Need HELP getting an ultra compact camera


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moviezzz

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Aug 13, 2006
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Hi guys,

My panasonic LZ5 just broke down after barely 1 year of use. Was quite disappointed cos I never dropped it or mishandled it, it just broke down naturally. So I am getting a new camera. Was thinking of getting an ultra compact size camera this time. But some important requirements are:

5x optical zoom and above
good battery life
6mp and above
not more than 25mm thick (was thinking of really pocket size and weight)

I can't seem to find any such camera, can anyone introduce me a model?

But my ideal fantasy camera is:
6x optical zoom and above
AA or AAA battery (ease of replacements)
size alike panasonic fx8
Though it seems more like a far fetched dream ;p
 

i don't think there is any ultra compact/slim PnS with more tha 5x optical zoom. at most 3x. (i think)
 

Sony has T300 which is 5x. But uses proprietary battery. I was hoping for more models to choose from and maybe even for a AA or AAA battery type. ;p
 


Hi J-chan,
Any idea how much does this canon SD970 IS cost and where can I find it for sale? It has an optical viewfinder as well which is very useful. But I noticed the on/off button seemed to be 'push/press' type, any idea whether it is easy to be switched on accidentally?
 

gosh..! both seem good. the canon has an optical viewfinder but the pana has this touch to focus feature... argh... but speaking of pana, i dunnoe if its just me but my last 2 panas really din last as long for me as i would like. my f7 broke after 2yrs and lz5 broke after just 1 year. i had fujifilm s2800 before and it lasted me until my gf broke it due to poor management. i am more incline to pana cos i like its ease of use but at the same time afraid it will damage easily again. i mean with current specs of digicams nowadays, i really would like it to last me 3-4 yrs.
 

canon would be a good choice as well. 860IS is a good one to start with. 1 charge can last like 500+ shots and it holds it charge well even when not used for long periods of time and in cold weather.
 

gosh..! both seem good. the canon has an optical viewfinder but the pana has this touch to focus feature... argh... but speaking of pana, i dunnoe if its just me but my last 2 panas really din last as long for me as i would like. my f7 broke after 2yrs and lz5 broke after just 1 year. i had fujifilm s2800 before and it lasted me until my gf broke it due to poor management. i am more incline to pana cos i like its ease of use but at the same time afraid it will damage easily again. i mean with current specs of digicams nowadays, i really would like it to last me 3-4 yrs.

The T200/300 have the touch-to-focus thing too...
 

gosh..! both seem good. the canon has an optical viewfinder but the pana has this touch to focus feature... argh... but speaking of pana, i dunnoe if its just me but my last 2 panas really din last as long for me as i would like. my f7 broke after 2yrs and lz5 broke after just 1 year. i had fujifilm s2800 before and it lasted me until my gf broke it due to poor management. i am more incline to pana cos i like its ease of use but at the same time afraid it will damage easily again. i mean with current specs of digicams nowadays, i really would like it to last me 3-4 yrs.

the viewfinder in the ixus series is rather small if you don't mind the size and can get dusty after a period of usage and if you're wearing specs...it may pose to be a problem.
 

The T200/300 have the touch-to-focus thing too...

u mean its a touch screen too? but all these i can use a normal digicam, focus on the subject 1st and just move the camera to include the other things i want to include in the picture right? same theory right?
 

the viewfinder in the ixus series is rather small if you don't mind the size and can get dusty after a period of usage and if you're wearing specs...it may pose to be a problem.

i dun really mind it being small. cos i guess i can take night shots (as in see my target) with an optical viewfinder where LCDs or EVFs usually cant capture. Then my hands are damn small for a guy, so it should fit quite well in my hand too. The VF gets dusty, can clean?
 

any of these ultra compacts with 5x or more optical zoom, in-thread zoom (dun really know what its called, but something like the T300 where zooming doesnt protude a barrel sort of thing) and optical viewfinder? thanks so much for all your inputs, really appreciate. :D
 

Hi just realised from dpreview that the ixus is 970 IS in europe and 890 IS somewhere else. So is it 890 or 970 in SG?
 

And for the pana FX500, I went to check out in shops but they had not arrived yet. Was wondering whether it has EZ optical zoom like the LZ5 cos my LZ5 though 6x zoom, can enhanced to 8x optical zoom if i used 3mp and below. I checked out dpreview whether FX500 has this but there was no info. Anyone of you pros may know?
 

Hi just realised from dpreview that the ixus is 970 IS in europe and 890 IS somewhere else. So is it 890 or 970 in SG?

IXUS.. dunno why Canon doesn't want to standardise their naming of products across different regions..
 

And for the pana FX500, I went to check out in shops but they had not arrived yet. Was wondering whether it has EZ optical zoom like the LZ5 cos my LZ5 though 6x zoom, can enhanced to 8x optical zoom if i used 3mp and below. I checked out dpreview whether FX500 has this but there was no info. Anyone of you pros may know?

i think it has.
"Digital zoom Yes, 4x (Up to 7.12x with 'Extra Optical Zoom' cropping)"

oh, another thing abt the pana is that it has 25mm (35mm equiv.) ultra wide angle which is very useful for group shots / landscape.
but pana is known to produce noisier photos (even at relatively low ISO settings).. not sure abt this model thou.
 

i think it has.
"Digital zoom Yes, 4x (Up to 7.12x with 'Extra Optical Zoom' cropping)"

oh, another thing abt the pana is that it has 25mm (35mm equiv.) ultra wide angle which is very useful for group shots / landscape.
but pana is known to produce noisier photos (even at relatively low ISO settings).. not sure abt this model thou.

i dun mean optical + digital zoom. the LZ5's optical zoom can be extended to 8.3x by using 3pm and below (does not include digital zoom). ahm.. actually what is this 25mm, 35mm thing? can explain? :dunno:
 

i dun mean optical + digital zoom. the LZ5's optical zoom can be extended to 8.3x by using 3pm and below (does not include digital zoom). ahm.. actually what is this 25mm, 35mm thing? can explain? :dunno:

actually what the "extra optical zoom cropping" means wad u meant.
by cropping, it reduces the size of the image so u actually get more "zoom".

the 25mm thing is the focal length. based on the 35mm film format, any lens with a focal length of 28mm and below is considered a wide angle lens. thus, the lens of the pana is a wide angle lens with a focal length of 25mm.

most PnS camera models out there usually have a focal length of 35mm.

so in layman terms, the pana lens have a wider field of view.
 

oh... Thanks Fragnatic.. I learnt something new today :sweatsm:
 

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