OK, has anyone broke down and bought the new Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom camera? Most of the reviews look good, but not sure I want to spend the extra money. The Cannon and Panasonic are about $150 - $200 cheaper on sale (don't want the Sony). Or, I can go the real economical route and get the Kodak Z612 ($300 cheaper) as it still has 12X lens, just not sure of the quality. But having a 28mm - 508mm lens on the Olympus is very enticing.

I need to buy a new camera within the next month so I have a chance to play with it before I go in July. I think my real issue is that I don't really need a nice camera like that in everyday life. I have a few digitals that I am more than happy with and they are much smaller than any of these listed above. But I do need one for the safari! I just cringe to think it would sit on the shelf at home after I spent all that money.

As you can tell, I am really undecided as to which way to go with this

So, anyone make the purchase and if so, what do you think?

Thanks for your advice.
Duane

you might want to check out this:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympussp550uz/

I am in the same spot as you are and have looked at this one as well as the canon S3, panasonic and the sony..
good luck making a decision.

Well as everyone on this board knows I have been having the same issue. I have tested every point and shoot long zoom out there, Sony, Panasonic, Canon etc. and have finally made the decision to get a digital SLR and pay the extra $$. The reason is that after testing all of them I just do not want the lag time from turning on the camera and also between shots waiting for the picture to register. I know that it does not take that long but after spending so many thousands of dollars I want the best pictures I can get with my limited ability. I have chosen the Pentax K100D with a Tamron 28 X300 lens.

If after the trip I do not want it anymore I will put it up on E-Bay, Craig's List and also ask if anyone on this site wants to buy it for $200 to $300 less than I paid. This may sound foolish, but so be it.

Good luck.

Any stores around you where you can go and see and handle these cameras? That would be a good start towards a decision.
regards - tom

I too thought of waiting for that Olympus to come out, but when the newly-rich-from us camera guy, Mike, in the store told me it had a 'retracting zoom', I crossed it off my list. The reason for this is because I was replacing my Olympus (film) point & shoot as the lens, probably after cazillions of retractions (4 years) of use, got stuck - for good- right smack dab in the middle of the incredible Zanzibar market. To fix it would have cost $200.00.

I mentioned this to Mike, and he said that does happen occasionally with any retractable zoom lens, after much use. And knowing how much I love to zoom, I went with the Panasonic FZ50 as the zoom lens is similar to the SLR's - it stays out and you turn it. Harder to carry, yes, but if it lasts longer than I am happy.

Now I just have to find a nice small camera bag as it won't fit in my purse anymore!

Oh, and I actually have to have time to learn to use it - I've had it since Feb & have taken 5 pictures.... Well, at least I have loads of time to learn how to use it on the plane.

All of these gizmos will break sooner or later. And we don't know how soon or how late. (Including your new Panasonic FZ50). That is why if it is important to me, I take two of them.
regards - tom
ps - and yes it is possible that even two can break and leave you with none.

The Uzi 550 did not get rave reviews.

Just FYI.

You know, it would be easier if you'd just told me to go buy XXX Camera I love having the options but it makes the choice that much harder.

What to buy, what to buy............

I have an Olympus 765 which I absolutely love. I've also ben looking for a replacement which I will hopefully love just as much.

I was soooo excited when I heard about the 550, but looking at the results online, the pictures just don't seem to have that 'Wow' factor. So now I'm waiting to see what the Sony H9 has to offer, failing that I may go for the Panasonic Z8.

Can anyone tell me the difference between Panasonics series that includes the FZ8 and the series that includes the Fz50?

What are the advantages of the FZ50 that the FZ8 does not posess?

I was just looking at the difference between the Panasonic FZ8 and FZ50 this weekend as I was considering upgrading my FZ20 before my Africa trip.

Here is the info on both cameras.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz8/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz50/

The obvious difference is the number of Megapixels. FZ50 is 10MP vs the 7MP FZ8.

Other than that, they are pretty similar. Both have the same image processor (VenusIII) , a 12x Leica zoom lens, and can shoot RAW files.

The FZ8 has a aperture range of f/2.8-3.1 to f/8 while the FZ50 is f/2.8-3.7 to f/11.

If I was to choose, I probably would go with the FZ8 cause I prefer the wider aperture versus the more megapixels. But both are very similar and were rated the same on dpreview (highly recommended but just).

I've been using a canon powershot s1, but now worried about it running out of whatever and not opening so been looking at the s3 but the s1 does have lag time. saw the digital rebel that comes with an 18-55mm lens. don't know anything about this, so would this be enough for safari or would I need a bigger lens which would make me stick with the non slr digital. (want a camcorder too but that's another thread)

The Canon S1 zoom lens is/was the 35mm film equivalent of a 38-380mm zoom lens. The other 18-55mm lens is the 35mm film equivalent of 27-85mm. So, you see while the 18-55mm is significantly wider angle, 27 vs 38, it is much less telephoto, 85 vs 380. You need this much telephoto on safari. Means another Canon DSLR lens for the Rebel. Or, get the Canon S3, Sells for around $350. Or a similar model/type by Panasonic, Sony, Olympus. And take the S1 along as backup or for someone else to use.
regards - tom

Thanks Tom! (got all my Kruger reservations made and confirmed!)and I got the book you suggested.

Good going Dennis. Nice book and great map huh? (Guide book and map for Kruger park).
regards - tom

I will give my one suggestion:

This is only if you want a great pocketable zoom camera. The Panasonic TZ3. 10x zoom at 7MP.....12x zoom at 5MP and 15x zoom at 3MP...all optical zooms. Fits in your pocket and takes great pictures.

Hi Duane,

I have the Panasonic FZ30. The one thing I liked about it when I was researching the camera was that the lense doesn't go in and out when you zoom, you just turn the ring. I never knew how good this feature was until we were in a sandstorm at the Pyramids in Giza. I didn't have to worry about sand getting into the lense and wrecking the motor. I just wiped my camera off and kept shooting pictures. For me the FZ50 doesn't have enough new features so I don't plan on upgrading before our safari in September.

Julie

OK, I finally made a decision. Office Depot had the Kodak Z612 for sale for $199. I made up my mind to buy it.

As I was looking at it, I noticed the Cannon S3IS on sale for $279. I bought it instead. I had been looking at it, but it was usually $125 more than the Kodak. The main reason I bought it versus the Panasonic, the Kodak or the Sony was it takes AA batteries and SD cards. I use both of these for my other cameras so there is no need to buy additional cards or batteries.

I'm done! With the camera that is..............

thanks again for all your help.
Duane

Canon S3 is a mighty fine camera, you will enjoy using it and the photos. Be sure and try the movie mode. Set it up for max quality and fps. Then it's simply push the red dot back button and you're doing it!!! Can also zoom while videoing.
regards - tom
ps - although I'm not familiar the Kodak, I'd bet the Canon is a better camera