Advanced Point & Shoot Camera Recommendations

[Wags374]

My Pentax Optio 555 got fumbled in a handoff yesterday and for some strange reason didn't survive the 10ft fall. :rolleyes: (Unfortunately that wasn't its first time getting dropped either....)

As much as I would love an DSLR, reality is I have a 2 yr old and an almost 1 yr old - so I am not going to be doing any fancy shooting any time soon. (Unless you call getting off a clear shot with one or both of them using me as a jungle gym "fancy shooting":) )

I need a good point & shoot camera that is compact and maybe has the option of a few manual features. Preferably with at least the 6mp and 6x optical zoom or better. Anyone have any recommendations?

[billz]

Hi Jane -

About a month ago I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. (12x optical zoom, 6 megapix, and a lot of manual options if needed ... but not camera RAW:( ) I've been very pleased with it. I'd certainly recommend it as being worth a look. Good luck!

http://steves-digicams.pgpartner.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=17247163/id_type=masterid

Bill

[OFD678]

Here is a great resource web sites for cameras.

click here (http://kenrockwell.com/index.htm)

Or Here (http://www.dpreview.com/)

I am sure there are others that are just as good, but I have used them with great success.

good luck

[Wags374]

Thanks for the recommendations and links! Choosing is going to be tough...

[NMarti]

Jane
There is a good discussion just a couple of thread down What Should I Tell Santa. There are some good recommendations there.

[Wags374]

I saw that thread Nancy, but it looked like it was about DSLR's and I didn't want to hijack that thread asking about lowley point & shoot cameras. :)

[NMarti]

Jane
Actually the Sony H5 and the Canon S3IS being discussed are point and shoot and both really great choices for you. I'm still considering one of them as an alternative when I don't want to lug around 15 pounds of equipment.

[Wags374]

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I thought they were slr or "slr-like". I'll go take a look at them. It is so hard to tell from pictures just how bulky a camera is, guess I'm going to have try and get my hands on a few.

[Bob_Benner]

I am in the same boat you are right now. I currently have a canon A620 and I am looking at something with image stabilization and much mor zoom than my current camera. The A620 is great, but I am looking into the canon S3 IS. I have used my friends S3 and I must say it is an outstanding camera. It has a 12x optical zoom, takes amazing macro shots and there are also many conversion lenses available for it. I would also like to get a DSLR, but I already know I would need at least 3 different lenses for what I want to do. Camera plus the 3 lenses would add up to over $2000.00. At the same time I could get the S3, a nice bag, a macro lens, telephoto lens, wideangle lens plus the circular polarizer I want for under $800.00. So, take a look at the S3 IS, read the reviews form various websites and most of all go try out the different cameras and see what you like.

[pgreen7436]

I bought my Sony H5 a while back and couldn't be happier with it. The ONLY knocks I have are the JPEG only format (no RAW or TIFF) and no changeable lenses. However, you can buy a wide angle and telephoto adapter lenses that fit on the Carl Zeiss (great optic) lens. I have yet to find a real need for these adapters though. Anyway, back to the camera. Fast burst mode, multi-focus or single focus, full manual control or full auto or somewhere in between. There are so many functions and abilities, it's going to take me some time to go through the manual and try them all out. Right now though, the fully automatic modes are working great for me. The pics in my gallery were all taken with that camera.

Best Buy (where I bought mine) has a pretty large selection and you can see how big/bulky or small any of those cameras are for a comparison. Some, you can even power up and take pictures with.

[Wags374]

I've seen a few reviews on the H5 that complained about shutter lag - do you notice any problems with that?

Oh and nice pictures in your gallery - like the narrow gage train shots!

[msbrad]

I think the shutter lag is a sony thing~especially on auto settings. My f828 does quite well if I turn off auto and use shutter speed or apeture settings.
My friend just bought the h5 and loves it. I am impressed with the pictures she has taken with it, and love its size.
m