skura
05-09-2009, 01:06 PM
This is my first post. Here are my answers to the set of questions:
Budget—up to about $300
Size—the smaller the better; I need to be taking “candid” shots all the time, and try always to carry the camera
How many megapixels –6/7 and up
* What optical zoom—10x at least
* How important is “image quality” –6/7
Do you care for manual controls—theoretically yes, but this is the least important
* What will you generally use the camera for—lots of pictures of people doing ordinary things, preferably not aware of my taking the pictures; I use these as beginnings for my own paintings. But the camera does double-duty as a family camera too, for vacations, events, etc.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos—yes but they do NOT need to be very good
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos--some
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos--yes, action
Are there particular brands you like or hate?--no
Are there particular models you already have in mind?--I’ve looked at Sony HZ15W, which sounds good to me, though it’s new and I haven’t found that many reviews. I’ve also looked at Panasonic DMC-TZ3 (and 4 and 5). But I don’t know nearly enough to compare or judge.
Do you need any of the following special features?-- Reliable Image Stabilization is an absolute necessity (on my current DMC-FX8 the image stabilization doesn’t work even with the puny 3x zoom), and I intend to be using the high end of the zoom possibilities often.
Thanks!
Budget—up to about $300
Size—the smaller the better; I need to be taking “candid” shots all the time, and try always to carry the camera
How many megapixels –6/7 and up
* What optical zoom—10x at least
* How important is “image quality” –6/7
Do you care for manual controls—theoretically yes, but this is the least important
* What will you generally use the camera for—lots of pictures of people doing ordinary things, preferably not aware of my taking the pictures; I use these as beginnings for my own paintings. But the camera does double-duty as a family camera too, for vacations, events, etc.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos—yes but they do NOT need to be very good
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos--some
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos--yes, action
Are there particular brands you like or hate?--no
Are there particular models you already have in mind?--I’ve looked at Sony HZ15W, which sounds good to me, though it’s new and I haven’t found that many reviews. I’ve also looked at Panasonic DMC-TZ3 (and 4 and 5). But I don’t know nearly enough to compare or judge.
Do you need any of the following special features?-- Reliable Image Stabilization is an absolute necessity (on my current DMC-FX8 the image stabilization doesn’t work even with the puny 3x zoom), and I intend to be using the high end of the zoom possibilities often.
Thanks!