ksose

i would highly recommend the canon a510/520 (3/4 megapixel). very compact with 4X optical zoom and manual controls to go with the usual auto modes. good value too at ~$200/250. you can read professional reviews at cnet and dpreview.

flygirl

thanks everyone!

yes, I am also CanonGirl.

I've only had Canons since age 16... an AE-1... and on up. love 'em.

but a friend mentioned the 7900 and said to take a look (plus some online website is offering it for around 400 bucks PLUS a free printer... but I'm still not convinced that is enough to lure me away from Canons).

thanks again! when I decide I will let everyone know.

Gretchen

The longer zooms really almost require and image stabilization feature on the camera because of the lag time of a digital. This was pointed out to me by my son after I said I had always been able to hold my long lens SLR very still.
After reflecting on that I think it is the reason that even though you can get a 5 or 8 MP camera, they still only have a 3X zoom (usually).
I have just finished using my new Canon S1 pretty extensively on a trip and it is really terrific.

wliwl

gretchen:
Isn't that Canon S1 image stablized? I'm somewhat interested in that.

metlc

The recent dpreview on the Nikon 7900 has side-by-side comparison photos of the 7900 versus the Canon SD-500. The Canon is somewhat clearer on the edges of the photos.

The hot thing in stabilized-zoom cameras these days is the Panasonic FZ series. They're available in compact sizes too for less than $400, and they feature Leica lenses. Also at dpreview.com

Gretchen

Yes, it has image stabilization. This is one cool camera. I got it on Amazon for $329.

flygirl

the thing is, if you have 7 MP, and you take a normal shot of something far away, shouldn't you be able to cut out all but that little thing in the distance and blow it up somewhat? the extra MP should keep it relatively clear, right?

sundowner

flygirl - that is correct. As long as you are using the largest file size to take the pictures. Some people set the file size to smaller so their cards hold more pictures and in that case it won't work like you described.

btewalt

Hi all--
I also have a Canon. The A95 (5MP). One of my main reasons for buying this camara was that it takes AA batteries, which comes in handy if your batteries suddenly run low, and you don't have an extra on you. You can usually find AA's pretty easily. So far, I've had good picture quality. Ordered mine through www.costco.com (they will allow returns whenever, and for whatever reason)

dsm22

I just bought a Nikon today flygirl. It is a coolpix, 7MP, but this is the 7600. It is very similar to the 7900, but the screen is 1.8" as opposed to 2". Both are 3x optical zoom. I am very new to all this stuff, and I am taking a break from trying to figure all this out.

I have the day off tomorrow so I am going to go outside and play!

I am a little overwhelmed, but you have to understand that this is the first time I have even installed a program into a computer.

I took a few pics today and transferred them to the computer and I have been trying to figure out how to crop them.

The pictures look nice, but I am very unused to the delay between the time that you press the button to take the picture and when it actually "snaps". I have a feeling that with dogs and children this should be fun.

The 7600 is very small and compact. I will take some pics tomorrow and print them on Fri and let you know.

Did you make up your mind yet? Good luck I drove myself nuts for two months til I finally made my mind up and bought this one. I am one of those people that agonizes and then has inappropriate guilt and buyers remorse!
I am working on that, make a decision and stick to it.

dsm22

I meant for me to make a decision and stick to it. Not you. I will stop whining and babbling now. Thanks.

Keith

May I suggest a program to use for cropping and making other changes to your photos?

Gimp is the best free program I have found: http://www.gimp.org/ It can help make your pictures look much better.

I hope you come to like your 7600 as much as I like my 8700.

Keith

wliwl

gretchen:
How is the lag time between pressing the shutter release and picture snapping (that must have a technical name???)? How about lag between photos? Thanks so much.

bd

If you're not it a hurry to buy one, the 5mp Canon S2 will be available in June.

Gretchen

I am finding it is very minimal. For the person above that was talking about the lag time--you do need to depress the shutter halfway so the camera focuses and composes, and then push it down to take the picture. Lag time is greatly increased if you just punch the button. This is true of all digitals.

NYCFoodSnob

Well, I did my best to resist this one but let me just say the following:

1 - Nice work, wliwl, for recommending dpreview.com. This is a leading research website for professional photographers around the world and I think Phil Askey is a genius. Phil's terrifically designed website can be daunting for a novice but with patience and perseverance, one can get a wham-bam education here.

2 - Geez, I wonder what might be more important? Megapixels or a quality lens? Is this photography we're taking about? If the lens is too inferior (or too small), no number of megapixels will make the image sharper. It's that simple, so spare me all the workarounds. I'm a purist.

3 - Nice work, metic, for mentioning the Panasonic FZ series and their coup with Leica. Who among us professionals (or serious amateurs) would ever have imagined giving Panasonic a serious nod for creating a spectacular camera product?

I've seen very large format prints (no interpolation software used) from a famous landscape photographer who captured his images with this (what looks like) a silly, (not so) little camera (but still pocket-size). Absolutely amazing! The leaves on the ground in his images were sharp as glass. One had to see it in person to believe these results.

I don't own this camera but maybe I will soon.

4 - Canon is leading Nikon in the digital wars, no matter what Nikon folks have to say about it.

Happy shopping!

wliwl

NYCFood:
Yeah, I hadn't given a whole lot of thought to the lens (!) until I noticed one of the cameras (now I've forgotten which one...) had a Zeiss lens on it. I own Zeiss binoculars and they are perhaps the finest thing I've ever owned. I'm going to try to go out today to my favorite photo shop and look at some of these cameras. I'm having trouble figuring out what size they are based on the web photos. I know my son would like one of the mega-zoom cameras, but I'm not sure what for.

wliwl

NYCFood:
Actually I just looked at the photo and the camera with the Zeiss lens that I saw is the Sony Cyber-shot T33. It is really FLAT. The lens is TINY and sort of squashed into the corner of the camera. I wonder if this is OK? I can't imagine Zeiss would make a lousy lens - would they?

NYCFoodSnob

wiliwl, the reason why Sony (with Zeiss) and Panasonic (with Leica) have given Canon and Nikon a run for the money has EVERYTHING to do with the lenses.

Olympus is offering some note-worthy innovations, too. It's an exciting time for digital photography. I'm looking forward to the future.

NYCFoodSnob

FYI, I don't do "pocket-size" cameras. I won't settle for the smaller lenses. The Lumix DMC-FZ3 is about as small as I would go (for my "play" camera).