Olympus C-765, Fujifilm S5100, or Panasonic DMC-FZ4?

[Rhombuss]

Having a hard time deciding amongst these three. The bonus about the Lumix is that is has optical stabilization, which probably will give me a higher success rate of long-zoom photos over the other two.

But as of right now, I can get them for:
Olympus C-765 --> $425 CDN, then add extra battery ($25) and 256MB xD ($49) = $499
Fujifilm S5100 --> $454 CDN, 8xNiMH AA's ($25) and 256MB xD ($49) = $528
Panasonic DMC-FZ4 ---> $530 CDN, extra battery ($15) and 256MD SD ($30) = $575

The bonus about the Olympus is that there are a ton of really inexpensive lens/filter accessory kits on Ebay for around $100 CDN (includes wideangle/telephoto lenses, and UV/polarization/FL filters with some other minor extras). Bonus about the Fujifilm is that it uses standard AA's, and looks probably the most rugged of the three. Money is definitely an issue, but if the extra cash of the Lumix for the optical stabilization is worth it, then I would most likely go that route.

Is it really difficult to take 10X optically zoomed images with normal shutter speeds? From my understanding, at 10X optical zooms, you generally need more exposure since the flash isn't going to be of any use.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Geoff Chandler]

Image Stabilisation is really usefull but not infallable - it's a help if you like and it stretches the limit to how slow a shutter speed you can get away with before you get a blur effect. A usefull guage is at the equivalent 35mm focal length - the slowest shutter speed will be the same number - ie at 50mm (standard lens) 1/50th sec is the slowest safe shutter speed ( depends how steady you are) so once you get up to 200mm and above the image stabilisation is very handy.
I will resist advising you which camera to go for - they are all pretty good.

[Rhombuss]

Yeah...I would imagine any focal length in excess of 200mm would be hard to keep steady holding in your hand. And for a normal 35mm wide zoom camera, 200mm would be a little under 6X optical zoom. For a full 10X or 12X optical zoom, the focal length is around 350mm to 420mm. so with a shutter speed of 1/400, the subject would have to be very well lit. If doing nature shots at great distances, maybe even during the evening to early nighttime, getting steady 10X shots at 1/400 shutter seems pretty impossible without a tripod.

Generally, I think the IS would be beneficial both because I could take long telephoto shots with more ease and more exposure. Secondly, if I'm indoors with low lighting, I can increase the exposure again with lower shutter and still get clear images. Kind of leaning towards the Panasonic. My only gripe with it so far is the body material, from what I understand it's all plastic. Most reviews say it's very durable and sturdy plastic, any confirmations here?

[Geoff Chandler]

Panasonic does have a good following !
Having said all the above - I have managed great photos on my C-740 (38 - 380) in low light situations - but I do prop myself solidly and use higher ASA settings - say at evening concerts - nowadays I might well use the Minolta as it has it's own version of Anti-shake.
Incidentally - anti- shake is only a help - not a cure! On mine I would guage it gives me about 4 times the flexability - ie for the 50mm/50th sec (60th) comparison - it would be safe for 1/30th and probably 1/15th. However in my case I have achieved 1/15th without Antishake - I found that once it gets close to half a second and slower I need to steady myself on something - but that's just me.

[Rhombuss]

Cool, that gives me more confidence in considering the Olympus C-765. I'm going to visit my local Henry's and check out the cameras, maybe fiddling with the Image Stabilization will help me decide on it's benefits and if it's worth the extra cash.

[Rhombuss]

Just came back from the store, I think I'm going to go for the Panasonic. I could tell just from going max telephoto with all three cameras that the stabilization in the Panasonic really makes a difference. With the Olympus and Fujifilm the LCD was showing very jerky motion, and the images weren't always 100% clear. The Panasonic's LCD motion was very smooth, and images always crisp. Albeit the place was well lit and didn't have any exposure problems, but just from seeing how the stabilizer smooths motion at high telephoto pretty much convinced me to go with the Panasonic.

The Olympus had the nicest LCD screen, not so nice EVF. Fujifilm had the worst LCD of the three, but best in-your-hand fit imo. Panasonic had a decent LCD and the best EVF of the three, the plastic did indeed feel solid, so less concern about the build quality.