camera with extended zoom

[barbarians]

HI!

I am considering buying a digital camera (hobby). I am writing to you to ask for help with choosing the appropriate camera. I have cameras with extended zoom in my mind such as Pentax Optio MX4. However, this model was not praised in a homepage. Instead, Canon Powershot S1SI was recommended. My question: Is it worth buying Pentax Optio MX4? Or are there cameras with extended zoom which are more cost effective at this price (between £200-300) (for example : Fuji S5500, Olympus Camedia C765, Konica Minolta Dimage Z3)? Could you give me an opinion and recommendation?

Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,
Barbarians

[John_Reed]

HI!

I am considering buying a digital camera (hobby). I am writing to you to ask for help with choosing the appropriate camera. I have cameras with extended zoom in my mind such as Pentax Optio MX4. However, this model was not praised in a homepage. Instead, Canon Powershot S1SI was recommended. My question: Is it worth buying Pentax Optio MX4? Or are there cameras with extended zoom which are more cost effective at this price (between £200-300) (for example : Fuji S5500, Olympus Camedia C765, Konica Minolta Dimage Z3)? Could you give me an opinion and recommendation?

Thank you in advance.
Yours sincerely,
BarbariansYou must not know much about the Panasonic line of "extended zoom" cameras, which are very popular and well-proven, owned by many posters of these forums. The cheapest one is the DMC-FZ3, which has a 12X optically stabilized f2.8 lens, at 3 megapixels resolution. The models range up to the DMC-FZ20, at 5 megapixels, with extra features over the FZ3, like manual focus and a hot shoe for external flash. It's also larger than the diminutive FZ3. If you want to find out more, you can read reviews of the cameras on this site and elsewhere, and also you can browse the "Panasonic" board on this forum to get users' comments.