Recommendation for camera


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Jun 3, 2006
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Hi, i wanted to purchase a digital camera which can zoom very far. i shortlisted the following models. olympus model can zoom up to 18X, but i am not sure whether the picture/built quality good? i would like you all old birds to give me some recommendation

Panasonic Lumix FZ7

Canon Powershot S3 IS

Fuji Finepix S6500

Olympus SP-550UZ

Sony DSC-H5
 

Hi, i wanted to purchase a digital camera which can zoom very far. i shortlisted the following models. olympus model can zoom up to 18X, but i am not sure whether the picture/built quality good? i would like you all old birds to give me some recommendation

Panasonic Lumix FZ7

Canon Powershot S3 IS

Fuji Finepix S6500

Olympus SP-550UZ

Sony DSC-H5
what are you looking for in a cam?

Was shopping around for a long zoom prosumer a while back, other than the Olympus, which is definitely news to me, was looking for all the rest, so I can help you out a little.

I chose H2 in the end, btw - by right you should be looking at H2, if not the class of H5 is slightly higher than those you have listed since it is significantly more than 6 MGP.

In short;
1) Panasonic = good lens, good Image Stabilisation, horrible ISO performance due to overly aggressive noise reduction.
2) S3 IS = good all-rounder, in short, but slightly more expensive than usual, in my view. Also, uses FOUR AA batteries instead of Sony's 2.
3) Fuji 6500 = very close contender for me, plus points are WIDE ANGLE (28mm, wow), very DSLR feel due to the type of operation, manual zoom and all that, way better high ISO performance than most here; minus points = no image stabilisation
4) Sony = all rounder, except slightly kooky and alternative. =D
 

what are you looking for in a cam?

Was shopping around for a long zoom prosumer a while back, other than the Olympus, which is definitely news to me, was looking for all the rest, so I can help you out a little.

I chose H2 in the end, btw - by right you should be looking at H2, if not the class of H5 is slightly higher than those you have listed since it is significantly more than 6 MGP.

In short;
1) Panasonic = good lens, good Image Stabilisation, horrible ISO performance due to overly aggressive noise reduction.
2) S3 IS = good all-rounder, in short, but slightly more expensive than usual, in my view. Also, uses FOUR AA batteries instead of Sony's 2.
3) Fuji 6500 = very close contender for me, plus points are WIDE ANGLE (28mm, wow), very DSLR feel due to the type of operation, manual zoom and all that, way better high ISO performance than most here; minus points = no image stabilisation
4) Sony = all rounder, except slightly kooky and alternative. =D

looking for a camera that can take bright pic in a gloomy(wrong word to use huh?) enviornment.my current camera..when taking pic in such enviornment..the pic will become like yellow color due to the flash(over exposed?)
 

looking for a camera that can take bright pic in a gloomy(wrong word to use huh?) enviornment.my current camera..when taking pic in such enviornment..the pic will become like yellow color due to the flash(over exposed?)

that is the white balance rather than exposure.

and if you are saying, rather, able to capture sufficient exposure in low light situations without flash, understandably with sufficient shutter speed not to get handshake, that would refer to the setting of maximum available aperture size and highest ISO. i'm not familiar with compacts, but honestly DSLR does a better job with larger sensors and larger glass but still is a difficulty for photographers. hence you may be disappointed if u are looking at a better compact to do the job. i last use fujifilm F11, and it renders good colors but not enough for indoor low light shots.

another thing is that the longer the zoom range, the less likely the optics would be good.

hence you got to understand that compacts does have certain limits and works well only within those limits. a SLR-shaped (not true SLR) prosumer with a large fixed glass may cope better, but is not cheaper than the entry level DSLR which is nowadays very much more affordable.
 

looking for a camera that can take bright pic in a gloomy(wrong word to use huh?) enviornment.my current camera..when taking pic in such enviornment..the pic will become like yellow color due to the flash(over exposed?)
Low light environment?

Fujifilm 6500fd then.

Good high ISO performance, I would say best out of the lot. And yes, it's due to white balance more than flash.
 

i'm not familiar with compacts, but honestly DSLR does a better job with larger sensors and larger glass but still is a difficulty for photographers. hence you may be disappointed if u are looking at a better compact to do the job. i last use fujifilm F11, and it renders good colors but not enough for indoor low light shots.

another thing is that the longer the zoom range, the less likely the optics would be good.

hence you got to understand that compacts does have certain limits and works well only within those limits. a SLR-shaped (not true SLR) prosumer with a large fixed glass may cope better, but is not cheaper than the entry level DSLR which is nowadays very much more affordable.
Yes, DSLR would definitely do a better job, and is much more versatile.

