Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 or Canon A710 IS?

[arachief]

Hi,

I have read through a lot of the threads to help me decide on what kinda DC i need..am still confused. Below are my requirements:

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. $200 - $300 (can go a little above $300 if necessary)

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you?

Something compact and not too bulky, that can fit my handbag or that i can carry easily with my laptop

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) Dont really know much, but between Standard and Ultrazoom should do

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 10

Do you care for manual controls? Yes, I do

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Basically family pictures - (i have a toddler that is just starting to run), birthdays, friends and some travel. I do travel a lot and love to just capture the scenery, buildings and people

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? not so big, but might store a lot on my laptop

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

Yes, i think so - family pictures and celebrations might be shot in the bedroom or sitting room

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Yes, eventually. When my toddler starts school :) And my husband is into a lot of outdoor activities, he's an engineer and loves to take pictures of buildings while driving (in motion) and sites he's working on (outdoors)

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I like Panasonic FZ7 and Canon A710, just dont know if they'll do what i want! I already own a Panasonic MiniDV and i think that is fuelling my desire for Panasonic. But any recomendation apart from this is welcome

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

Panasonic FZ7 and Canon A710:)

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

I think Image Stabilization (dont understand the other features:p )


Thanks a lot for your help.

[Elisha]

i had the A710 and ditched it to get the FZ7.
main reason was no auto bracketing and zoom.

[surfstar]

Maybe this would (http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?p=207015#post207015) help you choose?

The 12x zoom is nice and I'm impressed by the fast AF and 3fps burst mode. I just gotta learn to use it now.

[arachief]

Thanks for your help.

So do i go with Lumix FZ7 then? Whats that thing about noise that i keep reading about? Is it really that bad? Is it going to disturb the quality of what i want to use the camera for?

Thanks.

[Elisha]

A710 is smaller and only 6x zoom.
the flash recharge time is also very slow.
as for Noise....i'm not too sure because when i had it i never went past ISO100.
the automatic bracketing killed me because that means HDR shots are more difficult.
the FZ7 has a stepless zoom. the black is so sexy and it focuses real quick.
only feature i miss from the Canon is the Colour Accent.

[arachief]

Thanks..i'll go with the FZ7 then.

Will get back to the forum on the output!