Need a good replacement/upgrade

[DizzyLizzy]

Well, about 1 1/2 years ago I purchased a Kodak Z730. It workd fine until the mic died out, and I have no sound for video. Due to some complicated warranty crap, kodak won't do anything (without charging an arm and a leg), but the store I got it from is going to give me my full purchase price... on a gift card.
In other words, I now need to purchase a new camera, and here's the catch: <b>It HAS to be from Office Depot.</b>

Budget= I will have about $200-250

Size= Not that important. But nothing too big. (I still have my old camera case)

Features
5+ megapixels. 4+x optical zoom, same for digital. Would like to take good video.
Image Quality VERY important (we're talking 8-10 here)
Manual Controls not a must, but an interesting feature.

General Usage
What will you generally use the camera for?
Everything from random shots of friends indoors and family functions to sporting events and outdoor concerts.

Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
No, nothing more than an 8x10, but there might be cropping first.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Definitly a lot of indoor, and some low-light.

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

Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate?
I'm not so sure about Kodak now, but if it's a good camera, I'll take it.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Been looking at the Canon Powershot SD600 & SD630

Do you need any of the following special features?
Would love to have image stabilization, simply because I can't hold still to save my life. Everything else is optional.

SIDE NOTE: Would like to be able to use an SD card so I don't have to get rid of the one I alreay have. Would really like for it to have a good battery life.

[flippedgazelle]

Pretty good that Office Depot gave you any kind of credit after 1.5 years.

Don't worry about the camera having any sort of digital zoom - that is something that is easily replicated in an image editor using the "resize" or "resample" function.

Looking at the Office Depot web site, the Panasonic TZ1 looks like the best bet, imo, although it is a little over your budget.

[mattdm]

A lot of low-light shooting though -- one of the Canon models might be better.

[flippedgazelle]

A lot of low-light shooting though -- one of the Canon models might be better.

Yeah, I was thinking about that, but at Office Depot there are no Canons in the OP's price range that have IS, otherwise I would have recommended the A710IS.

[DizzyLizzy]

Looking at the Office Depot web site, the Panasonic TZ1 looks like the best bet, imo, although it is a little over your budget.

Well, what I quoted is what I get from Office Deopt. I'd be willing to go over it, but just not too much. (Because then it'd be my own money.)

[speaklightly]

I happen to agree with flippedgazelle-

The Panasonic TZ-1 is a good suggestion. One just has to look at John Reed's photos from the TZ-1. It is true that noise will become a factor. However, is you can keep the ISO at 200 or less, the noise problem begins to disappear.

Speaklightly

[DizzyLizzy]

I happen to agree with flippedgazelle-

The Panasonic TZ-1 is a good suggestion. One just has to look at John Reed's photos from the TZ-1. It is true that noise will become a factor. However, is you can keep the ISO at 200 or less, the noise problem begins to disappear.

Speaklightly

I'd also be worried about battery life. But I'll have to wait until I make it to an Office Depot to test it all out.

I'm curious to hear what you guys think of the Canons.

[flippedgazelle]

I believe most of us here really like the Canons. The image quality is usually near the top of the heap, good build quality, easy to use straight out of the box yet enough controls for more advanced users.

[DizzyLizzy]

I believe most of us here really like the Canons. The image quality is usually near the top of the heap, good build quality, easy to use straight out of the box yet enough controls for more advanced users.

Hmm, I wonder if you would be able to answer a question for me:
Do the settings of "sport" mode (or whichever it is depending on the camera.) make up for not having an image stabilizer?
Or more importantly (having seen your cat pics) How do you feel about the Kodak C series?

[flippedgazelle]

Hmm, I wonder if you would be able to answer a question for me:
Do the settings of "sport" mode (or whichever it is depending on the camera.) make up for not having an image stabilizer?
Or more importantly (having seen your cat pics) How do you feel about the Kodak C series?

I haven't tried the "Sport" mode on any of my cameras, so I really can't comment on it. It won't make up for true optical image stabilization, though. Perhaps it will boost the ISO to better capture a moving subject, but that will also introduce additional noise.

