BarbaraS

$349

Weezie

I absolutely love my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 digital.
It has: 5.0-Megapixel CCD delivers 2,560 x 1,920-pixel images; 12x optical zoom lens covers 36-432mm equivalent range while maintaining f/2.8 aperture; Full range of manual and automatic exposure options, with nine preset shooting modes (I copied that info off the web site because I don't know all the technical stuff). The one thing I do know is that I am extremely please with the quality of pictures and how easy it is to use. The zoom is incredible. It costs ~$400-500.

5alive

I also have a Panasonic Lumix, the
DMC LZ2. I took it on our trip to Italy in December and had very good results.

My only negative: sometimes it would claim to be low in battery, and several minutes later it would turn on and work fine again. Note that the Lumix, like many cameras these days, has an Economy mode. Also, it has no viewfinder at all.

Mine has a 6 optical zoom, 5 megapixels and an image stabilizer. I find the stabilizer to be important. There are two levels of the stabilizer you need to be sure to use the higher one for the full zoom usage.

I played with it some but not enough before our Rome trip. For us, the Lumix model we chose was a good mid-range purchase within our budget. There appears to be a big gap between the $150 and $500 cameras.

Ira is right, there are instances where you would love a 10x zoom, but definitely you need a stabilizer.

The other poster's comments about getting one with AA batteries is also very true. I did buy batteries over there even though I thought I had plenty beforehand.

I would advise you to make your decision soon and get snapping away, and also print a few out as well.

A constraint is lighting. Museums, churches etc., all require no flash. I would play with my purchase more in low-lit conditions without a flash to see what worked the best.

Finally, if you are taking a laptop computer, bring the appropriate cords to load your photos onto your laptop. Or, if you are staying at a hotel with Internet use, see if you can burn a CD there of your photos. Or, it is worth popping into a photo shop or maybe an Internet Cafe and paying 5Euro to have them burn a copy of your photos. Otherwise, if your camera is stolen, you have no memories of your trip.

Good luck!

Doble_Vergasser

We have a Nikon (so we get good to better results). Where it falls short is in the optical zoom. My recommendation is to try for 10X optical zoom if you can.

We have screw on lenses for the Nikon (both wide and zoom) but the edges blur on the really wide shots - just somthing to consider.

Then its batteries. I have paid as much as $14 for the batteries the Nikon uses. But the Nikon's results are awesome.

cherylforeurope

This website is wonderful for digital camera comparisons and reviews:

www.dpreview.com

midwestgal77

yes, the canon is very lightweight, I carried mine around my neck while walking through a large zoo and never really noticed it. The swivel LCD is great...I use it all the time! As far as photo capacity, it depends on the CF card you have, but it seems like I can take pictures forever until I need to switch cards. I think you would make a good choice with this camera. I am going to London in the fall and cant wait to take pictures with mine.
Check prices with different stores, mine came with a bonus memory card!

Good Luck!!

julies

One thought. Many people think they need a really long zoom lens. How often will you really utilize that? If need be, and you have a high quality camera, you could just manipulate the image on your computer at home by zooming in there and cropping. On the other hand, for the types of scenery shots many people want to take in Europe, a wide angle of 28 is much, much more useful because you can fit so much more in the frame than the 35-38 end that most of these super zoom cameras come with.

Gretchen

Canon S1 with image stabilization. Rotateable LCD panel. 10X optical zoom. User friendly controls right on top of the camera. Easily under $300. The s2 is 5 MP with 12X zoom.

Gretchen

Also, consider a digital from a company that makes cameras. It isn't all about the computer--lenses are important also.

2Italy

In Italy, and most travel destinations, I've found the need to be a wider angle lens vs a long telephoto (unless you're shooting wildlife). Many times it's difficult to get a good shot of the facade of a church or something because of the limits of the wide angle or the buildings around the church.

daisy58

So I've opted for and purchased from circuitcity.com the Canon Powershot A620 (7 megapixels) It was rated top of the heap at neocamera.com, whereas
the Fuji finepix s5200 only rated a
"good". It will be here in a few days,
So I can practice with it before our
43 days and counting Italy trip!

Gretchen

With most digitals they have a panoramic feature. You "stitch" the picture together when you print it. You can do a 360* picture, if you want.

ira

Hi daisy,

I'm sure you will be happy with your A620. I very much like my A60.

With only a 4:1 zoom, you might find yourself wanting to get the 2:1 telephoto adapter.

Gretchen

With the 7MP you can "zoom" when you do your cropping adjusting.It will still be sharp with the added MPs.

KarenM

We just bought the 8 mp Olympus Evolt E-500 from Circuit City for our trip to Germany and Greece in May. It comes with a 2 lense package.

daisy58

Ira--tell me about this adaptor!!!

ira

Hi daisy,

Go to www.canon.com.

Under "accessories" look for a TeleConverter for your camera.

Neopolitan

Comments of a Canon Powershot S2 with 12X optical zoom, for $349 on sale at Office Depot? It says, normally $499.

Gretchen you mentioned it along with the S1. Is this S2 better for any reason than the extra 2X optical zoom?

Travelfiend

there's a good give and take on this topic at
http://tinyurl.com/jmpgz

flygirl

the Canon SD550 has been going for 340 lately... 7.1 megapixels and a darn fine camera. I'd stop there if you can go up another 40 bucks.