Buying my first ZLR (entry level)

Hi everyone!! Glad to see the group up and running.

My first digital camera (a Canon S230 point & shoot) is great, but I'm
ready to buy something with a bigger zoom range than my current 2X,
more user control settings, and a camera that is easier to hold on to.
I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

I am open to any opinions, suggestions, comparisons, comments,
praises, and complaints about any or all of these models.

Hope to hear from you.

Susan McGee







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Susan McGee wrote:

I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

In that class, you should also look at the Nikon Coolpix 4800 ...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...nikon4800.html

Jan Ishikawa wrote:

Susan McGee wrote:

I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

In that class, you should also look at the Nikon Coolpix 4800 ...

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_...nikon4800.html



Have a look at a side-by-side comparison of those six models by
DPreview-

http://tinyurl.com/3jl8j


--

Thaddeus Lip****z

"Susan McGee" wrote in message
...
I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

I am open to any opinions, suggestions, comparisons, comments,
praises, and complaints about any or all of these models.

Hope to hear from you.

I was in much the same situation and read everything I found about similar
cameras. Finally I narrowed the list down to S1IS and FZ3. I ended up buying
the Canon, and just received it today.

I have only tried the camera for a few hours, and so far it seems very good.
What made me go for the Canon was the swivel LCD, better video mode, AA
batteries and CF card as I already have a few NIMH batteries and CF cards.

After trying the camera I wouldn't buy a ZLR without image stabilizer. It
really helps!

My suggestion is to get the Canon or the Panasonic.

--
Jan Otto

"Jan Otto Ruud" wrote in
:

After trying the camera I wouldn't buy a ZLR without image stabilizer.
It really helps!

My suggestion is to get the Canon or the Panasonic.

The Minolta Z3 also has IS (AS), and an extra megapixel of resolution.

--
Bill

Susan McGee wrote in message . ..
Hi everyone!! Glad to see the group up and running.

My first digital camera (a Canon S230 point & shoot) is great, but I'm
ready to buy something with a bigger zoom range than my current 2X,
more user control settings, and a camera that is easier to hold on to.
I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

Go with the Olympus. If you can spend a little extra then get the
C-770, as it has a flash shoe and more features.

Susan McGee wrote in message . ..
Hi everyone!! Glad to see the group up and running.

My first digital camera (a Canon S230 point & shoot) is great, but I'm
ready to buy something with a bigger zoom range than my current 2X,
more user control settings, and a camera that is easier to hold on to.
I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100

Oh Yeah ... whichever model you decide to purchase, avoid the Fuji like the plague!

"Woodchuck Bill" wrote in message
...
"Jan Otto Ruud" wrote in
:

After trying the camera I wouldn't buy a ZLR without image stabilizer.
It really helps!

My suggestion is to get the Canon or the Panasonic.

The Minolta Z3 also has IS (AS), and an extra megapixel of resolution.

I know, and I liked it a lot from reading the specs. However from checking
forums and reviews there seems to be quite a few problems with it, and the
picture quality is not the best.

--
Jan Otto

Lukas Varossieau wrote:
Go with the Olympus. If you can spend a little extra then get the
C-770, as it has a flash shoe and more features.

The 770 is a nice camera, but I think its lack of IS means that you can
only exploit its excellent lens in favourable conditions. It was one of
my final shortlist of three (FZ10, C770 and S1 IS). Resolution is the
limiting problem with the S1 for me - 3.2 megapixels lags the field a
little.

What I really wanted was the lens and stabiliser of an S1 IS with the
'back end' of a Powershot G5. Alas that's not a camera Canon have yet seen
fit to market -- so I bought the FZ10.

pete
--
"there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas"

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 17:15:10 +0000, Pete Fenelon wrote:

Lukas Varossieau wrote:
Go with the Olympus. If you can spend a little extra then get the
C-770, as it has a flash shoe and more features.

The 770 is a nice camera, but I think its lack of IS means that you can
only exploit its excellent lens in favourable conditions. It was one of
my final shortlist of three (FZ10, C770 and S1 IS). Resolution is the
limiting problem with the S1 for me - 3.2 megapixels lags the field a
little.

What I really wanted was the lens and stabiliser of an S1 IS with the
'back end' of a Powershot G5. Alas that's not a camera Canon have yet seen
fit to market -- so I bought the FZ10.

I have a C-750.

My biggest complaint is the poor low light focus, and the lack of any AF
assist. You can work around this somewhat by saving one of the "my modes"
to have a manual focus (about 6 feet) and force flash on.

I don't know how the other cameras compare in this area, some reviews have
low-light focus tests others don't.

Otherwise it is very nice, and I do not see the lack of IS as a major
drawback, though it is hard to compare without actually having used a
camera with IS, and I'm sure there are better pictures I could have
captured if I had it.

I try to take extra shots and hold the camera as still as possible.

The 4MP is also a plus compared to the (?) Canon.

-- Patrick Mansfield