<$300 Zoom/Zoom Capable (conversion) in low light?

[Colonel K]

I've spent the last 3 days, spending countless hours pouring over innumberable reviews. Everytime I think I've found the camera I want, it lacks a "key" feature (e.g. great image quality, great zoom, image stabilization, but poor low light capability! ). The problem is, since I'm completely new to the digital camera thing, I don't really know what I really need. Hopefully, you can help me.

The key thing I have in mind is to be able to take a photo of my children on stage from 50 - 100 feet away. Needless to say, it will be in less than ideal lighting conditions (relatively dark), and I want to be able to zoom in. I will be using the camera for MUCH more than this (lots of indoors "birthday" and normal "candid" shots), but I definitely want the capability above.

__________________________________________________ ______________

Budget

Less than $300.

Size

Canon A610 size would be nice. I hate the supercompact size! I would not be opposed to the Canon S1 size.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? I am unsure of this, though it seems the minimum would be 5MP.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

It seems I need at least 6x. One important caveat I have is I am willing to forgo built in zoom capability if the camera is excellent in all other regards and has expansion lens capability.

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

10! Ok, maybe 9.

Do you care for manual controls?

From my reading, it seems manual control is something of which I should have the option . . . at least to some extent.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Lots of indoor candid moments. The "kids on stage" moments. Definitely some outdoor stuff. I will want to experiment with "macros".

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

8x10 photos max, although infrequently. Excellent 5x7 capability is a must. LOTs of standard size photos.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

YES!

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Some.


Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I have no particular brand preference.


Are there particular models you already have in mind?

Too many to mention! I don't know.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

It seems I should have the following capabilities on my camera: Image Stabilization, AF Assist Lamp, a display that "gains up" in low light situations, and conversion lens support (but only if no built in high zoom!).

Some "would be nice" things: b&w filter, sepia filter, manual white balance control, instant delete, AA standard battery size, lower cost memory support, sharpness and saturation control, other manual controls (??).

Thank you very much for your help.

[ktixx]

The only problem I can see is that you want a lot of expensive features and you expect supurb image quality for under $300.00, that may be a little tough and you may have to either increase your budget or decrease your expectations. Here is something close: Fuji Finepix S5200 ($334)
Ken

[Balrog]

I second the Fuji S5200 recommendation. It's not stabilized, but it has ISO1600 which is actually better for low-light shots; it's got a 10x optical zoom lens;it uses AA batteries; and it has full manual controls.
I don't think there's anything that would come closer to your specifications.

[Colonel K]

Originally Posted by ktixx

The only problem I can see is that you want a lot of expensive features and you expect supurb image quality for under $300.00, that may be a little tough and you may have to either increase your budget or decrease your expectations.
Ken

I was beginning to think the same thing, but it just seemed extremely odd to me there were plenty of $225 - $275 cameras that have all but one particular feature. How much could that one extra thing cost to add (stabilization or AF assist)? That just seemed really, really strange to me that you should have to go from a $250 camera to a $400 camera to get one more feature.

But, thank you VERY much for the recommendation!

[Colonel K]

One of the options I mentioned in the OP was to get a camera that met the requirements (more or less) but did not come with ultra-zoom but was capable of it (through a conversion lens).

Well, that's the route I decided to go. For cost purposes, I decided to go with the Canon A610 with the ability to get a zoom lens at a later date.

Do you think I'll be happy with this choice?

[TampaJim]

NO. Your major requirement screams FUJI or dSLR only - low light conditions. I am a Canon lover - I have two Canon digitals, one Canon SLR, one Canon high res color printer, etc. Given all that, I wouldn't recommend ANY Canon P&S camera - a dSLR, yes - but not anything else. On the P&S side, the only thing close is the FUJI series of camera. Sorry, but that is the hard, cold truth.

[mike62]

Originally Posted by Balrog

I second the Fuji S5200 recommendation. It's not stabilized, but it has ISO1600 which is actually better for low-light shots; it's got a 10x optical zoom lens;it uses AA batteries; and it has full manual controls.
I don't think there's anything that would come closer to your specifications.

Guys, I was looking for something similar and was refered on here to the S5200 or the S9000. The 5200 has a shutter speed of 1/2000 as opposed to the 9000's 1/4000 is that something really major for your average casual photographer? Won't a shutter speed up to 1/2000 catch sports, races, etc?

Just to note while these cameras don't have IS they have something to offer in what Fuji calls "anti-blur" I think it was.

[Colonel K]

Originally Posted by TampaJim

NO. Your major requirement screams FUJI or dSLR only - low light conditions. I am a Canon lover - I have two Canon digitals, one Canon SLR, one Canon high res color printer, etc. Given all that, I wouldn't recommend ANY Canon P&S camera - a dSLR, yes - but not anything else. On the P&S side, the only thing close is the FUJI series of camera. Sorry, but that is the hard, cold truth.

That's odd because all the reviews I read complemented the Canon for its low light performance. Is this proving to be incorrect in "real life"?

[Jason25]

Originally Posted by mike62

Guys, I was looking for something similar and was refered on here to the S5200 or the S9000. The 5200 has a shutter speed of 1/2000 as opposed to the 9000's 1/4000 is that something really major for your average casual photographer? Won't a shutter speed up to 1/2000 catch sports, races, etc?

Just to note while these cameras don't have IS they have something to offer in what Fuji calls "anti-blur" I think it was.

For casual use, 1/2000 is plenty of speed. Don't worry about that 1/500 will freeze most action.