Advice Needed - High Optical Zoom - Relatively Compact

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

msgoff@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm totally overwhelmed by the wide range of choices out there and
> just need some advice now.
>
> I'm looking for a digital camera with:
>
> 1. At least 8x optical zoom
> 2. At least 5 megapixels
> 3. "Relatively" compact

Panasonic FZ20 or perhaps FZ5.
If you want long zoom you most likely need image stabilisation as well.

David

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On 28 Mar 2005 11:02:10 -0800, msgoff@gmail.com wrote:

>I'm totally overwhelmed by the wide range of choices out there and just
>need some advice now.
>
>I'm looking for a digital camera with:
>
>1. At least 8x optical zoom
>2. At least 5 megapixels
>3. "Relatively" compact

Not all that many cameras that can manage both conditions 1 and 3. The
Minolta Z5 springs to mind: it would be the first camera I'd look at if
I was starting again. There's been a thread or two on it here recently.

--
Stephen Poley

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Thanks for all your ideas - there were quite a few on the list that I
hadn't considered.

One last question - most of the reviews of the Dimage Z5 seem to say
that the picture quality is "OK" - does anyone have any thoughts on
this? I tend to get too caught up in some of the picture quality issues
of reviews without really having a good sense of how it compares to
what I have now (the Canon Powershot S110 - a 2.1 megapixel/2x optical
zoom/compact camera).

Thanks again!

Michael

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

msgoff@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks for all your ideas - there were quite a few on the list that I
> hadn't considered.
>
> One last question - most of the reviews of the Dimage Z5 seem to say
> that the picture quality is "OK" - does anyone have any thoughts on
> this?

On the one comparison I've seen between the image quality of the Minolta
Z5 and the Panasonic FZ5, the Panasonic was significantly ahead. I think
that was dcreview.

A lot of these reviews don't have a scale from bad to OK to good - that
would upset the manufacturers or importers - they have a scale of OK,
good, brilliant! See where "OK" rates on the reports given to similar
cameras.

Cheers,
David

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Just got the Panasonic FZ5 - waiting for the battery to charge! Thanks
for all the help with this decision!

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In article <1114368357.055285.231110@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
msgoff@gmail.com wrote:

> Just got the Panasonic FZ5 - waiting for the battery to charge! Thanks
> for all the help with this decision!

Let me know how it goes. I'm interested in that camera myself.