megazoom p+s

[thelawnet]

i need a new megazoom p+s. I was looking at the zs1, but don't like the sound of the bad flash.

any recommendations? nothing too chunky please (i.e. not an slr-alike)

[thelawnet]

I like the Sony H20 in the store - it has a great pop-up flash and 10x zoom, reasonable size, but the Memorystick usage and 38mm lens are both problematic.

[Beowulff]

Personally, I'd be favouring the lens specs over the flash specs (which are all suss anyway) on any/all P&Ss. IMHO 38mm just ain't "wide" enough these days — although I'd qualify that by saying if your main interests lie in scenic outdoor stuff and landscapes, rather than indoor stuff or group shots or real estate, then 38mm is possibly okay.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "bad" flash on the Panasonic. 5.5m is pretty average, and bear in mind that a lot of manufacturers quote an auto ISO with their flash range — which can be very unrepresentative in the real world.

I'd go with the Panasonic.

Cheers. :)

[Phill D]

You need to go to the reviews & info section on this site & filter it for 10x zoom. That will give you the full list of options. From there choose your features. For me I'd also go with the Panny ZS3, I don't have one but I've always been very happy with my Panasonic cameras. If you must have manual controls then go for the Canon SX200IS (read Jeff's review of this & the ZS3) or the Fuji F70EXR. I must say that the Fuji looks very interesting on paper but Jeff hasn't reviewed it yet but it's on his list if you're not in a hurry. If you are really interested in the flash performance then I'd suggest you get a slave flash unit to use with whatever P&S you get. Sarah Joyce showed they can be very beneficial.

[speaklightly]

thelawnet-

You see, I do own a Panasonic ZS1, and like Phil, I purchased the ZS1 for a holiday with confidence, as I had always had excellent cameras from Panasonic. But I had a REAL lesson to learn when I began to use the ZS1/ZS3 indoors. The camera's built-in flash is physically small and substantially under powered.

I was fortunate. I already owned a slave flash. So adding the slave flash when shooting indoors was not a problem for me at all. However, I just wanted folks to know that the slave flash represents an additional cash outlay, and it is also something extra to carry with you.

The Canon SX-200 is an alternative choice, but please be sure to read Jeff's review of the SX-200. The SX-200's built-in flash pops up every time the camera is powered up. Some folks find that rather annoying.

BTW a superzoom is a camera like the Canon SX-10/SX-20 (20X optical zoom), the Nikon P-90 (24X optical zoom), or the Olympus SP-590 (26X optical zoom). Cameras like the ZS1/ZS3 are called "compact zooms."

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce