Which of these long zoom digicams?

[lavalva]

I'm pretty much a point and shoot guy. This camera will be used mostly for my youth events with my church, which could be anything from sitting around inside, to playing games/activities inside or outside. I really want something with at least an 8x zoom. I

had a Canon A70 and was really happy with it, minus the lack of zoom. I'm pretty technical if I have to be, so I can figure out something that's a little more difficult to use if it's going to be the difference between OK quality that's easy to use and Good quality that's a little more difficult.

Here's what I'm down to so far:

-Nikon Coolpix 4800 *probably not*

-Canon PowerShot S1 IS

-Kodak EasyShare DX7590 *probably not*

-Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 *probably not*

-Nikon Coolpix 5700 *probably not*

-FujiFilm FinePix S5100 *probably not*

-Panasonic DMC-FZ10

Thanks so much for your help... If you need any more information from me, please let me know. BTW... Budget is about $400 but I'm willing to go higher if I have to. That's camera alone, accessories I'll spend whatever I need to.

Feel free to suggest other alternatives. The ones that are starred are from the original list, but the research I have done has talked me out of it. Also, I'm probably not going to print very many of these. Most will go on our website, or in slideshows or something along those lines.

[John_Reed]

-Canon PowerShot S1 IS
-Panasonic DMC-FZ10
Butterfly Photo (http://www.butterflyphoto.com/shop/searchresults.aspx?cti=1000&pti=1000&kwd=&mnm=Panasonic&refineSearch2.x=10&refineSearch2.y=7) seems to be a pretty good seller, and they're showing the Panasonic DMC-FZ15 for $374, the DMC-FZ3 for $294. All the resolution comparisons I've seen between these cameras and the Canon S1 on http://www.dpreview.com show that the Panas have better resolution than the S1 does.

[ReF]

for a while I also looked at the Canon S1 and the Panasonics. between the canon and the pana z3, it seems the pana has better picture quality (sharper lens with less CA) and better image stabilization system. The extra 2x zoom at the tele end is really hardly noticeable IMO.
With the canon, you are trading that in for a VERY useful flip out screen, the best movie mode on a digital cam (do you think you will be doing video clips much? keep in mind that the movie mode on this one is a much better quality than what you are probably used to on digi cams.) and a IMO a much better and cheaper battery system. It is also my opinion that the canon feels better in the hand - the location of the zoom controller on the pana is in an awkward position to me (too far back). though this is probably the least important thing to consider, just thought i'd mention it anyways.

if bulkiness is not a problem, the FZ15 doesn't have the vignetting problem that the Z3 does, has a sharper lens, and better resolution. though you probably won't notice the extra sharpness or extra resolution in slide shows or web photos.

[Mary]

I have an FZ3 and love it... What sold me is the fact that it takes super sharp pictures. It's just about perfect (for my needs). Yes, there are a few things I would change on it... but what mattered to me MOST was the END RESULT. I would much rather have a quality photo in the end from the FZ3 than an inferior photo from a camera that has more MP, bigger LCD or a sleeker, sexier design. Not that the FZ3 isn't user friendly or designed well... it's a great all around cam that most people can grow into. For beginners there's a very simple "point and shoot" mode and the camera does everything for you.

Have I mentioned it takes beautiful pics?