What digital camera?
 

Thinking of getting a new digi cam - been looking at the SLR-like compacts for around £200-£300 ($300-$500)... anyone got any good suggestions?

Quite like the look of the new Panasonic DMC FZ5, but its towards the top end of my budget? Any better/cheaper suggestions?

IMO you should try to pick one in the Canon or Nikon range if possible.

Sadly these days especially in your price range, the choice is so damn big that it is hard to give a suggestion. You should go to the store and take the cameras in your hands to see also wich you prefer lookwise.

The important stuff is a decent optical zoom of course. Also a rotating LCD monitor can be VERY handy. The possibility to add filters can be usefull (polarizer), same goes for macro lenses, you never know. For that money I doubt there is one wich doesn't have the "hole" to attach it to a tripod, but always check.

Also, the more MP, the better (-> more cropping resizing options in case of a wrong framing in the first place).

Cheers TT.

The only Canon that's really in my range is the Powershot S1 IS but the Panasonic i mentioned above gets better reviews.

Nikon don't seem to have any cameras that suit my needs in my range which is odd.

Found a good alternative this Fuji Finepix S7000 which has got loads of great reviews and has just about everything although again is at the very top of my budget.

You're right though, so many to choose from - very difficult :D

You can get a Sony 7.2 MP camera for 399 USD!

BTW, I suppose you need just a camera for generic use. Or do you need it for something "special"?

Nothing special but it will mainly be scenery and cars on track or at shows. So needs to have a decent zoom and shutter speed I guess.... but generally an all round camera

Oh BTW, from personal experience (with cars): be sure all the main settings can be set on "manual": ISO, Shutter speed, aperture, white balance and so on
When you are forced to use the automatic feature or preset stuff, many times it won't be what you need

Olympus C-770 UZ is a very good camera too, it got 10x zoom and 4MP.

Re: What digital camera?
 

Yeah I've seen that around for the £300 mark so might take a look at it... have you any decent shots you can post that you've taken with it?

Review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz20/

image samples:
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/?gal...cfz20_samples/

Cheers, they look stunning from what I can tell, although no doubt taken by a professional photographer?

hmmm gonna have to start saving my pennies I think ;)

What camera do you use btw TT?

A Canon Powershot Pro 1, wich is a bit outside your price range I fear, even now that it is an "old" model. it is a very good camera, but for that money now I would rather suggest a "real" SLR: Nikon D70 or Canon 300D / 350D

yeah looked at the Pro 1.... breifly before i found the price ;)

Think i'll have to go look at them but the FZ20 seems to produce some amazing images in the right hands and has an auto stabalizer, for the amateur like myself and a decent zoom which is essential for photographing track days.

Plus you can get (rather expensive) telescopic and wide lenses if i ever need them

Ronin, I would never pick the D70 over the 300 or 350D, I just listed it because lately it seems many ppl are so excited about it :roll: ;)

Found a great site here that may be of interest to others. Thousands of photos where you can search by place or camera - great for comparisons