Help with decision

[JoeFig]

I am looking for a camera to take pictures outdoors while on horse back. My subjects will often be far away and moving (hounds horses and hopefully foxes). So I'm looking for a camera that can bring these distant subjects "closer" and that can give me pictures of these distant subjects that I can crop and enlarge. Unfortunately, sometimes the light will be dim-at dawn or on cloudy fall days and also in the woods. a camera that would respond well in dimmer light is a serious consideration. Delay is also a consideration, since my subjects may be moving fast or transitory.

The camera will be attached to my saddle so it will be moved around a lot so I will want it to be sturdy, and the smaller the better. I have enjoyed taking pictures on foot of moving wildlife with my canon eos digital rebel 300d with a 70-300 af lens, but it is too unwieldy for horse back.

My budget is 200-300 dollars although I might try to buy used. I have considered a very compact camera like the panasonic lumix dmc zs1, and also larger cameras like the fuji finepix s1500. at first the smaller panasonic appealed to me but now i am thinking the slightly larger type of camera like the fuji might be easier to hold on to on horseback and in the cold.

i am thinking about selling my canon digital rebel to buy the new camera. i would like to understand how to understand, in amateur terms, how a 12x digital zoom compares to my 70-300mm lens. will i lose a lot of my ability to get a close detailed picture of say a deer that is 100 yards away by giving up the 70-300mm zoom for the 12x? also-what is digital zoom? and is it a consideration? i'm also wondering what i will lose in picture quality between my camera and a new megazoom camera.

i would like to have just have one camera, but i have taken pictures i love over the years with my canon and if the new camera is going to be appreciably less able to produce detailed pictures of distant subjects i might try to keep the canon.

i know this is a long question but any help would be appreciated. I have no preconception and would consider any brand.

[David Metsky]

Unfortunately, full zoom in low light at a moving subject from horseback is very demanding. I don't think anything short of a DSLR with a fast lens is going to work here. Ultrazooms are going to strain in low light, compact ultrazooms will have a serious problem.

Don't look at the 12x or 20x, look at the 35mm equivalent focal range that goes with every camera review and all the listings on the Reviews and Info page. Something like the Panasonic ZS3 is 25-300mm. The Fuji you want to look at is the S200 EXR which will have better low light performance is 30-436mm. Keep in mind that on your Rebel your 70-300 lens has an effective focal range of 105-450mm.

[JoeFig]

Thanks. I realize what I'm asking for is a bit impossible. Unfortunately the s200 is out of my price range. Any other suggestions? Also-its lens is a little long-I need something a bit more compact.

[jekostas]

Thanks. I realize what I'm asking for is a bit impossible. Unfortunately the s200 is out of my price range. Any other suggestions? Also-its lens is a little long-I need something a bit more compact.

F70EXR is probably your best bet, but it's not terribly fast, and the lens is a 270MM equivalent at the long end, which is approximately 60% of your current zoom.

You're pretty well asking the impossible, though. My suggestion would be to get a holster style case and learn to live with your dSLR.

[JoeFig]

Thanks for the telling me to check the 35mm equivalent focal range. I looked at the specs of a Finepix 2100HD and saw both of these specs-1 and 2 below. Which is the 35 mm equivalent? is it 27.6-414mm, which would give me additional zoom over my current Canon?


1. Lens Focal Length: 5 - 75mm equivalent to 27.6 - 414mm on a 35mm camera

2. Focus Range: 5 - 75mm, F/3.5 - F/5.4

[KCook]

I'm skeptical that any compact would be good enough to crop under such conditions. If you want to try an alternative to your Canon Rebel, this ultrazoom is a possibility -

Fujifilm S200EXR (http://www.dcresource.com/news/newsitem.php?id=3961)

Kelly Cook

[jcon]

Try looking at a used Panasonic FZ-anything. I previously owned an FZ20 and it has quite a long reach and it has built in vibration reduction. It also has a wide aperture of F2.8 to help with low light situations. Keep in mind, that with any P&S, there are compromises, with the FZ series, its poor ISO performance.

The reason I suggest used is because you have a fairly smaller budget.

[JoeFig]

how concerned should i be about megapixels? if i am photographing objects far away , and using the fullest extent of the zoom, will 5 megapixels allow me to crop and enlarge pictures? Is there a huge difference in this capability between 5 and 10 megapixels?

Thanks

[jcon]

It depends how big of a print you want and also how much cropping you actually do.