research paralysis

[abiagianti]

I'm looking for a replacement for my Nikon 5400. I do a lot of outdoor photography so I am interested in something in the 8-10x zoom range and low end of the exposure range (64-800 at the outside). I've been looking at the Panasonic fz50 and the Fujifilm s9100 and so fixated on them that I'm afraid I might be missing something.

Any suggestions/assistance would be helpful. Thanks.

abiagianti
"Out of Chaos, Brilliant Stars are Born"
I-Ching

[Riley]

I would be a bit shy about recommending FZ50 because of its venus3 engine (meant to clear up noise) which removes detail in all but the brightest conditions, and so would prefer FZ30, this for its sharpness, its manual controls like zoom and focus, its very successful OIS

Im also pretty fond of the well featured Fuji 9100

I guess it comes down to these things, if you shoot in mostly daylight conditions the FZ30 would be fine; that pretty much applies to the FZ50 but moreso.

if you need to shoot indoors or in lower light circumstances, go with the Fuji 9100

[AlexMonro]

The Fuji is one of very few ultrazooms that go as wide (28mm equiv) as the Nikon 5400. If you're in to landscapes and outdoor architecture, you'd probably miss that ability with most of the others. The only compact that goes wider is the Sony R1 at 24mm equiv (only 120mm full zoom though). I think it's recently been discontinued - you may be able to find one however.

[Riley]

indeed the Fuji S6000fd might be as enjoyable
with a usable 800iso and 28-300 manual zoom

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/fuji_s6000fd.html

(and quite a bit cheaper than the 9100)

cheers

[abiagianti]

Thanks for your input. The Panasonic FZ30 looked really good however I can only find them at a premium (more expensive than the FZ50). It really must be a winner. I am moving toward the Fuji 6000--I'm a little put off my needing another medium but so be it and I lose my tilt screen. Looks like I'll still need to carry my old 2 1/4 for the ground level shots. One last question...

if sensor size is equal in two cameras would I be correct in assuming that less pixels would mean larger pixels and therefor "better" quality? Or is it more complicated than that?

Thanks--and it looks like the 6000

abiagianti
"Out of Chaos, Brilliant Stars are Born"
I-Ching

[SpecialK]

The Fuji is one of very few ultrazooms that go as wide (28mm equiv) as the Nikon 5400. If you're in to landscapes and outdoor architecture, you'd probably miss that ability with most of the others. The only compact that goes wider is the Sony R1 at 24mm equiv (only 120mm full zoom though). I think it's recently been discontinued - you may be able to find one however.


And this still-available though discontinued Kodak. It has a 24-140 equivalent range, and shoots RAW if you are so inclined.

http://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Easyshare-P880-Digital-Optical/dp/B000A8JYB8/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-7117999-0909647?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1172887296&sr=1-1