Home Forums Gear Photography Wanting New Camera

I'm a rookie when it comes to cameras. I have had a Fuji 4x zoom and 3.2 mega pixels for 3 years now and have been happy with it. It is a simple camera and very easy to use. I'm wanting to start taking pictures while I'm hunting and the 4x zoom isn't enough. I'm wanting a camera that is a point and shoot with above 10x zoom. It is a must that is be quiet during operation. I'm willing to spend up to $500. I've done some reading on the new Olympus 550 but don't really know how quiet it is during operation. What would you suggest?

Thanks,
Darrell

This isn't very helpful to answer your immediate question, but call Doug at Camerland NY. Look in the optics forum, he's a sponsor and has a sticky at the top.

Give him your wants, needs and budget. From there he will give you a very honest and educated opinion on the best options for you. Doug's a good guy that can be trusted, I've spent a lot of my (and other family members) money with him and he's always the best deal. He also is #1 in customer service, ask any who have dealt with him.

J

Here ya go....Please call us toll free at 1-866-9optics to speak to us about any items or visit our website @ http://www.cameralandny.com

I have an older Olympus C-750 with the 10x zoom and 4mp. I've taken a lot of great photos with it but it does have some drawbacks. I've listed some that you need to find out if they've fixed in the newer models. If you talk to Doug at Cameraland, he can probably give you the answers. I've talked to him and found him to be a good dealer.

Mine has an electric view finder, EVF, with a terrible lag time. Like the LCD screen, it's sort of a video camera. The lag time means that you're seeing things past tense. There's about a 1/4 to 1/2 second delay between what the camera sees and what it shows in the EVF. That makes action shows totally impossible because you'd have to press the shutter before the action happened to get the shot. Also, the shutter button has some lag time. When you put them together, it's a camera for still shots only. Several years ago, I spent an hour sitting on a hillside trying to take a photo of an eagle circling above me. I never did get a shot with the bird in it because I couldn't find him in the EVF (you have to lead a moving target, just like with a gun) and by the time the shutter clicked, he was always long gone. It's important to find out if they've substantially speeded up both the EVF and the shutter if you want action shots.

Noise: don't worry about it. Most of the sounds that a digital makes are recordings, to be cute, I guess. You can turn off the sound. The only one I keep on is the shutter button so that I know when it clicks. I find the startup music to be especially annoying so it's definitely off.

Olympus is big on xD memory cards. They're small and have good capacity, but they're very slow. That only makes a difference if you want to take a series of fast shots. Of course, with the slow shutter & EVF, a series of fast shots is a moot issue anyway. Also with the xD, the contacts aren't protected. If it's not in the camera, it must be in some kind of case to protect it. Most other cards can be safely dropped in a pocket.
xD cards are made by Olympus and Fuji with the Fuji being a bit cheaper for almost the same thing. The only thing that only the Olympus card will do is stitch photos together for a panoramic shot. If you want panoramas, I suggest saving money on the card by going with Fuji, then spending $25 to $50 on Ebay for a copy of Photoshop Elements latest version. It takes some learning, but once you learn, it'll do the stitching (and many other things) much better than Olympus. I've done both and never use the camera's version anymore. I don't use the panorama much, but I've taken some pretty good scenery shots with it.

The c-750 uses 4 AA batteries. Unless I'm shooting TIFF or using the flash a lot, I can take up to 100 shots on a charge. Turning it off and on, which runs the long lens in and out, eats up power. If you don't mind having the lens out, you can let it sleep and save a lot of juice. A touch on the zoom lever wakes it up instantly.

I have several versions of Olympus' OlympusMaster camera software. It's junk. Plan on getting something more useful. If you don't want to take the time to learn Photoshop, check to see if your computer software already has one of the MS PictureIt versions. It's really a pretty good editor.

If the 550 comes with a remote or has one as an option, GET IT. It's 10 times better than the timer. With hunting shots, for example, you can get set with your deer, then click it. You don't have to click the timer, then hurdle the deer and impale yourself on the antlers trying to get set before it clicks.
Also, family shots are much easier with the remote. It's hard to get all the kids smiling at once and hold it for 10 sec waiting for the timer. The remote just takes it when you're ready. It's also very handy for tripod shots so you don't wiggle the camera pushing the shutter.

Dick

For a point and shoot, I recently purchased a Panasonic DMC-TZ3. Just for kicks, you might Google "DMC-TZ3" and you will come up with all sorts of user comments. The 10X lens is Leica and the it's 7.2 megapixtels.

I would have bought it from my friend Doug at Cameraland but I was out at Costco. I wanted it, so I bought it and had instant gratification.

