Camera Buffs? Compact Bridge Camera?

booler

I am thinking of purchasing a new digital camera. I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8, which I purchased back in July 2007. It has been a great camera but I now want something a bit more current. I was thinking of the Lumix DMC-FZ61 at £240 from Amazon. It's a great camera with great reviews but it's a wee bit heavy so I thought I would ask for opinions in here first.


My spec ...

• Up to around £300
• compact size and weight
• greater than 12 x zoom
• 12MP or better
• good in low light conditions
• easy to use
• wifi/bluetooth would be nice

Can anyone recommend something?

booler

No one around on this one?

usignuolo

I have a Canon G12 which again is a wee bit heavy but works well.I have recently bought an Olympus XZ-1 as it is much more lightweight and reported to be good for low light shots which the Canon is not (very). It seems to work OK although I am still learning all the commands. The only disadvantage so far is the battery life is a lot less than the Canon.

There is an xz-2 model around. I paid around £250 for the XZ-1 last month but you can probably find it cheaper.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1

googler

I was looking at Nikons the other day, and some of their new models had well-specified optical zoom and MP figures.... I swear by Panasonics at the moment, but .....

bcl999

I've been looking at a few recently and these two impressed me.

They are compacts and pocketable, rather than bridge:
Samsung EXF2 £259 F1.4, wi-fi, swivel LCD but no viewfinder, 1/1.7 sensor size, 4x zoom but has digital zoom in addition

Fuju X10 £249 refurb at Fuji Shop (there is also a 10% code on the net) F2, optical viewfinder, 1/2.3sensor size, 4x zoom with digital zoom in addition

booler

Thanks for the replies guys. I did look at the Olympus X1 but it is now more than two years out of date. I would like something more current.

I should have added to the spec that a viewfinder (EVF or optical) is a prerequisite.

Ant555

Ive had an HS30 for about a year

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePix-HS30EXR-EXR-CMOS-Tiltable/dp/B006Q8VA2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360857381&sr=8-1

I was going to buy a long lens for my dslr but I took a financial decision that it was crazy for the use I would get from it, sold the D3100 bought the HS30 and still had some change.

The colours are not as bright as my Nikon D3100 SLR but the HS30 is good, it has a manual zoom just like the dslr and for me thats a big feature.
Its got an EVF that is pretty good.
Its not bad for me in low light either when wide but when zoomed right in the focus hunts a bit. I mostly use the larger zoom numbers when outdoors anyway.

It may be too big and bulky for some but i'd go down to [STRIKE]Jessops,[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]Comet[/STRIKE] - errrrr, maybe PC world to hold one first.

Ant555

Opps - I just noticed...

booler wrote: »

[*]compact size and weight

The HS30 is not compact so probably best to ignore my previous post!

newtonflotman

Can't rate the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 enough. Can pick them up £229 ish readily or bargain Manufacturer Refurbs with 12 Months Guarantee for around £180. Maybe not the latest model but difficult to beat for quality and price.:beer:

booler

Yes but the DMC-TZ30 has no viewfinder.