New Camera???? Photographers Help needed

[Huntr104]

I'm looking to buy a new digital camera. (NOT A Trail Camera).
I want to keep the cost under $400. I'll primarily be using it for family photos but would like to be able to take it out in the woods for wildlife photos as well. I need something with a good zoom. Image stabilization is also a concern. Any advice or help and recomendations. Thanks

[smallmunster]

I recently got a Panasonic FZ-5. 12X optical zoom with image stabilization. I love it and can take handheld pics at 12X without any trouble. I got mine online for $350.

[Huntr104]

Thanks smallmunster. I've seen that camera online and it gets great reviews. I just started looking actually today online. I want to take my time to make sure I get the options I want.
Like:
being able to take pics in Low Light Conditions
taking still shots in a fast sequence, etc.

Can you tell me more about that camera?

[TBryan]

[ QUOTE ]
I recently got a Panasonic FZ-5. 12X optical zoom with image stabilization. I love it and can take handheld pics at 12X without any trouble. I got mine online for $350.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good choice. Ive heard good things about them. I use the FZ-30 and love it.

[wtnhunt]

Check out butterfly photo before you buy whatever you do decide to buy. Their prices are hard to beat. Bought my digital slr from them, been very happy with it.

[smallmunster]

The camera has a burst mode, I think it is 2.5 FPS without flash. I know you can take a lot pics in a hurry. From what I read it helps to have a high speed SD card for optimal burst performance. I got a Ridata 1 GB 66X card when I bought the camera. It has a flash, but it is manual only, it will not pop-up automatically which I have been used to in the past. I think the flash pics are good, it would depend on what you are used to I suppose. I mostly got it for the 12X (432mm) zoom and I think that works great. It has two IS modes, both work, but mode 2 is a bit better for me. Taking pics at 12X without a tripod is usually not a problem. The auto focus is usually very good and responsive. I tried a Kodak 740Z without the IS and it took about 10 pics before I decided that you need IS to have any chance at using the full zoom. DPreview.com has a good review that covers just about everything.

[KTMMIKE]

This past week I got a Canon PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera. It has a 12x optical zoom & takes great low light pics without a flash. That was important to me since I use it a lot for hunting & such. This was actually my second one since my lost our other one last week.

[Huntr104]

Thanks guys. Can you tell me anything else I should be looking for in a camera? I'll be using it out in the woods more than anything. I"m really green to this and the more I read the more confused I get.

[Storm25m]

I would give very high marks to the Fuji S5000 that I use right now. It can be bought for less than $250 now. It's only three megapixel, but that is plenty for me. It's successor, the S5100 (I think) is 5 megapixel and runs about $300. My S5000 takes awesome pictures and has the zoom you are looking for (10 optical, 2.2 digital for 22x total). It has point and shoot simplicity, but has some advanced features if you want to get into things a little more. The only downside to the camera is that it is a little big. But with higher zoom, the carmera's usually aren't compact.

Regardless of what you choose, I'll give you two pieces of advice.

1. If you buy a camera online, be VERY weary of who you buy it from. Spend some time on Google and search for reviews about the retailer. There are numerous camera shops that will try to rip you off. Some offer really low prices, but fail to mention that you ONLY get the camera, not the accessories normally included in the box (like batteries and chargers). Some will try to upsell you to a more expensive camera and will screw up your order when you refuse. Check for seller reviews before placing an order! Some reputable companies with good prices include newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, B&H Photo, and Adorama.com. Newegg has the best prices on memory cards.

2. Before deciding on a camera, check to see if either of these two websites have a review for it. Both sites have great camera reviews.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms5000/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_...uji_s5000.html

[Storm25m]

Oh yeah, things to look for in a point and shoot camera:

1. Don't get too wrapped up with megapixels. Unless you plan on printing larger than 8x10 pictures, 3 megapixels is fine. One advantage of higher megapixel cameras though, is the ability to crop the photo (cutting away unimportant parts of a photo to make the main subject larger in any given size, using software on a computer or camera). Say you took a picture with a 5 megapixel camera at full zoom of 10x. Cropping the photo to only the important area might give you results similar to having another 3-4x zoom, but at a slight loss of picture quality. So that 5 megapixel picture that you took at 10x zoom would be equivilent to (guessing) a 3 megapixel picture at 13-14x zoom. Still more than adequate to print up to 8x10.

2. Batteries. This is a personal preference, but I prefer cameras that take regular AA batteies. I can use rechargeable AA's to get good battery life, but I won't be screwed if my batteries die on a trip. I can just buy some regular AA's and start shooting again.

3. Memory cards. Get at least a 128mb card with a 3 megapixel camera (160 pictures on my camera) or a 256 with a 5 megapixel camera (about the same, 150 or so), a 512 card with an 8 megapixel camera, etc, etc. Cameras might come with a small card, but you usually have to buy bigger cards seperately.

4. Zoom. Optical is good, digital isn't so good. Optical zoom uses lenses to zoom in on the subject and doesn't degrade picture quality. Digital zoom electronically zooms, basically cutting into the megapixel rating of the camera (similar to cropping, but before you take the photo). If you've got a 5-8 megapixel camera, a little digital zoom won't hurt much. With a 2-3 megapixel camera, the effects of digital zoom are pretty obvious.

5. Compare cameras on the review links I gave you. Read the specifications carefully and you find features you might think are essential/neat that certain cameras have and others lack.

[Huntr104]

Well I finally picked one up yesterday. I bought the Panasonic DMC-FZ7. It has a 12x Optical Zoom, 6mp, 2.5" Screen. and tons of other features I have no Idea how to use. lol. Now I have to read an encyclopedia to learn how to use it. I'll try to get some pics up as soon as I learn to use it. Thanks to all for your advice.