Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests New Round - Digital Cameras

Basic requirements: 5MP, easy to handle, decent zoom (or telephoto)

The front runners:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2K
Canon A95
Olympus 5500

I like the 6x zoom and the image stabilization on the Panasonic, but am concerned of some low light reports. The Canon A95 is a ratings darling, but low zoom (3x) and no stabilization... also pricey for what you get. The Olympus has nice zoom and feel, but no stabiliazation and a slow shot ot show time.

I am simply not used to this type of digital camera... I have a Digital SLR, which is a totally different critter.

Which is your favorite and why? Otherwise, any other recommendations?

Hands down for me:

Canon Eos Rebel 6MP

CAN be had cheap-ISH for what you get (comparatively speaking)

Read up on some review on that. It may be a little more than you are looking for.

EDIT:
List of stats:


Type: Digital AF/AE SLR
Recording Medium: Type I and II CF card
Image Size: 22.7 x 15.1mm (0.89 x 0.59 in.)
Compatible Lenses: Canon EF lenses including EF-S Lens. (Focal length
conversion factor: Equivalent to approx. 1.6x indicated focal length compared to 35mm format.)
Lens Mount: Canon EF mount
Type: High-sensitivity, high-resolution, single-plate, color CMOS
Pixels: Effective pixels: Approx. 6.3 megapixels
Total pixels: Approx. 6.5 megapixels
Aspect Ratio: 2:3 (Vertical:Horizontal)
Color Filter System: RGB primary color filter
Low-pass Filter: Located in front of the imaging element, non-removable
Recording Format: Design rule for Camera File system (JPEG) and RAW. Exif 2.2 compliant.
Image Format: JPEG and RAW
File Size (on CF card): ); JPEG: (1) Large/Fine: Approx. 3.1 MB (3072 x 2048), (2) Large/ Normal: Approx.1.8 MB (3072 x 2048), (3) Middle/Fine: Approx. 1.8 MB (2048 x 1360), (4) Middle/Normal: Approx. 1.2 MB (2048 x1360), (5) Small/Fine: Approx. 1.4 MB (1536 x 1024), (6) Small/ Normal: Approx. 0.9 MB (1536 x 1024); RAW: (7) Middle/Fine: Approx. 7 MB (3072 x 2048)
File Numbering: (1) Continuous numbering, (2) Auto reset
Processing Parameters: Standard parameters plus up to three custom processing parameters can be set
Interface: USB
Shutter Speeds: 1/4000 to 30 sec. (1/3-stop increments), bulb, X-sync at 1/200 sec.
Shutter Release: Soft-touch electromagnetic release
Self-Timer: 10-sec. delay.
Remote Control: Remote Control with RS-60E3 terminal or Wireless Remote Controller RC-1/ RC5
Built-in Flash: Type: Auto pop-up, retractable, built-in flash
Guide No: 13/43 (at ISO 100 in meters/feet)
Flash Recycling time: Approx. 3 sec.
Flash ready indicator: Flash-ready icon lights on in viewfinder
Flash coverage: Up to 18mm focal length (equivalent to approx. 28mm in 35mm format)
EOS-dedicated Speedlite: E-TTL auto flash with EX series Speedlite.
PC Terminal provided.
Battery: One Battery Pack BP-511/512 (lithium ion rechargeable battery)
Dimensions (W x H x D): 5.6 x 3.9 x 2.9 in. / 142 x 99 x 72.4mm
Weight: 19.7 oz. / 560g

/EDIT

Ray

There's a lot more negative to the Panasonic than just bad low light reports -- no manual focus, which sucks; no viewfinder, which sucks; the LCD it does have which you have to use so much because there's no viewfinder isn't nearly as good as that on the other 2; and it has half the battery life. No manual focus and no viewfinder kill it for me.

But, it tends to be quite a bit cheaper than the other two.

I'm a Canon fan personally. It's virtually identical in every way to the Olypmus with the exception of its' relatively poor zoom and I believe it probably runs a good $50 more. It does have a much better burst/motorwind feature though, if that's important to you at all. It's LCD is a bit smaller but offers better resolution and it's a lot smaller itself (which may or may not be a good thing to you).

Fuji Finepix S7000 6.3 MP

Love it. Pics from a recent weekend getaway to Mackinac Island.

Sony Cybershot!!

I have a Canon A85 and couldn't be happier with it. For what it's used for, I have no complaints with it being only a 4MP, and have probably taken less than 20 pics in 8 months at full resolution. I recently bought an SLR (film) camera to handle my higher quality photography. A co-worker just bought a Minolta Dimage z5 for around 300.00 with rebates from a local camera shop. I don't know if that fits in the budget or not, but it's quite nice for the price and a good value even at regular street prices near 400.00

Vizio DC630. Nice and cheap from Costco, and from a reputable company. I wonder who makes the insides of it.

http://www.vinc.com/site/products/product_dc630c.html

Pick up a 512MB SD card and be done with it.

Considerably more money but worth every penny, Cannon SD 400.

-Andy

I've been pondering a Powershot S2, but can't justify getting a new camera yet. It is out of the price range of your list, but appears to be very nice. Anyone have one of these?