Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.zlr (
More info?)
I'm looking for a digital camera:
1. has a stong optical zoom with image stabilization
2. can take action shots of ballroom dancers without a flash [not allowed
at these events]
3. can shoot well in indoor conditions without a flash for portraits (given
good indoor light, of course)
4. has a good Macro mode
I mostly use AUTO settings, and would consider DSLR, but don't have money
for a DSLR plus telephoto lens.
For what it's worth, my experience with digital cameras consists of the
following. A Sony Mavica 400,
which takes breathtaking portraits, is excellent in low light, has a
marvelous Macro, but cannot
take action shots worth a damn (even when put on manual control and speeding
up the shutter speed). A couple of Kodak 7440's: I find the portrait
quality simple not as good as the Sony's with the Carl Zeiss lenses, and the
red-eye was very bad. And I borrowed an Olympus C720 for about a week and
it was horrendous in almost every category.
My reading at steves-digicams and dpreview as well as some other sites
convinced me that I want image stabilization, since I will rarely have a
tripod for the action shots. That rules out the Kodak Z7590 and Z740
anyway.
I thought my choice was going to be between the Sony DSCH1 and the Canon S2
IS. Then a friend recommended I take a look at the Konica Minolta A200.
I've read reviews of all of them at the sites I just mentioned, but since
they don't do a lot of comparisons, it's hard not to read all the reviews as
essentially, "This is a good camera."
So I thought I'd go for the Sony DSCH1, since I had a very positive
experience of my Sony, and it received good reviews at those two websites.
I almost ordered one, when I read some negative reviews at Amazon for
defective cameras, and then I read a very good comparison review somewhere
between the Sony and the Canon, which argued that the Sony simply cannot do
burst mode very well: which I'd like to be able to use when filming
ballroom dance, though I might be able to live without it. Perhaps my
biggest worry about the Sony is that the DSCH1 does not have the Carl-Zeiss
lens I so love on my previous Sony, and on my brother's Sony, so I paused.
Then I started looking closely at sample photos uploaded by people on their
cameras at Amazon, and I thought the Sony DSCH1 photos were the best:
rather breathtaking, compared with the S2 IS and the A200 photos people
uploaded -- don't know if I should pay attention to this or not. This
confused me more as to what to do.
I'm burning out on reading these reviews, which often seem to list features
more than try to evaluate. Is there anyone out there who has used two of
these cameras, or maybe all three, who might put in a word and say, "Hey,
Cordo, I've used these cameras and the A200 is in a league above" or
something like that?
Thanks for any help.
Cordo