I NEED HELP! Which Camera Should I buy?

[brownady]

Budget
It reaaly doesn't matter, anywhere from 250 dollars to 550 dollars

Size
Anything but ultracompact and compact

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
I would like anything from 7 to 9, but six might work also

What Optical zoom do you need?
I would like an ultrazoom

How important is image quality to you?
Pretty important-I want some nice photos-Maybe an eight or nine

Do you care for manual controls?
Yes

What will you generally use the camera for?
I will use it for some sports pictures, the school newspaper and maybe some outdoor photos

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Probably not that many, but probably a couple for the county fair

WIll you be shooting alot of indoor or low-light photos?
Yes, probably quite a few

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Yes, definately

Are there any particular brands you like or hate
LIKE-Kodak; Canon; maybe Sony
HATE-Fujifilm;Polaroid;Panasonic;HP

Are there any articular models you already have in mind?
Not really

Do you need any special features?
Image stabilization is pretty much it

Thank you for your time!!:)

[flippedgazelle]

Hmm, since Panasonic and Fuji are on your "hate" list, I'd say your best choice would be the Sony H5.

BTW, the best ultrazoom for indoor and sports pictures would be a Fuji.

Any chance you could go the DSLR route?

[brownady]

I could go dslr i just don't want a pile of money, and what is the fuji that would work?

[flippedgazelle]

I could go dslr i just don't want a pile of money, and what is the fuji that would work?

Yeah, I don't blame you. I might get a little unnerved carrying around a couple grand worth of equipment.

As far as the Fujis go, I'm thinking the S6000fd. It is the best high-ISO ultrazoom out there, and high-ISO lets you use a faster shutter, so you can more easily catch movement and also take flashless low-light shots. Quality will still be inferior to a DSLR, though. I have had my S6000fd for just over a month and am very happy with it, though I am still exploring it's capabilities and trying to improve my own skills.

From what I have read and samples I have seen, in daylight conditions the Panasonic ultrazooms seem to be the best as far as image quality goes. The Leica lens Panasonic uses is pretty awesome, and fast. A Panasonic FZ30 would probably do a fine job with outdoor sports. There's a fella on these boards named John Reed whi is real handy when it comes to using the Panasonic ultrazooms.

The Sony H5 (and H2) seems to do a bit better than Panasonic and the Canon S3 in low-light situations, although not as good as the Fuji.

If you look at the Canon, Fuji, Panasonic and Sony sections on these forums, you will find bunches of photos posted by users, which should give you some idea of the capabilites of each camera.

[brownady]

What would you think of the nikon d50?
There is one on ebay for $305 plus a 28-80mm and 70-300mm lens that comes with it it ends in 13 hours, so if it is a good buywhat should be my max bid?

[coldrain]

What would you think of the nikon d50?
There is one on ebay for $305 plus a 28-80mm and 70-300mm lens that comes with it it ends in 13 hours, so if it is a good buywhat should be my max bid?
While the Nikon D50 is quite a good DSLR, the lenses it comes with makes it a lot less than a CAnon S3 IS, Sony H5 or Fuji S6000fd.

The 28-80 lens is a relic from the film SLR days, it is a kit lens that will not offer you any wide angle and its quality is not great. The 70-300 no doubt is even worse at its 200-300mm range, lacking contrast and sharpness there.

So... on such a limitted budget you are probably still better of with getting an ultrazoom.

Best in lower light (indoor) sports would be the Fuji S6000fd because its sensor type just is a lot less noisy in higher ISO settings (which allows faster shutter speeds). And the Sony H5 is your next best choice.

[brownady]

So let me get this straight, i've always been confused and now you're saying that you can still put different lenses on different ultrazooms?

[mattdm]

So let me get this straight, i've always been confused and now you're saying that you can still put different lenses on different ultrazooms?

No, just that the lenses on an ultrazoom already cover a wider range than the lenses you listed above with the eBay D50.

[coldrain]

So let me get this straight, i've always been confused and now you're saying that you can still put different lenses on different ultrazooms?
No, I am saying the lenses included with that D50 you mention are of such low quality that even the ultrazooms can give you better results. If you want to go DSLR, be prepared to invest a bit more in lenses.

[brownady]

I have been looking at all of the cameras you told me about and i really like the panasonic. Upon reading a review i saw the fz50 and clicked on it. It is a little bit more expensive camera but i think it would work well for me. What would you say?