But cost-wise ONLY.. Prosumer definitely wins. If we're talking about pure monetary benefits; I guess there are also many other factors to consider, ie. whether you're going to be able to maximize the DSLR capabilities and milk it for all its worth (which sometimes means $). I guess the dude has to consider that before he makes that plunge. =D
 

Low light environment?

Fujifilm 6500fd then.

Good high ISO performance, I would say best out of the lot. And yes, it's due to white balance more than flash.

hi.u mentioned that 6500fd does not have image stabilisation. i would be using the camera in event to capture celebrity/artiste. As there are alot of people attending such events, it will be crowded and i think it may make the pic blur.
 

try the new fz8, NR problem ain't as bad as the previous fz7. :thumbsup:
and imho at ISO800, noise are bad, but definitely much better than in the past fz7.
 

hi.u mentioned that 6500fd does not have image stabilisation. i would be using the camera in event to capture celebrity/artiste. As there are alot of people attending such events, it will be crowded and i think it may make the pic blur.
Yes, it does not.

Crowds, on the contrary, do not make photos blur. It is shaky hands that do that. =D

For low light, 6500fd would be the best there is, image stabilisation would come in with longer exposure periods like night photography, IR perhaps, with usable ISO 800 and 1600 (ok, that is debateable) quality; Fuji would be pretty ok, I guess.
 

try the new fz8, NR problem ain't as bad as the previous fz7. :thumbsup:
and imho at ISO800, noise are bad, but definitely much better than in the past fz7.
Still pretty bad leh, ISO800 the details are pretty much ice cream blend already.. =D Hee hee.
 

Still pretty bad leh, ISO800 the details are pretty much ice cream blend already.. =D Hee hee.
but the stabilization helps to clear things up especially on the long end of the zoom or taking static object at low light. :)
 

I'll go for the Canon S3 IS.

Good all rounder. Compact for a camera with such a powerful zoom. Good comfortable weight when held in hand. Can add filters. AA batteries can be easily replaced. DigicII chip. Good battery life. Canon support.
 

hi.u mentioned that 6500fd does not have image stabilisation. i would be using the camera in event to capture celebrity/artiste. As there are alot of people attending such events, it will be crowded and i think it may make the pic blur.

Erm.. i gather u wanna shoot indoor celebrity events where u will be like 10m or further from your idol?? Another factor to consider is that the built-in flash for all these cams can't reach very far. Built-in flash range is prob 5m or so at best. Best if u can get a camera that can use with external flash. :)
 

Erm.. i gather u wanna shoot indoor celebrity events where u will be like 10m or further from your idol?? Another factor to consider is that the built-in flash for all these cams can't reach very far. Built-in flash range is prob 5m or so at best. Best if u can get a camera that can use with external flash. :)
Oh yeah, in that case looking at the Panny FZXX series might be good, I think. Or Fujifilm 9XXX series. Those can use external flash right, correct me if I'm wrong. Not so familiar with that class of cam.
 

Oh yeah, in that case looking at the Panny FZXX series might be good, I think. Or Fujifilm 9XXX series. Those can use external flash right, correct me if I'm wrong. Not so familiar with that class of cam.

Erm. The flash on the Sony H-series reaches 14m. It's really very very strong.
 

I'll go for the Canon S3 IS.

Good all rounder. Compact for a camera with such a powerful zoom. Good comfortable weight when held in hand. Can add filters. AA batteries can be easily replaced. DigicII chip. Good battery life. Canon support.

I'd go for the Sony H1, 2 or 5. Can add filters and wide-angle/telephoto lens. 2 AA batteries only, 400 shots on 2 Sony AA stamina (about 150 with flash). Sharp lens, beats the Canon S series in DPReview tests. Sony support (7 days a week).
 

I'd go for the Sony H1, 2 or 5. Can add filters and wide-angle/telephoto lens. 2 AA batteries only, 400 shots on 2 Sony AA stamina (about 150 with flash). Sharp lens, beats the Canon S series in DPReview tests. Sony support (7 days a week).
Sharp -and- fast in focusing.

Has trouble with noise after ISO 200 in my view, but it really isn't that bad a problem. =D
 

Erm. The flash on the Sony H-series reaches 14m. It's really very very strong.

Copied below the flash range for Sony H5.. If u note, 16m is for Wide at ISO1000!.. chances are our friend here will be shooting at Tele with reasonable ISO (200?) so the flash range is not gonna reach that far..

• Range (ISO Auto): 1’ to 29’ 3" (0.3-9.0m) (Wide)
• Range (ISO Auto): 35.5 ’ to 22 ’ 4 " (0.9-6.8m) (Tele)
• Range (ISO 1000): 2’ 11" to 52’ (0.9 -16m) (Wide)
 

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