please help me find a camera with these features

[teddemen]

i recently bought a panasonic LS75 and although i love it for many reasons, to my horror i discovered (after buying a expensive 150x SD card) that it does not record audio in movie mode!

so im returning it tomorrow

please help me find a similar camera; the following features are a must:

1. 30fps widescreen VGA (848x480) in movie mode with audio record!
2. image stabilization
3. decent iso so i can shoot in low light
4. AA batteries
5. compact
6. 6 megapixel (although this is the least important feature)
7. high zoom not necessary (3x ok)

price is hopefully around the $300-$400 mark, but im not afraid to spend more if all features are there

thanx!

[TheWengler]

The Fuji F40 might be good though it doesn't come that close to meeting all of your needs (I'm not sure anything does though). With the F40, you'll be missing IS, AA batteries and wide angle video. The F50 adds IS but from the sample pics posted on this site the ISO performance isn't as good. There should be a review coming soon. Are the features you listed in order of priority? A good chunk of the cameras that use AA batteries are made by Canon and those don't tend to excel in low light.

[David Metsky]

The Canon's are adequate in low light but not significantly worse then anything else except the Fujis with the SuperCCD. But all the Canons have 640x480 movie modes, not wide screen.

I don't think there's a single camera that meets your needs. You will have to drop either the AA or wide screen movie mode.

[JTL]

I think David's right about that.

The closest match would be the Canon A650 IS. It has all the features you are looking for except widescreen movies. It does capture widescreen stills. And, it meets your budget requirements. Also, the articulating LCD is great for shooting video or to get that hard-to-get shot.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...S_Digital.html

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...ModelDetailAct

http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/d...ershot+a650+is

The Canon A720 IS should be looked at as well.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...S_Digital.html

Or, you could get the Panasonic TZ3, LX2 or FX55, which have widescreen movie mode but use proprietary batteries.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

[teddemen]

appreciate everyones help, thanx.

yes, qvga (widescreen vga with sound) that is one of my main priorities.

id be willing to give up the batterries, as a matter of fact: my first 3 features are mostly important; everything else is a bonus

are there other options i can look at that meet the first three features? (qvga movie mode with sound, IS, and decent iso)

cheers

[JTL]

appreciate everyones help, thanx.

yes, qvga (widescreen vga with sound) that is one of my main priorities.

id be willing to give up the batterries, as a matter of fact: my first 3 features are mostly important; everything else is a bonus

are there other options i can look at that meet the first three features? (qvga movie mode with sound, IS, and decent iso)

cheers

Nope. The Panasonics I pointed you to have widescreen with sound and IS but perform horribly at high ISO. Amazingly, I don't think what you are looking for exists. Sad but true! Maybe next year...

[teddemen]

well after some digging around, i think ive found a camera with pretty much all the features:

panasonic DMC-LZ7K/S
http://panasonic.ca/english/audiovid...ill/DMCLZ7.asp

(including AA batteries, IS, decent iso, and qvga + audio rec)

[David Metsky]

panasonic DMC-LZ7K/S
(including AA batteries, IS, decent iso, and qvga + audio rec)

The high ISO performance only looks good on paper. In reality, it's pretty lousy.

[tim11]

I agree with David. Most cameras boast high ISO to 1600 on paper but do check if the quality at such ISO is acceptable to you. Image quality aren't the same camera to camera even on the same level ISO.

[JTL]

well after some digging around, i think ive found a camera with pretty much all the features:

panasonic DMC-LZ7K/S
http://panasonic.ca/english/audiovid...ill/DMCLZ7.asp

(including AA batteries, IS, decent iso, and qvga + audio rec)

The high ISO on that camera is indeed crappy (but that's true of most non-dslr cameras). But, it is the closest to what you've described and it is a fairly decent enough camera.