I'm buying my first digital camera - looking for advice on make & model

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Robert - 28 Aug 2005 07:21 GMT

Hello everyone.

I am in the market for my first digital camera. I would very much appreciate
some advice on what is a good make and model. I am not looking for anything
cheap, nor something over the top. Today at my local electronics store, the
salesman showed my this camera: The Panasonic DMC-FZ5K-S seen here
http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/camerascamcorders/digitalstill/dmcfz5
sk.asp. I
almost bought it on the spot but then thought it might be a good idea to
check some reviews and get user opinion. My research came up with mixed
results. And quite a few of the raving reviews were clearly written by the
Panasonic marketing people... it was really sad and quite obvious. So I'm
here to get some opinions on what camera is good overall for performance and
price. My budget is about $700 CDN (to you US folks that's about $525 USD) I
really don't know too much about digital camera technologies or features,
but I plan to learn. I'm looking for something GOOD in that price range.
Here are my minimum specs:

10-12x optical zoom
5 megapixels
Motion video - decent quality
Built in flash
High quality LCD screen

The Panasonic noted above can only do 320x240 movies ... and many reviews
said the quality was bad. Yes I know, you don't buy a digital camera to
shoot movies ... but I'd still like it to be as good as possible. I have a
high resolution printer so alot of my shots will be at the higher image size
settings. Here are some things that I have been told to watch out for in
digital cameras (I don't know anything about these):

Picture "noise" when shooting high resolution images?
"Barrel" effect or something ... something to do with poor quality lenses?
Bad picture quality when shooting indoors ... either from bad flash or
unsteady operation
No autofocus or bad autofocus
Difficult to operate menus

Again, I don't know too much above the issues above, that's why I'm here ...
to find a model that has "minimal" effects of the above or none at all.

Please, I encourage as many people as possible to voice their opinion on
great cameras and if you like, your experiences with them. Not asking for an
essay or anything, even just a make and model and nothing else will be
valuable. Thanx much to everyone.

Robert

P.S. If there is a non SLR camera out there that is beyond my budget but you
really believe in it, I would be open to knowing about them too. If worth it
I would increase my budget ... just bear in mind im an amateur photographer.

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Bruce Coryell - 28 Aug 2005 08:31 GMT

I think the Fuji S7000 has pretty much what you're looking for, also the
Canon S2 IS (these are similar models, with (Canon) and without (Fuji)
image stabilization, which I've seen very mixed reviews about). Both
of these would be close to your budget (mine was even lower than yours,
I use a Fuji S5100 myself, very happy with it).

> Hello everyone.
>
[quoted text clipped - 46 lines]
> really believe in it, I would be open to knowing about them too. If worth it
> I would increase my budget ... just bear in mind im an amateur photographer.

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Kitt - 28 Aug 2005 16:59 GMT

I'll second the recommendation of the S2. We have the S1 and love it.
The S2 is supposed to fix the few shortcomings of the S1. More zoom,
faster, better low light shooting, better macro and more pixels, while
retaining IS which has worked very well for us. The big selling points
for me would be the SD card and "AA" batteries.

Kitt

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gr - 28 Aug 2005 20:36 GMT

I have a similar model (DMC-FZ10) which I like very much. The main thing
I want to say is that with the 10:1 and more super zooms the image
stabilization is a must. All my future cameras, fixed and motion will
have this feature; it forgives a lot of things.
Menuing is mostly what you are used to. Previous I had Olympus and
thought that was easier to use, but the Lumix menu is ok.
gr

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Camera Prices - Helper - 29 Aug 2005 04:51 GMT

Hello Robert,

I have read your message and did a search on my site to narrow down
some cameras for you. Here is the link:
http://www.camera-prices.com/USA/digital-cameras-c-8.html?nav=tc&page=1&attribut
es=without_interchangeable_lens-price_range_380_750-optical_zoom__search__at_lea
st_8x_zoom
I found like 15 cameras within your price range and with at least:
Non SLR
380 - 750 USD
at least 8x optical zoom

from here you have a few more choices to narrow your search even more.

One thing you should know is that new models will always be overpriced.
If you wait for a few months the price can drop significantly -
sometimes by hundreds of dollars (USD).

If I were you, I would read some of the articles we have on the UK side
of our website:
http://www.camera-prices.co.uk/UK/digital-cameras-t-4.html

I hope this helps a bit.

Camera Prices Helper

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Robert - 29 Aug 2005 11:07 GMT

Thank you all for your replies. Your information was very helpful

Robert

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