Price was $319.99 and I paid an extra $29.99 for a 2Gig Sandisk Ultra SDII Flash Memory card.

I'd rather buy from Doug, but camera-lust got the best of me. (Bad Steve, Bad Steve, Bad Steve)

I really, really like the Panasonic DMC-TZ3. I've only run it about a week, but it is far and away the easiest, funnest camera I've ever used and the quality of photo totally blows away my old heaby, bulky Kodak DX6490. I'd buy it again, in a heartbeat.

Steve

Steve,

I have been "reading", about the DMC TZ3 for about a month. every thing I read about it seems like it's the camera I am looking for.

My neighbor was interested in one, Doug quote me a price of $325 shipped to VA., with a Gig card, spare battery. Seemed a fair price.

I am going to buy another camera, before my wife & I go to Maine for a two week vacation , mid Sept.

I now think the TZ3 may be it. My wife loves the Maine shore line, & it seems like we have to visit all the light houses, so the telephoto is a serious consideration.

Does it have a "remote" instead of a "timer" ?

With the pictures you have taken, are you pretty satisfied with the pictures, & if you have used the telephoto, are the pictures still pretty clear?

Thanks

Gene

I have a older Panasonic Fz-20 and love it.

Gene,

Doug's price is better than I paid, considering the flash memory card. Absolutely.

No remote, just timer.

I've only taken about twenty photos, but they are great. I'll post a few for you. They are kind of a slice of our life during the last ten days or so.

Great camera, my friend,

Steve



Macro of a hydrenga flower in our yard.



Libby The Magnificent, our Scotty dog.



Holy Mass at the Grotto.



Five week-old kittens we rescued yesterday. Really bad situation, but they are OK now and thriving.

Take a look at this website .... usually does a good job on camera reviews and he likes the camera Steve mentioned.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/best_cameras.html

I have been visiting that site for about 4 yrs.

There is a lot of info. it.

a person can go crazy reading all the info. on that site---it's good info.

Steve,

How well does the image stabilizer on the Panasonic work at 10x zoom??? Any examples you can post?

thanks......Jeff

Jeff, it works absolutely SWELL. I lost part of my manhood (don't tell anyone!) and actually read the instructions. They state that there are two stabilization modes; Mode 1 is Constant correction, Mode 2 is Correction at the moment the shutter button is pressed.

I set mine on Mode 2 and it is great.

It's really easy to set. At 2 o'clock from the shutter button is a small button with a hand. Press the button and a drop-down box appears in the viewfinder:

Mode1
Mode 1
Off

You select the one you want and hit enter. So simple that even I can do it.

Steve

Jeff,

I just discovered a really COOL thing. You know how when you have the LCD viewfinder in the sun, it is hard to see??? At the bottom of the adjustment stuff, but still on the back of the camera is a large button that says LCD Mode. If you hit this button once, then on a prompt hold it down for one second you get a dialog dropdown box.

Off
Power LCD
High Angle

"Off" is just standard LCD screen

"Power LCD is way bright and you can see it in the sun great.

"High Angle" is so the LCD screen can be seen when holding the camer overhead and viewing from below. No kidding.

This can be accessed in a hearbeat.

Just thought I'd add that.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the help. Sounds like you really like the camera and it is treating you well.

I'm waiting on some prices from Doug before I make my final decision.

thanks again for the help....Jeff

PS....did you get goats tags in MT this year????

No. My right shoulder is still not able to take recoil. That's OK, we've killed A LOT. Maybe next year, hopefully.


On the camera. I was watching a TV show, "It's Geek To Me" on digital cameras the other day and they take terrific, though very short-term video. Obviously, the bigger the flash-memory card, the longer it would take; a 4 Gig would be ideal, prolly. Quality is really good.

I haven't messed with the video potential of my new Panasonic, but it's probably state-of-the-art. Could come in handy for dead animal video. Hey, it's tiny and doesn't weight much; it may be OK.

The video is something I'm going to work with. All I gotta do is read the instructions (losing a bit of manhood every second) and try to get the message through my OLD brain.

Steve

Steve,

Too bad about your wing. Aren't 22 cal centerfires legal in MT??? If you had one of those silly 223ai's laying around you could load up some tsx's and go slay some goats!!!

Thanks for the first hand experience with the camera. Joel at Cameraland says they are out of stock until the 10th.

your friend.............Jeff

Friend Jeff,

The problem comes when I have to drag the buggers off the prairie, throw them into the Duramax and then hang them. I just don't have the strength. And it's OK.

Darn it, I wish you could get your camera sooner. I've been messing with mine every day and am learning more and more. The DMC-TZ3 is incredible. Worth the wait.

Your friend Steve