Anything that meets the below criteria for under $300?

1) Good Picture Quality - At least 5MP
2) >3X Optical Zoom
3) Size, compact would be nice, but not neccessary.


I like the Canons but can't find one that meets this

Any ideas?

5/31/2006 1:02:49 AM

i will find a camera that meets that criteria if you give me 10 dollars

5/31/2006 1:37:41 AM

canon sd450 is $250 on amazon

5/31/2006 1:40:36 AM

Canon A620 - A friend of mine got one a few days ago. I messed with it for a little while and I liked it. It seems to have a ton of features.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120179

^The SD450 comes with a free 1gb sd card at newegg, same for the a620.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16830120174

[Edited on May 31, 2006 at 1:44 AM. Reason : .]

5/31/2006 1:41:57 AM

think i might have to give up on the optical zoom thing and get a sd550 for 245+tax from dell

either that or the A700 which lacks image stabilization

any other ideas>

5/31/2006 2:53:55 AM

all the pro photo guys i've talked to often recomend against >3x optical zoom. the explaination being with each zoom there is another piece of glass or elemetn i think is the technical term added which often hurts the resulting photo. sd 450 all the way .

5/31/2006 3:35:28 AM

i've got 12x optical zoom - i see no negative effects on picture quality whatsoever

that said, it's a dmc-fz30, so it's like comparing oranges to tangerines

5/31/2006 9:50:14 AM

fuji f10 199@ sams club.

5/31/2006 1:48:24 PM

^ do you have a link or something? I can't seem to find it.

5/31/2006 2:09:38 PM

$199.83...not available on harrison or on south saunders, but available at the calvary drive one:

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=201658

5/31/2006 2:30:24 PM

^^^ yea the guy i talked to said slrs are different

5/31/2006 6:16:14 PM

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7587

$257 bucks

10x optical,
5MP
Compact P&S.

[Edited on May 31, 2006 at 6:36 PM. Reason : .]

5/31/2006 6:36:05 PM

i saw the F10 in the sams club in capital blvd.

the fuji f10 has excellent low light performance never seen before on P&S. usable iso 1600. if you shoot indoors with no flash it's the way to go. the only downside is it uses xD card. other than that i like mine a lot. both indoor and outdoor shots are excellent. i bought mine for $86 at target with no accessories other than battery.

5/31/2006 6:48:19 PM

looks like a nice camera, red eye sucks tho

^any sample pics youve taken i can look at?

5/31/2006 10:23:07 PM

just got mine a week or so ago. havent really post processed my shots yet. but here is a flickr group

http://www.flickr.com/groups/finepixf10/pool/

5/31/2006 10:26:52 PM

nm

[Edited on May 31, 2006 at 10:44 PM. Reason : ]

5/31/2006 10:42:22 PM

oh btw they have 1GB XD cards for $45 (no rebate) at office max

5/31/2006 10:44:34 PM

I think the IS S2 has been dropping below $300 here and there

5/31/2006 11:44:39 PM

^ you mean the SI? I can't find either locally for under $300

6/1/2006 12:05:16 AM

ok, so I need to get this camera locally , heres the options so far:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 - $200 (Sams)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasoniclz2/

Fuji Finepix F10 - $200 (Sams)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf10zoom/

Canon Powershot A540 - $205 (Office Depot)
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022108canona700.asp

Panasonic DMC-LZ3 - $220 (Best Buy)
http://www.digicamreview.co.uk/panasonic_lumix_dmc_lz3_review.htm

Panasonic DMCL-Z5 - $266 (Best Buy)
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_lz5-review/index.shtml

Kodak Kodak P850 - $280 (Sams)
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05080202kodak_p880p850.asp

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2 - $325 (Office Depot)
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/H2/H2A.HTM


As I mentioned before, image quality is most important, and I really want >3X optical zoom (but will sacrifice for image quality). I'll be using this camera for travelling and auction pics mostly.
I'm leaning towards the Panasonics for image quality but would love to have 10X/12X zoom

Thanks for any input

6/1/2006 1:42:06 AM

i have a cannon PS A530 and it's fine 4x optical 5.1 MP

6/1/2006 6:41:29 AM

i've heard panasonics are the best camera out there, they just don't advertise as much as sony and canon...

you can't beat 10x optical w/ image stab. for ~$200, go with a panasonic

6/1/2006 8:34:38 AM

Its only 6X, but yeah...those are the current front runners

6/1/2006 9:42:15 AM

^^ i love the lumix line...i have been VERY impressed with them...that said, slickdeals has the panasonic lumix dmc-tz1 (5mp, 10x optical) for $257 from dell

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7587

6/1/2006 9:56:36 AM

yeah i wish i could get one of the dell deals, i need it by this weekend tho so I can't go that way.

6/1/2006 10:33:04 AM

hm, the Panasonic DMCL-Z5 is 6MP while the DMC-TZ1 only has a 5MP. I assume the lower priced DMCL-Z5 takes better pics...

6/1/2006 11:07:34 AM

bttt

6/1/2006 3:06:44 PM

the cheapest I see the S2 is usually when there is a Dell deal on slickdeals/fatwallet

6/1/2006 3:09:04 PM

I picked up the Canon Pwershot SD550 a month ago for $270 at Best Buy. Really like the compactness and rechargeable battery on it. Beats the heck out of my old A40.

6/1/2006 4:00:02 PM

oh btw, heres a site which compares test photos side by side...pretty nice resource

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

6/1/2006 4:09:11 PM

Canon A620 (7.1MP, 4x optical zoom) - $184

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7594

6/3/2006 4:36:47 PM

Thanks for the NewEgg link BIGcementpon. I'ven been looking for a SD450 or SD600, but couldn't find a local store with a decent price. Even the Memorial Day "sale" prices were ~$50 more than online. Dell had the SD450 at a fair price, but they show 3-5 weeks to ship. After taxes and shipping, NewEgg was ~$10 more than Dell but they include a 1GB card. I ordered it Wednesday morning and got it last night.

6/3/2006 5:14:42 PM

what aspect of the canon's don't meet your criteria?

12x optical zoom on my camera doesn't seem to have any negative effects on image quality. That said, I just have a 4 MP Konica-Minolta DiMAGE Z3 and it takes some really great shots. As long as you know how to take pics, the quality won't be too much of an issue w/ any decent camera.

Image Stabilization / Anti-Shake are a must for hand holding shots!

6/3/2006 5:45:11 PM