so-so reviews on it. How about the casio exilm line? Any other suggestions? My questionnaire is below.Thanks!



Budget
$200-300

Size
Pocket sized

Features
Minimum 5 mp

standard zoom 3-4x

Image quality is 8/10

Manual controls would be nice but not necessary

General Usage

I'll generally use the camera for travel, and social outings

I'll generally make 4x6 prints, maybe 5x7

I'll be shooting a combination of indoor photos or low light photos and outdoor shots

Unlikely to be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
Don't care for Kodak; I Like Canon, Fuji, Casio, Samsung

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Fujifilm Finepix Z3
Canon SD series (450 or 500?)
Samsung Digimax i6
Casio Exilm (no idea which one)

[downtrodden]

Hello your highness!

A camera you may want to look at is the Fuji F30. it gets pretty rave reviews and has really impressive ISO performance.
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fuji/finepix_f30-review/
Here's the review from this site.

I've no personal experience with it... but hope that link helps!

[Princess Geek]

So, I've done some more research and looked into the F30 (thanks Downtrodden!). Looks great, although it is a bit bigger than I had hoped. My dilemma with the Fuji, both the F30 and the Z3, is that you have to charge it in a cradle, which isn't so great for travel. Compact camera that comes with a whole lot of baggage. I've also looked into the Canon SD600 and SD700, as well as the Panasonic Lumix FX01. The Z3, SD600 and FX01 are all around the same price point. The F30 and SD700 are about $100 more, and have the added bonus of IS- at least Panasonic markets it as such(is it in fact the same as IS?). I will be using it for a lot of low-light party shots but it will be my one camera for everything, including travel. Is it worth spending the extra $$ on the SD700 or F30? Is the F30 worth lugging around? I haven't taken pictures of events myself in a long time, and I know I won't start if the camera isn't small enough to put in my purse. I think it's come down to the Z3 (despite cradle-willing to overlook if it's the best camera), FX01 and SD700? How do they all compare with low-light/noise? Lag time? Battery? Thanks

[tim11]

Is there really much difference? Have you seen both 'live' with your own eyes yet? I was surprised to see how small it really is. You have not mentioned F20 which is the cut down version of F30. Any reason why?

Z3 Dimensions (W x H x D): 88.9 x 55.9 x 20.3 mm / 3.5 x 2.2 x 0.8 in
Weight (empty): 130 g / 4.6 oz

F30 Dimensions (W x H x D): 91.4 x 55.9 x 27.9 mm / 3.6 x 2.2 x 1.1 in
Weight (empty): 155 g / 5.5 oz

I'd say F30 is handy for travelling. It has the best battery life with claimed 580 shots! I haven't actually count it but using it casually it's many days before I have to recharge it. So the chance the battery goes flat half day lesser with F30. Just recharge at night when you come back to base - it takes about 4 hours. :eek: - Be aware.
The real difference between Z3 and F#0 is the former has no lens extruding when you start it up.

SD700 and LX01 have optical image stabiliser, while Fuji's haven't. You can't go wrong with them even though they will lag the Fuji indoors and lowlight.

I'm not sure what you mean by charging in cradle. I believe Canon and Pana. batteries have to be charged using a charger while Fujis you have to also connect the charger to the camera with battery inside it. So with any camera in your short list, you will have to lug around with you: camera, charger, cable and battery.

[Princess Geek]

=tim11;164137]Is there really much difference? Have you seen both 'live' with your own eyes yet? I was surprised to see how small it really is. You have not mentioned F20 which is the cut down version of F30. Any reason why?
Haven't seen them yet, but the smaller the better...



SD700 and LX01 have optical image stabiliser, while Fuji's haven't. You can't go wrong with them even though they will lag the Fuji indoors and lowlight.

What exactly do you mean by "they will lag the Fuji indoors and lowlight"? Do you mean they will be better in lowlight than either fuji? I'm not sure what is more important to have-high ISO or IS for good pictures in lowlight.... this is my most important need.


I'm not sure what you mean by charging in cradle. I believe Canon and Pana. batteries have to be charged using a charger while Fujis you have to also connect the charger to the camera with battery inside it. So with any camera in your short list, you will have to lug around with you: camera, charger, cable and battery.
Ok, so what you're saying is it's not much difference...

So, you'd pick the F30 out of all those cameras?
Thanks for your info!!

[tim11]

Sorry for the typo. I should have typed "they will lag behind the Fuji indoors and lowlight."

IS minimises the effect of photographer's hand shake, but it is not effective if your subject moves. So... if you want a camera to take pictures inside a restaurant, for instance, without using the flash (that fixes the red-eye as well), you need high ISO capability.

Many cameras boast high ISO up to whatever but the question remains how clean their images are at such ISO?

There is a Z3 review at ThinkCamera (http://www.thinkcamera.com/news/article/mps/UAN/224/v/1/sp/334946542793670167688); should you be interested. There are some image samples in there too.

I'd pick Fuji out of the bunch with F30 in front. Seeing Z3 sample images in ThinkCamera confirms the idea that F30 images are better, to my eyes at least.
Check out what F30 can do in Photos from F10, F11, F20, F30, F31fd (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24706) thread. There are many high ISO shots too.