Looking for decent ultrazoom

[Saad]

Hello.
I have owned a Sony cybershot P200 (7.2 pixel) for over 1 year. This little cam is wonderful with some manual controls. Only problem is poor low light performance. Pictures are grainy, underexposed (not always) ,not properlt lit and shaked.

I want to upgrade to a midsize cam. NO DSLR plz. some sort of image stabilization is must and my budget is around £300 ($600). Ultrazooms will do as their size is just about right. 50% of my pics are social events, low light/abnormal light indoor areas.

Want a cam that can perform well in low light conditions as I think every cam can take decent pics in good day light. I liked Fuji's but never thought of buying one as they dont have image stabilization I gather.

Please Help.

[David Metsky]

If you want an ultrazoom that performs very well in low light, the Fuji S6000 is really the best choice, even without IS. It will get the shots that the other ultrazooms simply cannot get. You'll have to learn a bit how to keep your camera steady by bracing against things and using the EVF, but the high ISO capability of the Fujis can't be beat.

[AlexMonro]

I'd echo David's suggestion of the Fuji S6000. Remember that while IS can be very helpful when you're photographing a static scene, if your subject is moving, you'll need a fast shutter speed to avoid motion blur, and the Fuji can alow you at least 2 stops faster shutter speed than most other ultrazooms, nearly as much help as IS, which typically gives you 2-3 stops.

There are a lot of easy techniques for avoiding camera shake - using the EVF rather than the rear LCD, bracing your elbows against your chest, leaning against any convenient furniture, walls, trees etc can all help. I frequently manage shake free shots at the 300mm tele zoom limit of my S9500 at 1/150 - 1/200s, which isn't fast enough to freeze a magpie's wings! :)