Digicam Query

[Decius]

Hi all

A friend of mine wants to buy a digicam, his budget is arnd 15K. I advised him for Fuji Finepix S5600 but it seems a bit overbudget to him. So can u guys suggest any more cams? He wants minimum of 5x optical zoom. btw how r the kodak cams? i looked for two of them Z700 n Z740, r they any gud? n what about Fuji S3500?
Thnx in advance

 

[medpal]

hey decius:

just mentioning 5x optical zoom will not be enough to find a good digital camera for a third person.

he should be specific about his usage, his needs.

as most compact digicams have their zooms set at 4x, finding a 5x camera will be tougher. (i found only one within stapulated budget nikon coolpix l1)

as 5x will put the camera in a little higher bracket the prices will jump.
if he is comfortable with 4x then there are many choices. (he should be if he is home user)

canon powershot A530 / A610
nikon l2/l3/l4
sony dsc w30/w5/t5/t7

are the models to look out for.

points while you select digicam,
formfactor
weight
type of batteries and battery life
type of storage card.
optical zoom (ignore digital zoom)
resolutions (megapixels : not totally to be followed but more the merrier. for home user max 5MP will do)
service support (who looks out for this in india as you most likely end up buying from grey market)

so your budget should include camera + decent sized memory card (256/512) + good quality rechargable battries + good charger + good camera case.

hope this helps

PS:
i looked somewhere and found out that some darklord is looking out for digicam too. hey i would wouch for canon S2 IS anyday over PANASONIC Z20

is it you darky?

 

[Decius]

Hey Medpal.. thnx for the input.

Actually basically he is a home user only but the thing is he likes to travel n visit natural scenic places.. so for this reason he is more specific about Optical zoom, to cover landscapes n all. He is pretty ok with 4 megapixels, but for his budget i couldnt really find much. The only ones i came across were Kodak Z700 (5x zoom + 4MP) and Kodak Z740(10x Zoom +5MP) but i really dont have a clue about the performance of Kodak digicams, that's y i asked about Kodak cams.

Anyone in here who has used kodak digicams?

 

[chic_magnet]

i think one of the most suitable camera would be the panasonic lumix fz20 ..

got it for around 17k..
5 MP, 12x optical zoom. i guess it wold be enoough

chk the specs here

http://jjmehta.com/products/panasonic_fz20.html

you can chk other camera`s also.. but with 10x optical zooom .. it would be hard to find a cam cheap enough to be in your budget.

 

[NinByChoice]

Why dont you get a camera with higher MP and lower optical zoom. Most of the cameras provide some sort of "smart zoom" where they give you more zoom if you are taking shots at lower resolutions, without losing quality at lower resolutions.

Raghu.

 

[Hacker]

Shouldnt it be the exact opposite. Why do you guys need more megapixel, i think 4 mp is enough for a home user.

 

[Aces170]

From what I have seen, its very difficult to take a still photo with optical zoom, and near impossible with digital zoom. Buy camera's where its easier to handle the zoom aspects.

 

[reef_d]

i have a sony dsc60 and i find it really good. Got it for around 10k. The video recording is superb on the sony almost as good as their handycams. It uses AA batteries so ask your friend if he wants a cam which uses pencil batteries or lithium batteries

 

[NinByChoice]

Shouldnt it be the exact opposite. Why do you guys need more megapixel, i think 4 mp is enough for a home user.

He wants about 5x optical zoom which is not so easily available in the price range. The solution to this is to get a camera of higher MP rating and then use digital zoom while taking the image at lower resolutions..

For example, my Sony 3MP, 3x optical zoom camera can take shots at 1024x768 (1MP) at about 10x zoom without losing image quality. So its sometimes better to get a 6MP camera, use it to take shots at 4MP at which you can have lossless zoom of about 10x or so.

Raghu.

 

[Decius]

Thnx all of u guys for the inputs , will let my friend know about these suggestions. Yeah his budget of 15K is the main culprit... grrr.. its really very difficult to find cams with 5x or more optical Zoom in that budget. The only ones i came across were those of Kodak, but reviews abt Kodak Z700 on sites aint very gud.. its juz okaish cam, so i guess he has to look at some other choices.