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View Full Version : Another new camera thread!


Zonsa
08-26-2007, 07:40 AM
Budget:
$200-400. I am willing to pay for the right camera.

Size:
Compact

Features:

How many megapixels will suffice for you?
Not sure how important that is? IQ is more important.

* What optical zoom will you need?
Some zoom would be nice but like the feature of wide angle.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
Very important! 9-10

Do you care for manual controls?
Will probably use mostly auto functions, but want room to growth and some flexibility.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?
All-round, all purpose camera - travel, social situations etc. I would imagine the majority of the pictures will be taken during sunny days. Low-light shooting wouldn't be a high priority.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?
Yes occasionally, no more than 8x10 however.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Some, though I imagine most shots will be outdoors and sunny.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
No, not specifically but possible.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No.

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

I would prefer wide angle and IS to be features included, but in the end the criteria on the top of my list would be a compact camera that takes high quality shots.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

I am flexible. I have checked out several Canons and had the 710 IS and 570 IS recommended to me by friends. They seem to fit the bill for IQ but I really didn't care for their LCD displays(the size was fine, just the resolution) and in the case of the 570 IS the build quality seemed to be second rate IMO.(edit - perhaps it was just the camera I was looking at, I handled another and it didn't have the same problem)

A store clerk pointed me towards the Panasonic TZ3. I really liked it overall, the build quality, the LCD display, the wide and zoom etc. After reading a few reviews however I am concerned about the IQ of this camera and I don't know if the lack of any manual controls will end up being a sore spot.

Now I would like to hear from other more experienced photographers and their comments/recommendations. Perhaps I am asking too much?!?

Thanks for any and all help! :)

Zonsa
08-29-2007, 05:35 PM
Bump. Anybody?

sjseto
09-01-2007, 03:30 PM
There are a few new cameras that have yet to be released that sound promising. The Nikon Coolpix P5100 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=1104) is an update of the P5000, which seemed to be a good camera except for the sluggish performance. It's small but has a nice handgrip, has manual controls and even a hotshoe. The lens is equivalent to 35-123mm and there are conversion lenses available for additional wide angle and telephoto capability. Hopefully the P5100 will improve in the performance department.

The Canon PowerShot A650 IS (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=1083) has a lens with an equivalent range of 35-210mm and full manual controls. It also features a rotating LCD screen with improved resolution (173,000 pixels) over most of the A-series cameras.

The Fuji FinePIx F50fd (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraDetail.php?cam=1074) would be the smallest of the three and is more limited in manual controls, but still has aperture and shutter priority modes. The lens is a more standard 3x zoom, equivalent to 35-105mm. It is one of the first of the Fuji cameras to feature true image stabilization (although it is the CCD-shift, rather than the lens-based, kind), and Fuji's Super CCD which is known for producing remarkably clean images at high ISO's. Whether the jump to 12 megapixels is going to hurt the quality of the images relative to last year's F31/F30 remains to be seen.

Stephanie

Rooz
09-01-2007, 04:06 PM
Bump. Anybody?

i think the reason that you haven't received much feedback is becasue your general requirements can be satisfied by just about any compact on the market. sunny days, not much low light shooting, no need for long zoom, prints no bigger than 8x10. almost all modern day decent quality compacts will do that standing on their heads.

what this will come down to is your personal preference for look, feel, size etc. eg: i had the very same general requirements as you do with no special needs of a compact, so i bought the 850ixus purely based on size and convenience. i have printed an 8x10 from it and it was very good for a compact camera. i love it cos its small, light and you can fit it in your pocket.