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Digital Camera advice

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1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#277892
Hi

I’m going to upgrade my digital camera. I’m currently using a Canon A10. I’ve been getting pretty good results, but I would like a better zoom. As it’s only a hobby and I already have enough expensive hobbies I don’t want to spend more than $1000.

I’ve been tossing up between the Canon Powershot S1 IS for which I already have lots of memory. The Canon Powershot S1 IS is a 3 megapixel digital camera with 10x optical / 3.2 digital zoom. 640 x 480 movies, 15/30 fps with audio. $630
Or the
The Panasonic FZ-20 is a 5 mp camera with 12x optical zoom. But it only does 320 x 240 movies, 10fps, with audio. I would also need to buy memory for this camera. $899

As I use most of my photos on the web the megapixels are not that much of an issue.

Has anyone used on of these cameras or have any suggestions?

Steve

BiX Veteran Volks Folk

2,499 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#277897
I use a fuji fine pix s5500 (new version?) and its great. 3.2 mega pixel 6mp (effective) with a 10x optical zoom. It also runs a 5 shot burst mode which is great for sports. And for the price its a really good by.
I have no sympathy for my car, only the wallet that pays for it!
Go hard or go home!!!!

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#277899
Hi

Thanks, thats another one to think about.

Steve

Secoh Fahrvergnugen

926 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#277902
I have a Kodak DX6490 and it's good value for money but I wouldn't buy it if I had my time over.

Make sure you get one that's a minimum 4megapixel, and a 10x OPTICAL zoom. digital zoom degrades the picture quality a heck of a lot.

some good info here:

http://pforums.company-hosting.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50

300D has people raving, and the price of these has fallen drastically over the last few months.
If it aint broke,
Make it go faster!!

Freddie Fender Officially Full-On Dubber

328 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#277904
Also have a look at the S7000 Fuji, a very impressive Camera indeed but perhaps a little bulky at times.

dragbug Wolfsburg Wizard

609 posts · joined Sep 2004 ·

#277925
I use a fuji finepix aswell,
Wicked little camera.
knocked the pix down to 2 mp with a 16mb card to see how it works.
Get 40 plus shots with excellent quality.
"O.S.K"
We make it happen!

Wag67 Wolfsburg Wizard

469 posts · joined Jan 2004 ·

#277959
well i am currently looking at getting a digital and i just rang up a repair guy that looks after digitals and he said the only brands to choose where sony, cannon and panasonic and well off all of them, the Canon Powershot S1 IS looks like the one that i would be choosing.

just my two cents worth
for a hands free Baby bottle holder check out

http://www.babygear4u.com

ogtool Slammed & Awesome Dubber

94 posts · joined Apr 2004 ·

#278023
Heya,

After a lot of research my old boss went for the Nikon Coolpix 5200. Its 5.2MP and a great little unit. He took it all over EU and was extremely happy with the quality, colour reproduction and everything about it.

His choice was between the 5200 and the Canon EOS-300D. The 300D being a SLR and substantially more expensive, however he wanted the portability and reduced size of a non-SLR model in the end.

Nikon takes SD, and according to a quick google your current camera uses CF, but going from a 2MP to a 5MP you would probably want to consiuder upgrading the size of your memory anyways.

Best advice, no matter what, check out www.dpreview.com for any of the models your looking at (also has a nifty side by side comparison tool).

Da Wiz Officially Full-On Dubber

330 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#278087
check out www.tomshardware.com ...

I think Canon is still the best way to go from reading all the revies etc.
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-> Keepin' it Real !!

sneak_e Officially Full-On Dubber

252 posts · joined Nov 2004 ·

#278096
The 300D is a great entry level digital SLR. A number had issues with jamming shutters which required units being sent back to Canon for new curtains to be installed and firmware upgraded. My 10-D had the same problem although according to sources there was only a small percentage affected so you should be safe.

If you wanna go for a fully automatic then a great one to look for is the Olympus 5060. The lens is one of the highest grade in clarity (Leica from memory?) and is around the $950 mark.

cheers,

Brian
-----------------------------
Brian White Media
PO Box 237
North Beach 6920
Western Australia
www.bwmedia.com.au
-----------------------------

Anthiron The Baja Rejuvenation Begins

4,936 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#278097
sony cyber shots are good. 4.1 megapixel 320 bucks cant go wrong. not sure about the zoom and movie resolution though. but eirinns got one and it takes great pics way better than my piece of shit camera.
62/60 model bug eye baja bug, (Full Build in Progress)
1974 Chevrolet Luv
1970 MK2 Ford Cortina GT
1979 Yamaha RX125 Two Stroke tracker project.
2004 Harley Davidson Sportster XL Custom

malcolm Insano Dub Head

812 posts · joined Nov 2004 ·

#278098
if your not after a slr, canon a85 4mp very low digital noise $399 or a95 5mp $552 both use standard or rechargeable aa batterys and a widely used memery card with a 128mg I get 62 shots at the highest rez. with some of the cameras using the Leica lens find out if there made by leica or under license by another company. Aim Digital have the best prices on canons and the canon pixma ip 5000 printer is great.

zac_smits Coolest Person Ever!

3,634 posts · joined Jan 2003 ·

#278112
I have 3 powershots...

a canon powershot a20
a canon powershot a40
and a canon powershot a70.

the last one is by far an amazing camera for the money...i've taken a few photos (about 4500this year) and i can say that i love it...here are some links to examples.
(this is just me mucking around by the way...)

