Looking for the best PS SLR

[Inukshuk]

This is for a friend who wants to stay compact. So far I found two that shoot Raw and wonder if there are anymore similar out there, with a minimum 10x-12x optical zoom.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
Olympus SP-570

Thanks for any input.

 

[NoMoney]

FinePix S100FS

I find that it is the highest rated prosumer right now.

 

[BlueBull]

Or the Canon S5 IS? A good prosumer Ultra-Zoom.

But hey, is there even such a thing as a Point and Shoot Single Lens Reflex camera? Assuming your PS SLR mean exactly that.

 

[felixcat8888]

Looks like you have a range:

Panasonic
FZ-18
FZ-8
FZ-50

Nikon
P80

Canon
S5 IS

Fujifilm
S100FS
S8100FD
S1000FD

Olympus
SP-560 UZ
SP-570 UZ

or your friend can get a 2nd Hand one first from the Buy & Sell Thread

Cheers...

 

[Inukshuk]

So far the best ones found with high enough pixels and Raw formats are:

Fujifilm FinePix S9600, FinePix S100FS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, Lumix DMC-FZ50
Olympus SP-560 UZ, SP-570 UZ

So far looking good.

Now which one would have the nicest image quality?

 

[emerald]

Paying close attention to this thread!

Waiting to see what's the final outcome!

 

[wishywashy7]

I would have you agree with the Canon S5 IS. It would make a good foundation for learning photography, because it works like an SLR, only with an electronic viewfinder, live view and has video. Even if he gets an SLR eventually, it still makes for an excellent backup camera. Also there are lots of aftermarket accessories for it like filters, extension tubes, teleconverters etc.

Better get one soon though because there is a running thread in the S5IS user group that canon would be dicontinuing it because a new model may be released on may this year.

Hope this helps,

Cheers!

Joseph

 

[Inukshuk]

The Canon S5 IS is a nice camera, but for me it doesn't offer the RAW format for shooting, which is a necessity.
Having refined my search a bit it's now down to these three:

Fujifilm FinePix S9600
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50
Olympus SP-570 UZ


And they're all in the same price range.
Slowly getting there.

 

[rawsteak]

The CHDK hacked firmware is out for S5 IS. It provides RAW now if I'm not wrong.

 

[Inukshuk]

The CHDK hacked firmware is out for S5 IS. It provides RAW now if I'm not wrong.

I got in touch with Canon and they said it couldn't get a firmware update to bring it to RAW. It would have to have been made initially for it in the beginning. So out of luck on this one.

 

[rawsteak]

http://www.flickr.com/groups/canonpowershots5is/discuss/72157604434616117/

I do not have a S5 IS with me so I cannot confirm what is written, but several places seem to claim that raw is now available (unofficial firmware).

 

[felixcat8888]

The Fuji S9600 and the S6500FD have been replaced with the S100FS.

The sensor for the new cam is 2/3"

Lens is from 28mm to 400mm (35mm range) and magnification is 14.7x.

www.dpreview.com
www.dcresource.com