Help me decide; options include Olympus SP550, Kodak Z812, DMC FZ 8, Canon S5, DSC-H9

[MichaelK]

Hello,
I'm currently running a DMC LZ5, which is working like a charm and I really like the picture output. However there are a couple of things bothering me with this camera, and that's why I'm looking for a replacement/additional camera.
This includes
- no optical viewfinder (and LCD's in bright sunshine......... last time seen on a boat. I just pointed the camera in a direction and hoped the best)
- no ability to use the zoom while recording a movie.

With the first being most important. I could live without the additional movie feature...
And of course I want to get a better camera, so it should have at least 6MP and at least 6x zoom - more would not hurt.
I've looked through a couple of reviews and would like to have you help me decide which one to pick.

Budget
max. 500. If it's less, it's only better.

Size
Full size, propably ultra zoom.

Features
6MP+

* What optical zoom will you need?
min. 6x. why not 10x-18x :D

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)
9++++. Very import for me. I can handle a bad menue, badly placed buttons or missing gimmicks, but not bad quality pictures (bad because the camera, not user error)

Do you care for manual controls?
Would not hurt. There are situations where the automatic just can't deal with.

General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for?

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

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?
Indoor photos too, but propably more outdoors.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?
Yes, this too.

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?
No.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?
Well, I looked at reviews and took this into closer consideration, but if there is something better out there, I hope you still mention it:
Olympus SP550, Kodak Z812, DMC FZ 8, Canon S5, DSC-H9

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)
Wide Angle would be nice, but no must. It should have Image Stabilization

Thanks for your help.

Michael

[kathkenn]

Hi, Michael. You asked the same question as I have. I love my little Panasonic but the lack of a viewfinder is making me crazy. I've been searching on the web for reviews of other options, and find myself more confused than ever.

Hopefully, the responses to your posts will help me out too. Would love to know what you finally decide.
Kathy

[TheWengler]

I would go with the S3 over the S5. The S3 is almost half the price and meets all of your requirements. The S5 has 2 more MP, a bigger LCD, a hot shoe and higher ISO options (not that it's usable). If you don't need this stuff then there's no point in getting this camera. For the money you'd spend on the S5 you could get a DSLR (but probably not with the reach you want). The Nikon D40, Pentax K100D, Olympus EVOLT E-500 and Canon XT are all cameras that will cost you around the same price. Of those the Pentax is the only one with stabilization in the body. Then Nikon and Canon require you to buy a stabilized lens.

[bascom]

The S3 is almost half the price and meets all of your requirements. The S5 has 2 more MP, a bigger LCD, a hot shoe and higher ISO options (not that it's usable).
What are the $ figures you think the S3 and S5 sell for? As of Monday the S5 was $400 or less at most places and only $355 at circuit city. But the S3 is hard to find anywhere and where it is for sale I think it's $300-$350. Thus, I consider the S5 a better value. Plus it has red-eye fix.

MichaelK, what do you think of Fuji S6000 and S8000? Two more to consider.

[MichaelK]

The S3 is $270, the S5 is $350.
Wouldn't you say that the additional features of the S5 is worth this?
* 8 Megapixel CCD (versus 6MP on the S3)
* Large LCD display (2.5" vs 2.0")
* In-camera redeye reduction
* Face detection AF
Or has it more downsides?

What about the others in my list? Anything (image-quality-wise) better in there?
The Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS looks neat, too. However there is no experience at all as it is brand new...

[MichaelK]

@bascom:
I don't know a lot about the Fuji's.
I did not find a longer review of the 8000.
The 6000fd that is tested here looks neat.
What about the downsides mentioned in the review:
# No image stabilization
# Unimpressive continuous shooting mode
# Electronic viewfinder resolution could be better

I'm especially worried about the not existing stabilization. How bad does that turn out? I've had the optical stabilization in the DMC-LZ5 and it turned out the be pretty useful.

What's the difference between the 6000 and 8000??

Thanks

[TheWengler]

My mistake, I thought it was $500. Did you read the S5 review on this site?

[MichaelK]

Yeah. I have read the review for the S5 and it sounded pretty good.

I think I would limit my decision now between:
Fuji FinePix S8000fd
Canon PowerShot S5 IS
Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS

They all should support AA batteries if I saw this correctly.
Which one of these would you pick?
Which one would have the best picture quality and/or is the best allrounder of these?

Thanks.

[David Metsky]

The S3 is $270, the S5 is $350.
Wouldn't you say that the additional features of the S5 is worth this?
* 8 Megapixel CCD (versus 6MP on the S3) Unless you are making big prints this isn't as big a deal as you would think
* Large LCD display (2.5" vs 2.0") This is a nice improvement
* In-camera redeye reduction Nice, but I can do this on a computer pretty quickly
* Face detection AF Not sure this matters much
Or has it more downsides?
You missed the biggest improvement, IMO - Hot Shoe. If you want to shoot in low light an external flash is a huge improvement.

The S3/S5 is a great outdoors camera, not so great in low light. I use mine outdoors most of the time so it's not a big issue, and use flash a lot indoors.

While IS is a nice feature, the Fuji has the best high ISO performance of the group by far. It will allow you shoot at a faster shutter speed eliminating a lot of the need for IS. If your subject is moving this will be better then using IS. Having both IS and good high ISO performance is best, but if you're going to be in low light having the latter is more important.

[tim11]

Between S3 & S5, personally I think the hotshoe alone on the S5 is worth all the difference. TTL flash at that. That external flash means image quality when you can master the techniques, especially bounce flash.
Focusing Canon S# can be tricky sometimes especially when light is not ideal.

David points out the pros and cons of S6000fd, the camera I recommend to people many times over. As for S8000fd, I doubt if it can deliver the same image quality as S6000fd since it has standard CCD; not SuperCCD used in S6000fd.

[pas49ras]

Fuji's are such a tease...put IS and SD card memory on the S6000fd and it would be the best ultra zoom out there. Now they put the SD memory and IS on the S8000fd and take away the Super CCD and the RAW shooting mode.

[tim11]

pas49ras: Maybe 'the work' will come in the form of S9##0.

[BigCTM]

I would choose the Z812 for the following reasons:

1. It takes the best low light pictures of any superzoom I have ever used, except possibly the Fuji S6000. Forget the H2, S3IS, the S5IS, FZ8. The Z812is better in low light than any of them.

2. The Z812 has the best electronic viewfinder of any superzoom on the market. The EVF on the Z812 is awesome and definitely great for those that want to use a viewfinder.

3. The high resolution LCD at 230,000 pixels looks great. Many superzooms are going away from the high res LCDs.

4. With the dock, the HD video capability is a great feature. I am sure there will be issues with this since it's new.

5. The smart scene mode is impressive. The auto mode on many superzooms (eg. Fuji S6000) flat out suck but not the one on the Z812.