Some of fireworks..landscapes..sunsets...


















oh and it takes movies at 640x480, photos at 2048x1536 and lasts very well with rechargable batterys (i took 400photos in 3hrs, at minus 5 deg C, with the display on the entire time)

zac

[Edited on 10-12-2004 by zac_smits]

[Edited on 10-12-2004 by zac_smits]
MOB: 0423890217

vern74 Fahrvergnugen

901 posts · joined Jan 2004 ·

#278162
I have a Sony Cybershot 4.1. Takes great pics , easy to use and does good vids. Got a cannon ip5000 printer and that does a fantastic job !

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#278175
Yes, SONY Cybershots are very good cameras....
I have looked at many digital cameras and as You probably already know that OPTICAL Zoom is the most important....
Sony Cybershots have the 5 second BURST mode for action shots... Two of My Sons have them....
I have also looked at Canon digital Cameras.... and they are also worth looking at...

I would stay with the Canon Steve, seeing You have memory sticks for one.... No use wasting them....

Have a good weekend...

Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

Che Castro ankle straps

1,945 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#278223
I am into manual film cameras and have 2 digis.

I really like the Canon a70/80 if you dont want an SLR. Ive also used the IXUS 400. Both these cameras have excellent autofocus, which doesnt get fooled by black surfaces. Also the autoexposure and how it works with flash is very accurate most of the time. The A70/80 also both have full manual mode which is really good. Lens quality is quite good too, not too much distortion for a compact lens. The 300D looks good on paper, and it looks like the lenses are changeable which is great.

Digital zoom is not zoom!!! Its the same as cropping in photoshop! Its a bad marketing term that is completely misleading.

Try to stick with the actual camera brands not electronics brands. Because generally I have found they have better ergonomics and the way they are laid out and used is a lot more intuitive. i.e. Nikon, canon, fuji etc.
Jon

VolksFolks Son of Jim - Creator of Good

2,869 posts · joined Dec 2003 ·

#278227
Secoh wrote:I have a Kodak DX6490 and it's good value for money but I wouldn't buy it if I had my time over.

Make sure you get one that's a minimum 4megapixel, and a 10x OPTICAL zoom. digital zoom degrades the picture quality a heck of a lot.
I have one of these, great piccies, easy to use, maybe a little bulky at times, i did drop it on some gravel and now i have some issues with it, i think its a little fragile in this day, but overall very happy with it..

Andy
They laugh because You are different, You laugh because They are all the same.

check out www.lowlight.com.au for low lights only..

stephenianjames Wolfsburg Wizard

437 posts · joined Jun 2004 ·

#278280
Just to throw another camera into the mix (and completely confuse you) I'd recommend the Panasonic DMC-FZ3. It's like the FZ-20 you mentioned in your first post, but more compact and cheaper. It has less megapixels (3 million as opposed to 5 million) however this will still enable you to print pretty large pics, and is overkill for web use anyway.

The thing I like about the camera is it's 'compactness', great overall image quality, speed of focussing/taking shots, big optical zoom and great price (around $650) I dont think you can get better value in a camera personally.

Some good camera review sites are:

www.megapixel.net
www.dpreview.com
www.dcresource.com
www.imaging-resource.com
www.steves-digicams.com

A couple of good online camera stores are:

www.dirtcheapcameras.com
www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au

Also check the computer shops etc for prices, as they are usually pretty competetive. Melbourne has the 'green guide' in the age every Thursday, but other capital cities probably have a similar publication.

Anyway, good luck!

Steve

1303Steve Scirocco Rare

8,650 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#278375
Hi

Thanks everyone.

The Canon S1 IS is still looking good, I have a 16, 32, 256 & 512 CF cards already, which the Canon uses. It also has image stabilization, which is really needed with 10 + zoom cameras.

I’ve bought memory cards from www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au and have found them to be very competitive, I always check my junk mail catalogues prices against them and they always win.

The Canon S1 IS recently went from $649 to 630 and they have a special deal at the moment.

Basic Canon Accessory Kit: 256mb compact flash memory card, Canon PS-600 camera case, Powerbase Rapid Charger with 4xAA 2500mAh rechargeable batteries & cleaning cloth $169

Premier Canon Accessory Kit: 512mb compact flash memory card, Canon PS-600 camera case, Powerbase Rapid Charger with 4xAA 2500mAh rechargeable batteries & cleaning cloth $197

Deluxe Canon Accessory Kit: 1 GIG compact flash (CF) memory card, Canon PS-600 camera case, Powerbase Rapid Charger with 4xAA 2500mAh rechargeable batteries, spare set of 4xAA batteries, CF pocket card reader & cleaning cloth $289

Steve

zac_smits Coolest Person Ever!

3,634 posts · joined Jan 2003 ·

#278430
well i got mine thru amazon at the start of the year.

canon a70
waterproof case
carrying case
256mb cf card
4x2500mAh rechargables and charger

and this was £212. i think i got a very good deal....

i haven't managed to get it to drain the batteries once yet.
MOB: 0423890217

The_Bronze. Minister of Volkswagenism

1,922 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#278531
Like Bix and other I use the Finepix s5500. Under 600 with 128k card. Variable from .3 up to 4meg photos and video. Awesome camera. Just which it had timelapse for sunsets and cloud photography. For not I set up the tripod and hit the go button every 30 seconds.

Review: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0407/04072805fujifinepixs5500z.asp

Specs: http://www.cameras.co.uk/specs/fuji-finepix-s5500.cfm

Enjoy

The Bronze.
Bronze.

Rathmines, Lake Macquarie, NSW.

vwrallycar Insano Dub Head

721 posts · joined Sep 2002 ·

#278798
hi Steve, i also bought a fuji s5500, and can highly recommend it, very nice