help needed

[telemonster]

hi,
i'm a total newbie, and i need some advice.
i am soon to receive some long service vouchers for 20 years at the same organisation, and i've decided to get myself a nice digital camera.
the vouchers mean i'm tied to one store, but i've managed to get a shortlist of possible cameras together.
my limit is around £300 sterling.
i previously had point and shoot types including canon sure shot (35mm) and an olympus c-450 4mp. i've had some great results with both cameras (even though i don't know what i'm doing-i just point at stuff and shoot!).

i mainly take 'postcard' type views on family holidays and days out, but i'd like a good all rounder that will enable me to take outside distance shots and indoor club gig shots in dodgy light conditions, too as well as relatively close up party type shots. i'll mainly be viewing photos on my mac, and will only want to print up the very occasional 10x8 to hang on the wall.
i intend to read up on the candidates, but any bite size nuggets of expert opinion would be very much appreciated.

here is my shortlist:
Olympus E-410,
SP560 UZ.

Canon Ixus 960 IS,
Powershot G9,
Powershot A650 IS.

Panasonic DMC FZ8,
DMC TZ5,

Sony Cybershot H7,
H3.

Fujifilm Finepix S8000 FD


thanks,
paul

[AndyfromVA]

You have quite a range of cameras in your list, from a slim subcompact to a DSLR and large SLR-like ultrazoom cameras that require a shoulder or neck strap.

The Olympus E-410 is a DSLR and will give you the best picture quality of the group. It is the most expensive camera of the bunch and will require the purchase of separate lenses.

The Olympus SP560UZ and Fuji 8000fd are 18x ultrazooms. They are very similar and about equal in quality. The Panasonic FZ8 and Sony H7 are good ultrazooms (12x and 15x respectively) but don't give you as much versatility as the Olympus and Fuji 18x cameras.

The Sony H3 and Panasonic TZ5 are smaller ultrazooms (10x) that will fit in a large pocket. They are very good cameras with the Panasonic probably the better buy.

The Canon G9 and A650IS are similar compact cameras (6x optical zoom), though the G9 probably has better build quality. They have a manual control option, take excellent pictures and will fit into a large pocket.

The Canon ixus 960 is an excellent subcompact camera that will easily fit into a pocket.

The bottom line is that all are good.
The Olympus DSLR gives you the best picture.
The Olympus and Fuji Ultrazooms give you the most optical zoom.
The Panasonic TZ5 is probably the better smaller ultrazoom.
The G9 is the better of the 2 Canons but not by much.
The Ixus 960 is an excellent small camera.

[TheWengler]

What E-410 kit are you looking at? Body only, one lens or two lens?

[raven15]

Yes, there are at least a half dozen cameras in that list that I would be positively happy to own, and each one for a different reason. For my needs, I ordered one of them within the past day. For you...

I think size is the main issue, since they all seem reasonably close in price. What size camera are you willing to carry? That seems like the most important factor to me. There is a huge difference in size and weight between an E-410 with a telephoto lens and a small Canon sub-compact (or whatever they're called). For performance alone, it would be hard to beat the E-410 with two kit lenses.

[KCook]

I agree with raven15, size may be the first concern. The SLR types will be more effective for telephoto use. Which is typically sports and wildlife. But the Canons, Panasonic TZ5, and Sony H3 are compacts (OK sorta compact in the H3 case). Their thin cases and light weight will make them easier to live with when traveling. Also less intrusive in a "club" scene. The Olympus SP560 is the smaller of the SLR types, so it might be considered a bit compromise between the two types.

Nice choices!
Kelly Cook

[telemonster]

hello everyone,

thank you all for taking the time to reply to my post. the e-410 just comes with one lens. after further thought, i've decided the extra expense of getting extra lens(es) and the hassle of carrying all that stuff and fiddling about changing lenses might be too much. the basic one lens kit was right at the top of my budget, anyhow...

so i'll be taking a closer look at the other contenders.

someone said there were half a dozen that they would be happy to own-which, if any, really ought to be avoided?

any further thought are most welcome!

thanks again,
paul

[KCook]

I really don't think any of those cameras are so lame that they should be stricken from the list. Picking cameras is big fun, each of us will have different favorites. My short list would go like this -

Olympus SP560 UZ - Lots of zoom, plus the "pro" RAW image format

Canon Powershot G9 - Closest you can hope to come to the old Leica rangefinder type, super classy

Panasonic DMC TZ5 - Compact without being silly small, performance a cut above most

Sony H3 - Nice automation, strong macro ability, includes adapter tube for 58mm filters

Lots of flavors here. Get out to the stores and check out how comfortable you are with these cameras' controls.

Kelly

[raven15]

Well, I would personally consider:

Ixus 960 IS
Powershot G9
E-410
SP560 UZ
DMC TZ5
S8000 FD

Not in any order.

I prefer the G9 over the A650 simply because I'm a sucker for build quality. But look at it first, there are lots of dails and buttons.

It should be pretty easy to say either "yes" or "no" to the Ixus 960 IS and E-410 because they are at the extremes; if you want one, all the other cameras are really not a consideration.

The remaining four are much harder to choose from:
Powershot G9 - best picture quality
SP560 UZ - best zoom range (similar)
DMC TZ5 - smallest
S8000 FD - best zoom range (similar)

[telemonster]

hi folks,

my list of around 10 ended up being cut down to a list of 5 that i could actually pick up from the store that the vouchers came from. because i had the vouchers i had to redeem them at the store rather than have it delivered, which would've given me a choice of 10.

anyhoo, i ended up with the canon g9, which was up at the top of my list, thankfully, and i'm very happy with it so far. not had the chance to really see what i can do with it, but i've taken shots around the house and taken it on a couple of days out, and i'm really happy with the results i've had. i'm sure that it'll really come into it's own on our next family holiday in scotland, in just over a month's time!

thanks everyone who replied to my post in a friendly, helpful way!
it's very much appreciated.

paul