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View Full Version : (Ultra-)Compact with good zoom and controls.


MauroV
08-29-2007, 07:31 PM
Budget

US$400

Size

Fits in jeans pocket.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

5MP or more.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

Standard or better. I love zooms.

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

9

Do you care for manual controls?

Not terribly important, as I don't know that much about photography, but it's nice to have some options, specially exposure control. I have a Canon S2 IS and it's nice to play with the controls, but the camera is just too big to carry around without looking like a tourist. (;
(I started to use "backward" smilies a long time ago and now they're like my trademark.)

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Just general touristy photos.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

No

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

Possibly

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Unlikely

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

Not really, but I prefer brands that use SD over other memory card types.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

The Panasonic DMC-TZ3 and the Nikon Coolpix S10 seem nice.

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

Image Stabilization

bascom
08-31-2007, 07:34 AM
Did you see the new Canon SX100 and Sony H3?

David Metsky
08-31-2007, 09:06 AM
I'd try them all (TZ3, SX100, H3) to see if they really fit in a jeans pocket. I think you may find them just a bit big for that. But each of those three meets your needs pretty well.

ghost
08-31-2007, 12:02 PM
I'm not sure how you feel about Kodak but the V610 might be what you need. 10X optical zoom and will fit in your pocket. If you dont need the zoom, there is the V705 which is a little cheaper with only 5X zoom.

here is the link

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=9/19/31&pq-locale=en_CA

MauroV
09-01-2007, 12:19 AM
Thanks for the suggestions.
Looks like I'll have to wait a little longer, because the SX100, while larger than the TZ3, is not that big and has everything else I wanted.