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mlucier
08-14-2008, 07:51 PM
Right now I have a Nikon D80 which I love, but I will be doing some extensive traveling. As much as I would love to take my SLR and change back and forth from my telephoto to my wide angle whenever I wish it just won’t be practical so I’m in the market for a smaller “do it all” camera. I realize that with this I may have to give up some of the options I’m accustomed to.

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. $350

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? Small but not miniscule

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? 7+

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify) 4x or 5x

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10) 8+

Do you care for manual controls? Yes, I would really love them but could learn to live without if necessary

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? Scenery, Architecture, Nature (wildlife= telephoto)

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? Hopefully a few but only a little larger than 8x10

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? Some inside cathedrals, churches, and night scenery

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? No

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? Non biased

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Canon PowerShot SD890, Lumix DMC TZ5 but open for other suggestions

raven15
08-14-2008, 11:53 PM
Canon A720, A650, and G9. Same 35-210mm reach on all of them. They should be at least modestly successful with wildlife and nature.

The A720 in particular is small enough to fit in almost any pocket. AA batteries are great for travel.

KCook
08-15-2008, 09:26 AM
If you don't need a superzoom, I would go with Canon SD870, Fuji F100fd, or Panasonic FX500. All of these have wideangle zooms, which will be a plus in those cathedrals.

Kelly Cook