New Camera shopping

[Misty01]

Hey I was hoping I could get some advice. I am shopping for a camera and found some good deals but not sure which camera is better. (I am a novice so be nice please)  :twisted: I will be using it mostly for fishing and birding pictures, so the choices I have so far for the good deals are these:

Sony Cybershot DSC-H7
The Quick Facts:
Sony Cybershot DSC-H7
8.1 Megapixels
15X Optical Zoom
Super SteadyShot
A Massive ISO 3200
Full HD 1080
Face Detection
Includes manuals, cables, charger, battery, and original box.

Canon Powershot S3 IS + RAYNOX Lens Adapter + Tamron UV Lens + Lowe Pro Camera Bag + 1GB Kingston SD Card + 1 GB Panasonic SD Card + Energizer 2500 mAh rechargeable batteries and charger.
Features
12x optical zoom lens with USM and UD lens element
Optical Image Stabilizer
6.0 Megapixel CCD
Larger size 2.0” Vari-angle LCD
30fps VGA movies with stereo sound and Photo in Movie feature
DIGIC II, iSAPS and Flexizone AF/AE for fast, precise results and 2.3 fps continuous shooting performance
20 shooting modes and My Colors photo effects
High ISO Auto and ISO 800 for low light flexibility
Widescreen (16:9) recording.

Panasonic Lumix FZ-8 digital camera + 2yr warranty
Features:

7.38 megapixel sensor
12x optical zoom (36-432mm 35mm camera equiv)
Leica lens f2.8-f8
Image stabilization for the shakier hand
RAW mode (uncompressed non-jpg image, rare for consumer grade camera)
Continuous shooting at 3 frames/second
Video mode (~20 minutes on high quality widescreen)
27MB built-in memory (holds pictures without a memory card)
28 shooting modes (plus manual mode for full control
Includes:

Transferable Future Shop Product Service Plan (expires April 12, 2011)
2GB ultra high speed SD memory card (GXT 133X)
Tiffen UV/Sky filter ($25 value, protects lens)
USB and TV/Video cables
Battery and charger
Silkypix software for viewing/editing RAW files
Roots carry case
Manuals and original receipt

As I said I am not a pro and just want something that is going to give me the best distance detail as they are all within $100 of eachother. If you think that none of these are good let me know what you think is good so I can research and see what kind of deal I can find as I am open to any and all sugestions. Currently I have a cannon powershot A560 (so you know my newbie back ground). Again thanks for any help you can give!  

[Kin Lau]

I don't have experience with any of the above, but DPreview recently did a few comparison tests not of the same models, but a few upscale and budget ones. Check out http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q109superzoomgroup and http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408budgetgroup .

The Canon and Panasonic series seem to be the most refined and better performing.

Keep in mind that anything higher than iso 400 on any of these will be ugly.

[Vicsr]

I bought a Canon S5 IS for my wife as her first "serious" camera because it was rated highest in all the tests & comparisons. The Image Stabilization is very effective in controlling camera shake when zoomed in & it is an excellent camera to learn with. We added a UV filter to protect the lens & the Canon Telextender 1.4 to allow closer long range shots. The S3 IS is an earlier version of the same camera. To see pictures taken with the S5 IS go to our website (see link below) in the Nature gallery & look in the Birds 09 album. There are pictures showing a chickadee eating out of my hand & some others taken at the Cobourg Harbour. If you open a picture & scroll to the bottom, all of the camera details are there.

I doubt as a beginner that you will shoot in RAW format. I would suggest using JPEG large which will result in files that are 2 mb or more which print very well in almost any size. The Panasonic with its 27 mb would only hold about 10-18 pictures without using a card. Even with the 1 gb card for the S3 IS you could run out of storage on a good birding day. My wife had 2 - 2 gb cards when she used her Canon S5 IS. (We both have Nikon D80 DSLRs now & carry 2 - 4 gb cards + 2 - 2 gb cards each.)

We are far from "professional" or even good photographers but we have fun & hopefully get better each time out. No matter which of those cameras you choose you will get some good pictures that you can treasure & have the joy of seeing some beautiful creatures in their natural environment. Learn everything you can about the camera you buy, try different settings, learn your camera's limitations & adjust to what you learn.

Vic


http://www.picsbyvicsr.com

[Misty01]

Thanks for your comments and links, hopefully I'll have a new camera soon! I really want to research before I purchase so I know what's going to get the best details for distance and not too expensive on the budget  

[qmnonic]

In case you haven't purchased yet, I started with an Canon S2 IS and loved it.  Great zoom, great image stabilization and it was still small enough to carry around.

I had a canon lens adapter for wide shots, which worked well too.

[Michael Tam]

I use the Panasonic FZ18 with the range of 28-504mm and F2.8-4.2 on Leica optics. When comparing to the spec of the new Canon SX10IS, I noted the following difference: Tele end Canon to 560mm but at F5.7; Auto-focus in lower light with difficulty in lock-on with the Canon according to dpreview; Body wt of the Canon is substantial, therefore more stable at tele-end; Battery using AA for Canon an advantage and much cheaper in the long run; Flash mount exterior on Canon; EVF at .44 on Canon as with FZ18 but only .20 on FZ28.  At the end, I found the telephoto shots at 500mm range limited by hand vibration despite of excellent IS for both cameras.  The quality of the picture is for birding record as oppose to those you see from others using SLR body and lens. In any case, read the detail review on dpreview for these two cameras, considered to be the top choice currently:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q109superzoomgroup/
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08091 ... sx10is.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0807/08072 ... icfz28.asp
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz18/
There is one important reason to select these two models.  For landscape or social photography, the wide angle of 28mm available on these newer models are essential. Whichever model you choose, make sure to purchase a UV filter for lens protection.  The FZ18 takes a 46mm filter. Also the superzoom fits nicely into a waist carried AW Lowepro for convenience on the trail.  The superzoom handles much nicer with a wide wrist belt instead of the traditional neck strap, all of which I got at Just Camera.
Good luck in your search.