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[mikejulius102]

Konica Minolta A2 or the oly 8080 which one should i buy help help help

[D70FAN]

You might want to throw the Canon 300D (Digital Rebel) and the Nikon D70 into that mix. You will get a whole lot more camera, and a lot less noise, for your money.

The lug factor is about the same.

[mikejulius102]

Thanks for the reply I already have the canon eos 10d but looking for an all in one so i dont have to lug alll my gear Tossed up about the a2 or 8080 any experience with either

[D70FAN]

If you are used to shooting with the 10D then the 8MP cameras may be somewhat of a disappointment. I would suggest trying the Oly C5060WZ instead of the C8080, just from a cost/performance point-of-view. I have never used the A2, so cannot speak as to its operation or picture quality. I'll have to put it on my list.

So far the majority of feedback is that the 8MP 2/3" sensor is a little noisy. But with programs like Noise Ninja around it seems to be a mute point.

Still, for $1000 I would expect the 8MP cameras to be twice as good as the 5MP genre. I guess if you really need 8MP then go with your gut.

Since I'm not sure how compact you want to go I can only use your examples for size.

As always, actually handle the cameras you are considering, and run them through their paces a little, before buying.

[Jake Conner]

I'd go with the A2, for stabilizaton and low noise for an 8MP, if I heard that Minolta had fixed the focus problems that some early units had... Imaging Resource just posted a review of it and didn't have those problems, so maybe they're gone.

Jake

[D70FAN]

There you have it. I don't quite get the reasoning, but so be it.

Sorry, I thought you were looking for a smaller and lighter solution. Hence the C5060WZ suggestion.

As a final note:

Since the "lug" factor does not seem to be a big deal, you might also want to look at the Panasonic FZ series (3/10/15/20). The FZ10 is the current model with the rest being introduced late summer. 3-5MP, Image Stabilized 12X zoom at f2.8 (all the way to 12X). Pricing from $399 to $699.

I'm seriously looking at the FZ3 as just a fun take-along when I feel that my D70 might get damaged.

Best of luck on your decision.