High Zoom Cameras

Leopard

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

Yup. Read the conclusion wrong

No problem, mr_fishbulb; I know we both just want to help the OP find the right camera for his lucky girlfriend.

darich

Dodgybloke wrote: »

I bought the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 for a safari holiday. I don't have much camera nous and took some fantastic photos of wildlife with it. So, simply enough for a novice yet powerful enough for a competent user without going down the SLR route. The 18x optical zoom is just incredible.

I hope that helps

I also have a Panasonic DMC-FZ28.
Propietary rechargeble battery (Li-ion) lasts longer than rechargeable AAs.
18x zoom lens with facility to increase to over 32x if reducing resolution.
72x zoom if using digital and extendable up to 128x if reducing the resolution
Image stabilization
Face recognition
RAW images for anything more advanced
HD video
well built and solid little camera.

All in all a great camera

Probably cost more than your £200 budget but if you're not fixed and willing to pay a bit more you could do a lot worse than this camera

buglawton

Panasonics coming a lot in the suggestions - correct! FZ18 for example is a great all-in-one zoom. Just beware they one of the few manfrs of camera now locking their cameras to own brand of battery. If for that safari you want to carry a couple of extra charged batteries, reckon on £50 each from Panny only (used to be say, £10 under good brands like Ansmann).

mr_fishbulb

Leopard wrote: »

No problem, mr_fishbulb; I know we both just want to help the OP find the right camera for his lucky girlfriend.

Maybe he needs a long zoom as his girlfriend lives across the road and she doesn't know that she is his girlfriend. D

caveat_emptor

Whatever you do get a camera with a view finder as IMO lcd screens are totally useless in anything but the dark. Had a Panasonic and got rid of it for a Canon with viewfinder of course.

buglawton

? I have a Panny with lcd or is it tft viewfinder, is excellent and can even be used to inspect the sharpness of taken images

zzzLazyDaisy

I have three pannys - compact, bridge, and dslr

Used to have a canon compact, but the panasonics knock the canon for six!

Honestly, do have a really good look at the pannys, they are amazing!

Stompa

The only problem with my Panasonic TZ1 is that low-light performance is pretty poor. Fuji have a couple of cameras which attempt to address this issue:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/FujiFilm/fujifilm_f200exr.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/FujiFilm/fujifilm_f70exr.asp

Might be worth a look.

paulwf

Wow, thanks everyone for taking the time to give suggestions. I think I'll go for the "wildcard" suggestion of the Canon SX110 as it is available with a case and delivery (I already have memory cards) for just under £160.

The small size and weight really appeals as I know I'll end up being the one carrying it The lack of viewfinder isn't an issue and although some reviews find the manual pop up flash annoying I think that will actually be easier to use. A 10x zoom should be enough (current one is 3x) as it won't be used for anything as exotic as a safari.

Gordon861

If the photos are mainly used for the web anyways you could just go for a normal compact with high MP. That way when you crop the image to zoom on an area you will still have the same res as a lower MP zoomed image.