Budget ultrazoom, or FZ30?

[garbagio]

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible.

Less than $300

Size

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

Doesn't matter

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

At least 6

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

ultra

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

has to be better than my Sony DSC-P92

Do you care for manual controls?

I like the idea of having them and may fiddle with them in the future.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Pictures of my kids, wildlife, scenery, etc.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

probably not

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

mix of indoor and outdoor

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

maybe a little, but not a priority

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

Rather avoid Sony

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

Canon S3 IS, Panasonic FZ8, FZ30, maybe Fuji (but would need convincing that lack of IS isn't a problem)

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

like IS, like the idea of taking occasional movies (not often)

I've posted before, but am having trouble deciding. Luckily I'm not in a hurry to buy. Prices also keep dropping - including the FZ8 which I have yet to see in a store. I noticed that the FZ30 can be had for about $250 from some online sites (don't know if any are reputable). It seems like the FZ30 would be a lot of camera for the money. Is it out of date compared to a newer low cost ultrazoom? The FZ50 sounds great, but even at $450 it's still more than I want to spend.

Thanks!

[AlexMonro]

The main difference between the FZ50 and the FZ30 is the increased pixel count in the FZ50, but since you say you probably won't want to make big prints, this might not concern you. The FZ50 also has some higher ISO sensitivity settings, but most reviews indicate that the noise reduction is very aggressive when these are used, which results in a serious reduction of image quality.

Image Stabilisation can be very useful when taking pictures of static subjects in lower light, but if your subject is moving, you'll still need to use a faster shutter speed to freeze the motion, unless you want motion blur as a creative effect.

Another point which may of concern to you is that most of the cameras you've listed only go to 36mm equivalent at the wide end of the zoom range. For some landscape and interior shots it's sometimes useful to be able to go wider than that. The Fuji S6000 and S9100 go to 28mm equiv at the wide end, which is a feature I've found very useful on my Fuji S9500 (AKA S9000). The S6000 also performs rather better at high ISO sensitivity than most other ultrazooms, and although, as you say, it doesn't have IS, this can enable faster shutter speeds to help combat camera shake.

If you can get to a shop and try out how the cameras feel in your hand, it might help you decide.

[tim11]

Canon S3 IS, Panasonic FZ8, FZ30, maybe Fuji (but would need convincing that lack of IS isn't a problem)

You need convincing about the lack of IS? How the lack of IS affect you depends on how steady you are; and people are different of course. I used to question the wisdom of offering an ultrazoom without IS, but I have since convinced myself I can use S6000fd handheld on full zoom. An advantage that S6000fd has over other cameras is that its image is so clean that you can use higher ISO to get higher shutter speed.
Here is my own testimony that S6000fd can be used on full zoom, for me at any rate:
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showpost.php?p=184856&postcount=54
Let me add that I could have used ISO400 on the dog shot and get shutter speed of 1/300 second and still have a clean image.
If lowlight is top priority, I'd put Fuji first. The weakness is purple fringing and 'turtle speed' burst mode.

If you shoot mostly outdoors and good light, Panasonic should be consider. It's fast and less purple fringing. Panasonic cams have been criticised for its noisy image, especially in lower light and high ISO. I'd suggest you check out sample images and decide for yourself if they are 'too noisy', and keep in mind that noisy or not there are many happy and loyal Panasonic fans here and that's not without reason. I won't hesitate recommend FZ50 if you want a learning camera; it comes complete with hotshoe for flash photography so to get you ready for DSLR.

S3 IS is another great camera and there are many happy S3 owners here. However, focus has been reported to be tricky though I have no first hand experience with it.

I hope that will steer you toward an informed decision. Good luck