Which Camera? Movies, low shutter lag, good quality wanted

[snowarab]

Hi, I am looking to buy a camera today and not much time to research. We are on a trip in 2 days and our Sony Cybershot is "shot".

Budget

I am looking to keep it under $400. But if the right camera is $430, no problem.

Size

Would like it to fit in a pocket or fanny pack. Dot want to carry a camera bag and multiple lenses

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you?

From what I gather, more pixels doesn't equal best quality. I would like the bet quality for that price and if it includes image stabilization.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x)

Would like the most zooming as possible to take nature shots (hunting).


* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

Isn't that the point? to get thee best image quality? this is throwing me.

Do you care for manual exposure modes (shutter priority, aperture priority, manual)?

Manual would be fun but if there is a great range of preset exposures, that would be fine.


General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

Quick moving daughter and animals. Otherwise, basic touristy shots. Must be the least shutter lag due to quick moving subjects mentioned above.


* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

Not likely. Maybe occasionally.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

Some indoor, mostly probably outdoors. But dont want to totally sacrifice being able to take good photos inside.


Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

Action (kids/animals!)


Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I have only had Canon and Sony cameras, old school and cybershot.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

No, overwhelmed by choices.

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)


Would like to be able to do GOOD quality movies. Are any cameras zoomable while in movie mode? I would actually UP my budget if I could also get a good movie camera without adding significant weight. We have been wanting a camcorder (or whatever they are called these days!) but if I can combine both in a really good camera (for he money), then I would pay more, but no more than $500 for now.

Waterproofing might be really nice but not at the expense of features above. We think that our Cybershot died from getting honey on it from hubby shooting pictures of his bee hives and frames! Waterproofing might have come in handy. Hubby is also a bit hard on things.

TIA! Great Site!

[Andy Stanton]

For a waterproof camera the Canon D10 probably has the best combination of ruggedness and image quality. But it does not have a long zoom lens or does it take HD movies.

For non-waterproof cameras, you have a choice of several good ones. They are all quick, have very good image quality, a long zoom lens and an HD movie mode. The best may be the Panasonic ZS7 or ZS5, both of which have a 12x optical zoom, wide angle lens and manual exposure controls. The main difference is the ZS7 has a built-in GPS for geotagging your photos. The ZS5 does not have the GPS. Other very good small, long zoom cameras are the Canon SX120 IS (14x optical zoom), Sony HX5v (10x optical zoom, built-in GPS) and the Sony H55 (10x optical zoom, no GPS).

[snowarab]

Thanks for the quick reply Andy. What do those you mention have over the Sony S90? I could compare the actual specs but looking for a more qualitative response based on experience? Thanks!

[snowarab]

Seems the Panasonic uses proprietary batteries. That's a bummer.

But reading reviews said the macro mode is great for bee pictures... great!

[Andy Stanton]

Originally Posted by snowarab

Thanks for the quick reply Andy. What do those you mention have over the Sony S90? I could compare the actual specs but looking for a more qualitative response based on experience? Thanks!

I think you mean the Canon S90.

The Canon S90 has better image quality than the cameras I mentioned. But it has a much shorter zoom (3.7x) and does not have an HD video mode.

[snowarab]

Oops, yes,m meant Canon! The Panasonic is relatively inexpensive. Is there one that accomplished that might provide better picture quality and the video mode? Even if it costs a bit more?

[snowarab]

or maybe I should ask, on a scale of 1-10, just what is the picture quality difference between the two?

[Andy Stanton]

Compared to other point and shoot cameras, the S90 is 4.5/5 or 5/5. But the ZS5/ZS7 is not bad at 4.5/5.

Here are sample images.
s90 canon - Flickr: Search

ZS7 OR TZ10 OR ZS5 OR TZ8 - Flickr: Search

[snowarab]

They seem so similar, huh?

What about the Zs5 compared to Panasonic TS2?

[Andy Stanton]

They are similar cameras in many ways but the ZS5 has much more optical zoom, plus manual exposure controls. And it's less expensive than the TS2 (but it's not waterproof like the TS2).