nd advice on new cam

[peanutsjh]

i'm intending to buy a new digital cam right after my dimage xt sells.
want to use it as a travel camera. and hopefully try out some new shots.
basically i like "point-n-shooting" but would also like to have manual controls around for the occasional mood swings to take better shots.

anyone has any recommendations?
my desires:
price: around $600. wouldn't mind abit more.
res: around 5 or more.
optical zoom: min 3x
image stabiliser: yes
shutter/aperture priority: very much preferred
view finder: if possible. (i think it's much more natural)
batteries: which are good? aa? or li-ion?

btw, what's the difference between photo sensors and effective pixels?

 

[sORe-EyEz]

consider Panasonic LZ2?

. 5MP
. OIS
. 6x optical zoom
. within ur budget
. not too big in size

;p

 

[sORe-EyEz]

& welcome 2 CS!!:cheergal: :cheergal:

 

[peanutsjh]

heh. thanks. ^^.
i'll check out the cam.

 

[vkashi]

hi,
if you have a rough idea of what features you want, you might want to do a search for cameras by features at the dpreview site-
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare.asp

hope this helps

kashi

 

[kit_fisto]

Personally i like camera that uses AA batteries. easy to buy wherever u r, lots of rechargeable AA to choose from.

 

[germ_boi]

how abt a95?

 

[peanutsjh]

i don't really like the shape of the a95 le.
abit bulky.

 

[kit_fisto]

how abt A520/A510? I'm using the A520, great cam

 

[felixcat8888]

Personally i like camera that uses AA batteries. easy to buy wherever u r, lots of rechargeable AA to choose from.

Other brands like Fujifilm, Nikon, Sony and Casio also have AA batteries type.

Look at the Fuji A350 (5MP), E550 (6.3MP), or E900 (9MP)

Nikon 5600 (5MP), 7600 (7MP)

Sony W5 (5MP), W7 (7MP)

Casio Z110 (6MP), Z120 (7MP)

Best to get e-quotes from MS Color, Alan Photo and Cathay Photo to see the best prices you can get.

The Casio Z110 can buy for $400 plus at MS Color.

But all without the IS which you like.

The only compact with IS is the Panasonic LZ-2, but it has got "vignetting" at the wide angle side of the zoom. Meaning when a pic is taken at wide angle, the corners of the pic are "blurry" or have a dark shade.

Cheers....

 

[peanutsjh]

i checked out the cameras....

am quite tempted to buy the casio z110,
got friends discouraging me from it 'cos of quality problems.
anyone has any comments?

helppppp

 

[peanutsjh]

now i'm currently considering 3 cams.
casio z110,
lumix lz2,
rollei dr5100

any suggestions?

 

[felixcat8888]

i checked out the cameras....

am quite tempted to buy the casio z110,
got friends discouraging me from it 'cos of quality problems.
anyone has any comments?

helppppp

What kind of quality problems are they talking about? Have not heard of any.

Go to www.dpreview.com or www.dcresources.com to find out more.

 

[Isaiahfortythirtyone]

i say go for canon A610.

 

[seeyf]

You might want to consider panasonic fz5 too.
Bought it in july and so far i'm very impressed with the image quality, 12x zoom, stabiliser, fast focusing, long battery life and low shutter lag. Dunno if you find it too bulky though. Dimensions are 109.2 x 68.6 x 83.8mm and the weight is 290g.

 

[peanutsjh]

anyone has an idea where's the best place to get it?

 

[felixcat8888]

anyone has an idea where's the best place to get it?

Best to get e-quotes from MS Color, Alan Photo and Cathay Photo to see the best prices you can get

 

[exhibitj]

I used the LZ2 for my trip to Melbourne, so far so gd! But no manual controls, so quite difficult to get good indoor candid shots with natural lighting. Plus at ISO 200 the camera has much noise (meaning the pic is vv grainy; not sharp!)

You can consider the Panasonic LX1.
Have OIS with manual controls.
Plus can change the aspect ratio, meaning u can sort of get wide angle shots for panaromic scenery at the 16:9 aspect. Most digi camera (in fact all) dun have this changeable aspect ratio. They have to use a wide-angle converter if they wanted to get a panoramic shot.
But cost ard 900 plus. Get e-quote from MS and CP. Generally, i feel MS gives better price.

 

[peanutsjh]

Thanks guys for your comments,
i bought a Fz5 from MS just yesterday after much consideration.
hope i'm on the way to better photos. ^^.

thanks lots.