New Digital Camera?

[AJL]

Looking to get a new digital camera so I cans start snapping away pics this summer.
As of now I have an older Canon A60. It was a good solid camera but it was somewhat lacking in the zoom department.
For my new camera I want to start getting into photograhpy, but not so much that I am buying $1000+ Camera bodies, with all the fancy lenses. Out of my price range. So SLR's are out of the question.
What im looking for is a beginner camera with alot of features to play around with. Preferably more then 6-7x Optical zoom with some sort of image stabilization being a must. Looking to spend no more then around $550 if possible, lower preferred. I was taking a look at the Canon S2 and S3 along with the similar Panasonics.

Can anyone offer any suggestions on what to get? It will be much appreciated.
:)

[mo_money2supe]

From my past experiences, Panasonic's don't offer nearly as much options as Canon's, especially for the entry-level consumer market cameras. As well, I find that cheaper Panasonic digi-cams tend to have a lot more noise in the pictures than most of the cheaper Canon's. Check my sig picture for what I mean of noise in the picture; that was taken on a 5MP Panasonic digi-cam only 'cause the identical shot I took, with all the same settings on my film-SLR didn't turn out. But in any case, my vote: Canon all the way! :thumbsup:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Check out Olympus, they have some nice cameras with good features for that price. Fuji is probably worth checking out, though I have no real experience with them.

Worth at least trying out:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5
Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Zoom
Canon PowerShot A700
Olympus SP-500UZ
Sony DSCH1
Kodak DX6490
Nikon Coolpix P4

[Xaroxantu Zero]

I do not recommend Canon for consumer-level cameras. They're not bad, but it's not something Canon is best at.

I got myself a Sony DSC-V3 (http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscv3/) because it takes fantastic pictures, especially for a non-dSLR camera. The price is within your range and it has all the manual controls you would need to learn. It also uses Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens, which is a professional-grade lens. I've yet to see any other brand of consumer or prosumer-grade cameras that uses such a high quality lens.

I wouldn't get any camera that uses a 1/2.5" sensor either. It's much too small a sensor, especially when taking high MP pics. You'll definitely get more noise and more quality loss. Unfortunately most of the super-zoom cameras uses this. The minimum you should accept is 1/1.8".

[dragonone]

i have in my mind:
fujifilm Z1
Sony dsc-t9
Sony dsc-t30 (new)
Leica c-lux (new)

i kno i kno, they all look greater than they function
but i just wanted something that looked spectacular yet took awesome night shots with no flash
their anti-shake tech caught my eye

or if someone could please explain to me how they are/aren't a gd choice that'd be great

[Xaroxantu Zero]

The only thing good about the Sony T-series is that they're really really small in physical size. Other than that, there's nothing impressive about it. The Super SteadyShot feature doesn't help a lot either. If image quality is one of your higher priorities, don't get the T-series. You'll just be disappointed.

DSC-T9 Review (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_t9-review/index.shtml)

[Newk]

My T-series produces amazing pics, as long as there is enough light.

[Ben]

I'm sorry, I had to laugh...recommending a Sony Point and Shoot over a Canon.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[sputnik]

Canon > *

[D'z Nutz]

If you're gonna buy a camera, buy from a company that has a history of making cameras. Nikon and Canon's are good sure bets. I'd buy a Sony discman, but not a Sony camera.

Have you looked at the Canon S2 or S3? I've heard very good things about those for non dSLR cameras.

[ProjectR]

i would suggest getting a Canon...anything with manual features is a good to play around with (like your A60). If you already haven't done so, go check out www.dpreview.com for specs on all sorts of cameras. I'm actually selling my Powershot S50 if you're interested in a good camera, with manual functions and a good zoom.

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123671&highlight=canon+powershot

[FiveFreshFish]

I'm considering the Canon S80, or whatever its replacement will be this summer. It's goes wider than most zoom lenses (28 mm equivalent) on compact cameras, and this is much more important than having a huge zoom ratio.

[AJL]

ok thanx so much, that helps alot. I definitly need to do some more shopping and research.

[dragonone]

thnx for the suggestions
i'll stay away from sony then