(no subject)

[tvordlj]

I've been comparing user reviews and getting more and more confused, re digital cameras. Each one i like that i look up reviews for, has good and bad and my own opinion of the cameras have plusses and minuses too. One is a Panasonic 5 mp with a 10x zoom which i really do like. The drawbacks are that there is no optical viewfinder and it's a lithium ion battery pack. The other one is a Canon A710 IS. It's 7 MP, a 6x zoom and it uses regular AA batteries (rechargeables) which i like. But on the minus side, it has a lot more features than i need, and no on screen battery monitor, also has no "last photo review" unless you change the mode to replay and i do like that feature. The user reviews on dpreview.com have an equal amount of "i love this camera" and "the low light photos have too much noise". I looked at the user manual for both and the one for the Canon seems a lot more complicated than it needs to be. I"m leaning to the Panasonic for the Zoom especially. The battery pack does put me off a bit and a spare one ain't cheap. The Panasonic is on a clearance price for $299.99 at The Source (though i'm reluctant to buy from them) or $329.99 from Future Shop though they'll meet the other price. The Canon is a bit more expensive but .... it's a Canon. Both have Image stabilizer.

Confused.

Comments

[acey.livejournal.com]

FWIW, Tim and I have both been very happy with our Panasonics. Granted, they're different models, and I am not sure which one you are looking at. Is it one of the FZ models?

[acey.livejournal.com]

From what I can tell, the battery looks the same as those I use. I rotated two since I bought the camera 3 years ago, and have just replaced them, as the old ones started running out of juice fast. They've had a lot of use. I use the generic type which are very reasonable, and they charge quickly.

If you're interested, here's the site I use a lot to compare cameras.

[diggerjohn.myopenid.com (from livejournal.com)]

Sounds like you may already have made your mind up, but here's my 2c: I was a Canon man for 30+ years, but I've had a Panasonic FZ20 for over two years and I LOVE IT! It's by far the best camera I've ever owned. The image stabilisation is amazing (they both might have it, but are they both as good?), the zoom gives an effective focal length of 35-1600mm (I never used more than 400mm on my old SLR, so I definitely don't need more lenses!) and the lens quality is superb.

The battery pack seems to be giving you pause for thought. Don't let it. Two years in and I'm still on the original battery pack, and when I charge it up it will get through an entire evening taking photos at dress rehearsal, when I've been known to take in excess of 500 shots WITH FLASH. On holiday, although I took the charger, the pack lasted *almost* all of the two weeks on one charge.

I'd say go for it.

[trixiedelarue.livejournal.com]

I'd love a decent camera but I dont know anything about them, I am never happy with the ones I buy.

How do I know what I want? LOL