Help!

[peerue]

I'm in the market for a new digital camera....I like to take scenic photos, close-ups and action shots. I also tend to do 8x10's a lot. I currently have a Nikon Coolpix 2100 :( and it's not producing what I want. I am looking to spend around $400-600.00. Any ideas? For what I want, is optical zoom or the megapixels more important, or both? Thanks so much!

[John_Reed]

I'm in the market for a new digital camera....I like to take scenic photos, close-ups and action shots. I also tend to do 8x10's a lot. I currently have a Nikon Coolpix 2100 :( and it's not producing what I want. I am looking to spend around $400-600.00. Any ideas? For what I want, is optical zoom or the megapixels more important, or both? Thanks so much!...Has everything you need for image resolution, optical zoom, no compromise at all, and smack dab in the middle of your price range. Who could ask for anything more?

[peerue]

Thanks for your help! The more I read, the more I see that the Panasonic is the way to go. Can I ask you....if I want to take a close-up picture and print it as an 8x10, should I make sure that my image quality on the camera is set at high and my compression is low???

[John_Reed]

Thanks for your help! The more I read, the more I see that the Panasonic is the way to go. Can I ask you....if I want to take a close-up picture and print it as an 8x10, should I make sure that my image quality on the camera is set at high and my compression is low???Well, the FZ20 has an abundance of pixels for an 8X10, so almost any setting will work. Shoot at the "2560X1920" image size to capture all the pixels available, and choose "fine" compression, though you might not really notice the minor differences between that and "standard" compression. With the Leica lens of the FZ20, incidentally, the same principle applies for any focal length, since you should get sharp exposures across the range.

[peerue]

:) :) Thanks so much for all your help! Wish me luck!!! :)

[D70FAN]

:) :) Thanks so much for all your help! Wish me luck!!! :)

With the FZ20 you don't need luck. It's built in. ;)