Digital Camera search (2004 version)

[Curious Pax]

Mrs CP has kindly agreed that I should have a digital camera for Christmas. I've had a look through the previous threads, but surprisingly none have been updated since early this year.

My requirements are less than 300 pounds in price, 6x optical zoom or better (I take a lot of aircraft shots with a 75-300mm zoom on a Canon EOS 300, and the rest tend to be family shots with a 28-75mm zoom) and reasonably hardy and foolproof.

A look round some of the comparison sites suggests that I should be looking at Fuji S5000 or S3500; Canon Powershot S1, Kodak DX6490 or Minolta DiMAGE Z10.

Does anyone have experience/views on these, or better suggestions?

[5711N0205W]

I have an s5000 which is generally excellent, I do sometimes have slight concerns about the focussing and may pay a bit more next time for a camera with a fully manual twist and focus option.

Examples

It's nice here (http://www.aqsl02.dsl.pipex.com/06%20home.jpg)

and here too (http://www.aqsl02.dsl.pipex.com/22%20SSet3.jpg)

These have obviously been resized down quite considerably.

[goates]

I have a Canon PowerShot S1 IS and it is really nice for the most part. It is a little slow to focus if you use the autofocus, which makes any moving aircraft or action shot difficult to time. It took me several tries at an airshow this summer to get some good shots of the RCAF Snowbirds and a B-17. I haven't got too far into using the manual focus yet or the burst mode. A bit more practice with following the aircraft while it takes the picture will help though. Faster memory cards would probably help somewhat too.

On the other hand, the image stabilization works very well. I have a couple of photos with at maximum zoom taken without a tripod and they look pretty good.

Maybe when I get home, I wil post a couple of samples.

goates

[Invictus]

... that you have a little look at www.dpreview.com

It is a superb website with good write-ups and information.

Cheers

Invictus

[FunkyMunky]

I recently purchased an S5000. Great camera for the price (about 200 quid where I sourced it from), only a 3mp sensor but some funky Fuji diagonal-CCD technology outputs at 6 megapixels. Features a 10x optical zoom and 2.2x digital zoom, giving you 22x zoom combined. The images it produces are great, if a little noisy in the 6 megapixel mode. Autofocus is not the fastest, but worked well enough for me at Leuchars this year. Burst/Continuous shot modes are very good, allowing you to capture as many 1/2mp images as the card can hold, or five full-quality images in rapid succession.

Camera has full automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority and full manual modes, so is perfect for when you decide to customise your shots. Also takes video with sound, and has built in "scene" modes (night, action, portrait, scenery) for when you just want to "point and shoot". Doesn't have a hotshoe (not many non-SLR do) but comes with adapter ring to support a wide range of telephoto or wide angle lens additions.

Great little camera, and they've just release an updated version (S5500) with an extra megapixel (4mp CCD, 8mp output). You can pick up the new version with bundled charger and batteries for £284 from various online retailers.

The camera takes xD picture cards which were on the pricey side until recently, but nowadays I could pick up a 512mb card for the price I paid for a 256mb. Nowadays, 256mb from Olympus will set you back £60 quid, which is a good enough price.

Looks great too...the "mini-SLR" style is becoming more and more popular these days. It isn't too weighty (feels "comfortable", not flimsy). You'll want to use the included strap though, or buy a case for it, because there is no way you could fit it in a pocket. Might work with some baggy trousers but you might also get some weird looks that way, especially with the lens adapter ring installed as recommended :p