The Kodak C875 is a very good, pocketable camera. I am impressed with the clarity and color of the photos in well-lit conditions. The camera even does a reasonable job on photos up to ISO 400, though some detail does get lost. It has the interesting ability "scene detect" - in other words, if you point the camera at a forest, it will switch to "landscape" mode. If you point the camera at a person's face, it will switch to "portrait" mode. Pretty neat, in my book. I would rate the performance of the C875 (focus speed, shutter lag, etc.) about average for its class. The C875 benefits from using Kodak's larger sensor and higher quality lens than is found in the other C-class cameras, so I don't think you can compare, say, a C743 with it.

[greggh]

Well, what I quoted is what I get from Office Deopt. I'd be willing to go over it, but just not too much. (Because then it'd be my own money.)

Office Depot does pricematches. See if they will pricematch the TZ1 to $199.97 at Radioshack...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2288132&cp=&sr=1&origkw=tz1&kw=tz1&parentPage=search

They may not do it, since Radioshack only has the silver color and OD only has the black and the blue colors, but it's worth a shot.

[DizzyLizzy]

Office Depot does pricematches. See if they will pricematch the TZ1 to $199.97 at Radioshack...

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2288132&cp=&sr=1&origkw=tz1&kw=tz1&parentPage=search

They may not do it, since Radioshack only has the silver color and OD only has the black and the blue colors, but it's worth a shot.

Actually, I got them to price match my Kodak from Beach Camera. I think they pretty much match everything.
I just would want some cash left on the card for either a new memcard, or the same protection plan that's saving my arse now.

[mattdm]

Do the settings of "sport" mode (or whichever it is depending on the camera.) make up for not having an image stabilizer?


They address a different issue. With "sport" subjects, you're generally talking about needing a high shutter speed to freeze the motion of what you're looking at. For this, you need high ISO.

Image stabilization, on the other hand, reduces shake of the camera itself from unsteady hands -- think of it as an invisible tripod. That lets you take pictures with longer shutter speeds -- great for still subjects, but not so helpful with moving ones. (Except at far telephoto range, where you need all the help you can get because any small movement is magnified.)

[DizzyLizzy]

They address a different issue. With "sport" subjects, you're generally talking about needing a high shutter speed to freeze the motion of what you're looking at. For this, you need high ISO.

Image stabilization, on the other hand, reduces shake of the camera itself from unsteady hands -- think of it as an invisible tripod. That lets you take pictures with longer shutter speeds -- great for still subjects, but not so helpful with moving ones. (Except at far telephoto range, where you need all the help you can get because any small movement is magnified.)

Makes good sense. But I usually dont us elong shutter times.

Argh. Why do I feel like the more I learn, the more confused I get?

[mattdm]

Makes good sense. But I usually dont us elong shutter times.

In this case, "long" means anything under 1/60th of a second or so -- long enough where it's hard to hold the camera steady.

[flippedgazelle]

Makes good sense. But I usually dont us elong shutter times.

Argh. Why do I feel like the more I learn, the more confused I get?

Because the more you learn, the more you know. And the more you know, the more questions you have. Isn't life fun? :D

[DizzyLizzy]

Because the more you learn, the more you know. And the more you know, the more questions you have. Isn't life fun? :D

not like this it aint!
It's probably a good thing I dont actually have to buy anything for like a month. Then something new can come out to confuse me even more. =D

[DizzyLizzy]

In this case, "long" means anything under 1/60th of a second or so -- long enough where it's hard to hold the camera steady.

.. I know nothing. Is it set at that on "auto"?

[mattdm]

"Auto" will try to give you the best exposure by juggling shutter speed, lens aperture, and (depending on settings) ISO. In most cameras, it'll try to get you a reasonably fast shutter speed, and "sports mode" or "anti-blur mode" scene settings are a way of telling the camera to prioritize that factor.

Read my post (#5) in this thread (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28352).

[DizzyLizzy]

"Auto" will try to give you the best exposure by juggling shutter speed, lens aperture, and (depending on settings) ISO. In most cameras, it'll try to get you a reasonably fast shutter speed, and "sports mode" or "anti-blur mode" scene settings are a way of telling the camera to prioritize that factor.

Read my post (#5) in this thread (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28352).

oh. I... am confused. and I've read like that 5 times now.

[mattdm]

oh. I... am confused. and I've read like that 5 times now.

:)

Post over in that thread what's confusing you and I'll try to clarify.

[DizzyLizzy]

:)

Post over in that thread what's confusing you and I'll try to clarify.

I think I may just need to read that when I can focus on what I'm reading.