Digital cameras...any recommendations?

[NWSRG]

Folks,

Not strictly aviation based, but related as I like taking pictures of planes!

I want to buy a decent digital camera and am thinking about either a Panasonic FZ22 or a Minolta Dimage A2 (or the new A200).

The Panasonic has a 12x optical zoom, with 4x digital and is a 5 Mpixel camera. The Minolta has a 7x optical and 4x digital zoom, but an 8 Mpixel resolution. Both have image stabilising.

Anyone any experience of these cameras or anything similar?

Thanks!

[G-Foxtrot Oscar 69]

I have been looking at the Panasonic.

It is image stabilised and has a Carl Zeiss lens.

It is excellent value for money and I will buy one in the next couple of weeks.

I have had a play with one in a decent shop where you could actually take it outside and use it and was impressed.

Have you considered the Canon EOS300D?

More money buy for photographing aircraft you can fit a nice big lens and a polarising filter as well as a grad grey filter.

[NWSRG]

Yep, I looked at the Canon. It's a lovely camera, but to get the sort of zoom that I want would take big money...the other cameras seem to offer more capability for less.

[Intruder]

Disregard any "digital zoom" figures. Digital zoom will only degrade the picture. You will be better off using max optical zoom and cropping/editing/enhancing the resulting pic in Photoshop or similar.

If that tips the balance in favor of one of your picks, go for it.

[mikedurward]

I have a fuji s5000. It is a fantasic piece of kit. Would recommend to anyone.

Mike

[B Fraser]

Just picked up a Canon EOS 300D and I'm well chuffed. Don't be mugged into buying tax free at LHR as you will get a better deal in the back of the camera mags

Have yet to download any shots as I'm on my hols at the moment but the previews look fantastic.

happy snapping !

[Frank Furillo]

I got a Nikon Coolpix 8700 in Malaysia in March, superb thing, 8 mega pixel and 8 times zoom.

[wangi]

Sheesh, it's a Panasonic FZ20, not 22. And it's a Leica lens, not bloody Carl Zeiss!

And I think we can say the 300D is in a completely different price league!

I've got a FZ20 and am very happy with it - a wonderfully fast lens:

http://pbase.com/wangi

I'd recommend asking this question on a more appropriate site, and spelling out exactly what you want out of the camera, what you're going to use it for:

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1033

[Biggles Flies Undone]

Depends on your budget, really. I did a lot of research and then bought a Nikon D70 when it came out back in the summer. Got the 18-70 and 70-200 lenses and I'm delighted with the results.

[Mad Monk]

Image stabilisation is of dubious value and often loses definition.

I am not familiar with the units you refer to, but support the reference to dpreview.

First thing is to define what sort of photography you want to do and suit a camera to that.

Coolpix 8700 is good.

EOS 300D, D/R etc. Forget it the D70 is far superior.

I use Canon 10D and Nikon D70, oh and a Mamiya 645 with Lightphase back.

[Front_Seat_Dreamer]

Have to agree with mikedurward the fuji S5500 is a fantastic bit of kit for the money.

Goes the same for any other Fuji's I have owned.

[goates]

Image stabilisation is of dubious value and often loses definition.

Image stabilization won't solve all problems when taking pictures, but the more recent implementations do work.

My Canon PowerShot S1 IS works very well when taking pictures at full zoom while being hand held. It does have trouble at night where a tripod would help, but for situations where setting up a tripod isn't practical, the IS works very well.

I don't think the Canon S1 IS is powerful enough for what NWSRG wants though.

[aaaaa]

I am also looking to buy and was torn between the Canon EOS300D and Nikon D70. However on holding them both the Nikon seemed much easier in the hand. So with that in mind along with your comments I think it is the D70 for me.

I also need a camera which is fairly rugged (for jungle use) and I think the Nikon is superior in this regard.

Biggles, did you get yours as a package or did you have to buy the lenses separately?

aa

[willby]

Hi
Another thumbs up for the FuJI S5000. Great camera, X10 optical zoom. Looks good and takes fabulous pics and very affordable.
Willby

[Biggles Flies Undone]

aaaaa I bought them separately, but only because the dealer didn't have the longer lens in stock when my D70 finally turned up. Having said that, I got the lens a week later while I was in Jersey and saved about £20!

Something about the D70 that continues to impress me is the speed with which it's ready to go - switch on and by the time you have the camera to your eye, it's ready to shoot.

Just a small point in case anyone didn't know - the vast majority of digital SLR's have an 'equivalence' of about 1.6 in focal length when compared to a non-digital one, so a digital with a 200mm lens is the equivalent to about a 320mm non-digital one.

[wangi]

nwsrg, there's really no way around it - you've got to do the legwork and look into all the options. As I said before dpreview.com is an excellent site for reviews and forums. For example:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/konicaminoltaa2/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons1is/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikoncp8700/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms5000/

are the reviews for the prosumer cameras mentioned in this thread. Naturally dSLRs are a different league, and if you can afford the $$$ then... But I don't think that's what you're after, but other folk recommend them regardless!

[aaaaa]

Hi Biggles

Thanks, I didn't know about the focal length. I am in Guernsey so will probably get mine here, however, there is a waiting list. Can't wait to get it and get good practice before it goes travelling.

The speed sounds just what I need, nothing worse than missing that shot while things warm up.

Maybe this is what is required for the Gatbash to get all those compromising shots of kilts etc, on second thoughts perhaps not, it is too good a camera to get covered with beer!!



aa

[Biggles Flies Undone]

Ha! What you need for the GatBash is one of those Kodak pocket size jobbies with pictbridge and its own little printer - think of the fun you could have at breakfast!

I bought my D70 from Jessops, who do 'price match' on the mainland. You order the camera then trawl the internet for the best UK price which they then match when the camera turns up. I don't know if they do they same thing in CI, but Jessops in St Helier was cheaper than the best mainland price anyway.

[Biggles Flies Undone]

Not as good as my old Canon AT1, Speechless - but that tends to be a feature of the low-end (i.e. under £5K!) digital SLRs.

It requires a slightly different technique but after half an hour or so at the Goodwood Revival meeting in September I had the panning pretty well sorted.

[chiglet]

Have to agree with Big Flys. Had a Fuji4900, then a Fuji5000 [Fantastic lens, ALL the zoom is useable] but like all Digitals, the "response" is chuffin' slow, so I bought a Nikkon D70kit, [£9995] and a 70-300 lens [£99] and all I can say is WOW!!
watp,iktch