new digi camera

wellsie82

not sure if this is the right forum but im after a new digi camera to replace my HP R707

my current one is 5.1m with a 3x optical zoom

im after one for my b'day in a month's time, several members of the family have said they'll put towards one if i want to pick something (so ive not got a budget in mind as i can always put extra towards it)

the R707 was my first proper digi camera and i just feel like an improvement/step-up. ideally id want a greater opitcal zoom and a higher resolution

theres so many on the market that i feel lost before i start so any pointers or suggestions into current models and specs would be great:beer:

JustCharlie

the best thing is to decide what you would like to do with it then narrow down the choices from there

example;
Everyday use? special occasions only? compact for traveling? macro shots? blowing up pictures? etc

wellsie82

it'll be for everyday use aswell as the special occasions

i do like the R707 in terms of size, its a tad too big to fit in a pocket but it can fit anywhere else so i like the idea of something compact but im guessing to upgrade the specs and the overall camera is to get something physically bigger?

ive managed to blow up plenty of pics from my R707 but to be honest i just tend to keep them on my hard-drive and external hard-drive as backup, more for memories

video is something ive successfully used on the R707 in decent light so a decent video would be good

so far ive got my eye on Fuji Finepix S9600 which is a lot bigger than ive got now, but its a massive step up in optical zoom and resolution (and the size!)

ManAtHome

you're right about the S9600 being bigger... a lot bigger (have you seen one "in the flesh" or just on t'web?). Alternative in Fuji-land is the S6500/5600 - 5mpix, same zoom range but a lot easier to carry around (both are good cameras by the way).

julesgr

I've just bought a Panasonic Lumix DMCTZ1 it has 10x optical zoom along with the 5.1 megapixels.
It also has optical image stabilisation for using the zoom, is compact in size and has a brilliant size screen. The only thing missing IMO is a viewfinder , but on digicams these aren't always true.

I use the Fuji S5600 at work which I also chose however, it is cumbersome, and doesn't have a rechargeable battery. I find that the battery life is poor even on high spec rechargeable AA's.

The Lumix is normally around £260 but I found it at a local camera shop (North London) for £199.

Picture quality from the Lumix is excellent have even printed at A3 .

JustCharlie

if you want great zoom but a portable size its defo worth having a look at the kodak v series cameras. the basically use two different lenses in one camera so you can get close and far shots into a very compact size. they do on model with a 20xzm and its no thicker than a PDA.

they had a booth demoing them in my local shopping centre. i don't normally rate the kodak easyshare cameras but i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of these.

julesgr

Have to say I looked at teh V series as well but they don't have optical image stabilisation and the two lenses means there is a "jump" in the zoom capabilities.