camera

[shoty2982]

i have been looking around on the net trying to find a digi camera that meets some oy my requirements...but nothing can be as helpful who have first hand use of a product. i am looking for a lightweight camera, above 5 mepapixels, 3x optical zoom, possible lens attachments and fairly compact. any info would be super duper schweet! :headbang:

[Neil]

I think you want a Cannon. Especially because of the lens attachements. I just bought the A520 but it's only 4 MPixels. It has 4x optical zoom and is very small. I shopped around for a while before getting it.

[Kevin]

I'm very pleased with my new Pentax Optio SV; 5MP, 5x Optical, very light and compact, full motion/30fps video recording with sound, tons of manual settings, etc. I don't think additional lenses are offered. I'm sure you could find some lens filters that would fit though.

If you're dead-set about having extra lenses then Neil is correct in looking at Canon.

[lumberzac]

Canon, Nikon, Olympus, & Fugi all have high end cameras that would offer the features you want. I went through the same thing about a year and a half ago. I was primarily looking at 5 different cameras at the time, the Nikon Coolpix 5400, the Nikon Coolpix 5700, the Canon G5, the Olympus 5060WZ, and the Fugi S6000. All of these cameras had plusses and minuses but ultimately they were all pretty much equal. All had manual and automatic controls and all could use different lenses when using a lens adaptor. In the end I went with the Olympus 5060WZ, because I could get the best deal on that camera. Its 5.1MP, ISO rated Auto, 80, 100, 200, & 400, has a 4x optical zoom (27mm-110mm 35mm equivalent), has an aperture range of F2.8-F4.8/F8.0, and weighs 16.9oz with battery. I’ve been very happy with my choice, but I think I would have been very happy with any of the cameras I looked at. I found this website to be very helpful:
http://www.dpreview.com/

[fvrwld]

Here is one I've been eyeing: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfx9/

I'm not an expert but this one seems to improve on everything I have now. I especially like the image stabilization feature.

[kurtteej]

If you want all of those specs PLUS if you want the camera to take good pictures (assuming your abilities match), I'd stick with a company known for making 'good glass', which is Canon. I have a few digital cameras [a point-and-shoot Nikon, a point-and-shoot Canon and a DSLR from Canon]. All do a pretty good job. The other consideration is the quality and size of the sensor that actually records the picture. On almost all point-and-shoot digitals, the sensor is TINY.

Bottom line is -- buy something within your budget and don't be such a stickler for 5Megapixels unless you plan on printing a LOT of photos larger than 15x10 in size. 3 megapixels looks great on 10x8s at 200dpi. The only other reason to have such a huge MegaPix rating is if you're going to crop big sections of your pictures out prior to printing. For online presentation or emailing, 1 megapixel is sufficient.

When I recommend cameras to people the best advice I can give is to not be so hung up on the numeric specifications - there ain't much difference between 5 MP and 6MP. Good thought on not paying attention to the digital zoom, it doesnt mean anything.

[Wldrns]

A very old thread, but...
Happy to see someone who appreciates the ability to control the photographic process using a real camera, not a device that was primarily designed a radio communicator (cell) with no photographic control, even though photography today is necessarilly all digital these days. (The darkroom in my home still exists, but hasn't been used as such in 20 years.) Among other traditional models, for lightweight easy travel I use the Olympus Tough TG-6 camera model, after having good success with the first generation of the tough series. Both have worked great while swimming when submerged deep underwater and allow almost infinite control of image capture, are not damaged by dropping on hard surfaces, and the 6 has accessory lens attachment capability.

[Viking]

Olympus Tough T-G 6.

Until I purchased the Olympus I was using disposables, but getting harder to find and more expensive. I now use the same one as Wlderns mentioned above.

I don't want to use a hi-tech camera - cruise control maxes out my tech knowledge - but through plenty of research and a lengthy discussion on canoetripping I arrived at this one. Waterproof, shockproof and so far idiot proof this is the camera I wanted - just didn't know it yet.

HIGHLY recommended for the non-tech types.