Camera advice

[Baylorguy]

My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy in about a year and we want a solid camera that is very good all around quality. In terms of my use... I want to be able to get very detailed and high quality close ups of my plants. We also want one that will take solid video with sound. My budget... I want to keep it under $350 if possible.

Any feedback is much appreciated! I have done research, but also wanted to hear from the experts on here... cameras are not my forte.

Phil

 

[elgecko]

For point and shoot cameras, I've been very impressed with Canons.

 

[Baylorguy]

Yeah, I've heard canons are good. I stumbled across this Panasonic... seems to be pretty good?

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100

 

[RL7836]

I stumbled across this Panasonic... seems to be pretty good?

I got a small Lumix (DMC F2) for Christmas to have as a semi-disposable travel camera. Ironically, it takes much better pics than my older Olympus Stylus. Even when it's not obvious, electronics advance every year .... amazing!

 

[Kyle]

I have a Canon PowerShot and a Canon DSLR and I have to say that Canon makes a really good camera. If you're looking for 720p video, though, I think you might run into some budget issues at $350. The video aside, Canon point n' shoots take fantastic pictures, macros included. What I always, always do when buying tech is go to both NewEgg and Amazon, find the gadget I'm considering, and read up on the reviews. NewEgg is typically more reliable from a tech standpoint on reviews while Amazon reviews are usually better at general overviews. One thing to note: if you do end up getting a camera that records 720p video, you should really consider at least a Class 6 SDHC card. The higher the number, the better; it's just a rating for how fast the card can read and write data, something that's important when recording HD video - that's a whole lot of data.

Good luck!

 

[Est]

Another plus with canon point and shoots is the ability to easily unlock a LOT of functionality in them. So you can have as much control over the camera as you like.

 

[Kyle]

That's a good point, you should definitely look into CHDK if you're interested in Canon point and shoots.

 

[Baylorguy]

Thanks for the input everyone. It came down to the cannon, the Sony HX-1 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100. After reading many reviews and looking at sample pictures I went with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100. The usable range in the lense is quite impressive and it takes 720p HD video. I went a bit over my budget, but not much. Also got a Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card. Not sure if this will be enough memory, but it sounded like a lot Here is the description:

Camera Effective Pixels 14.1 Megapixels MOS
Sensor Size / Total Pixels / Filter 1/2.33-inch / 15.1 Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Aperture F2.8 - 5.2 / Multistage Iris Diaphragm (F2.8 - 8 (W) / F5.2 - 8 (T))
(F2.8 - 11 (W) / F5.2 - 11 (T) in movie recording)
Optical Zoom 24x
Digital Zoom 4x(Max. 96.0 x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom)
(Max. 202 x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Length f=4.5-108mm (25-600mm in 35mm equiv.)
(31-735mm in 35mm equiv. in movie recording)
Lens LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT
14 elements in 10 groups
(2 Aspherical Lenses / 3 Aspherical surfaces / 3 ED Lenses)
Optical Image Stabilizer Power O.I.S. (Off / Auto / Mode1 / Mode2)
Photo & Movie
Conversion Lens Compatibility Yes
Auto Bracketing (AE) +/- 1/3 EV ~3EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering System Intelligent Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
Face Detection Photo & Movie
Still Image Scene Mode Panorama Assist, Party, Candle Light, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Flash Burst, Panning, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow, Aerial Photo, Photo Frame, High Interface AV Output (NTSC), mini HDMI, USB2.0 High speed
Viera Link Yes
Power ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, Minimum: 895mAh) (Included)
AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC) (Optional)
Battery Life 410 pictures (CIPA Standard)
Built-in-Flash Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off,Flash Synchro; 1st / 2nd
0.3 - 9.5m (Wide/ISO Auto), 1.0 - 5.1m (Tele/ISO Auto)
Included Software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.2 HD Edition, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.1 SE, QuickTime, Adobe Reader
File Format Still Image: JPEG(DCF/Exif2.3)
Built-in-Memory Approx. 40MB
Microphone / Speaker Stereo / Yes
Power ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, Minimum: 895mAh) (Included) Battery Charger/AC Adapter (Input: 110-240V AC, DC Cable is required)
Touch Panel No
Intelligent Zoom 32x
AF Tracking Photo
Intelligent Resolution Technology Photo & Movie
Video Divide Yes
Motion Deblur mode Yes
Face Recognition Edit Yes
HDMI output Video: Auto / 1080i / 720p / 480p
Audio: Stereo

 

[dboeren]

I've been using Panasonic FZ-series for years and have always been very happy with them. We currently have a FZ-40 which is very similar to the FZ-100.

 

[Est]

Also got a Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card. Not sure if this will be enough memory, but it sounded like a lot

I'm not sure what the duration of your trip will be, but if at all possible you should have some gadget that you can offload your pictures on to, be that a laptop, or some specialized product for this purpose. Running out of space is bad, but accidentally deleting a picture, a movie, or an entire trip of pictures with one fat finger is absolutely wretched.

That being said, I'm not sure what picture and video compression is like these days, but 16 GB should get you quite far. Granted, HD video does take up a lot of space, especially if the compression algorithms fail to impress.

 

[Baylorguy]

Est, good call. My wife would kill me if I fat fingered the pictures.