Steve'sDigicams

Kat · Nov 13, 2003, 3:06 PM

I am just a shoot for fun kind of gal but I want to be able to capture pics of my niece when she is playing in the yard or swimming, etc. In other words, I want a zoom that is greater than 3x or 4x. I was looking at the 10x ultra zooms but now I'm afraid that I would have great difficulty capturing non-blurry shots without the use of the tripod, and I will miss prime shots if I have to get a tripod out and set up before I can take my pics. None of the ones I was considering have stabilized zooms. Price is a factor and the 10x cams would be at the top end and even over my desired budget. I have found very few other choices of zooms but Fuji has one (fuji finepix 3000) with a 6x zoom that is a good price. I still consider the 10x cams or can anyone suggest another zoom camera in the 300-400 range? :?
Thanks
Kat

gibsonpd3620 · Nov 13, 2003, 3:20 PM

What is your price range? You can take 10X zoom shots without a tripod but some of them can come out blurry. The great thing about digital is you delete the ones you do not like. The Fuji S5000, 10X optical zoom, 3.2 mp sells for under $300 at ButterFly Photo. Here is a link: http://www.butterflyphoto.com/viewit...efTag=dealtime

You can go to www.shopping.com for pricing on different digital cameras and do your search by zoom magnification.

JimC · Nov 13, 2003, 3:57 PM

Use bizrate.com and resellerratings.com to check out the vendors.

Please see the customer feedback for butterfly at bizrate.com:

http://shop.bizrate.com/ratings_guid...id--32853.html

Also, see their recent customer feedback at resellerratings.com:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4576.html

Personally, I'd stay away from a newer vendor, with very little feedback, especially when some of it mentions words like "scam". After all, some vendors have been known to "pad" their own feedback ratings, too.

Use the price search engines to find the best deals. Often you can find a model at significantly lower prices from an online vendor.

However, make sure to check out the vendors reputation, using both http://www.resellerratings.com and http://www.bizrate.com

There are MANY scam artists now. These guys usually advertise a camera model at prices below anyone else. When you place your order online, they'll usually call you back, claiming that the credit card didn't process correctly, etc., or pretending to be helpful, noticing that you may need a spare battery or memory card.

Then, they'll try to sell you add-ons (spare batteries, memory cards, extended warranties, cases, etc.) at drastically inflated prices. Watch out for inflated shipping charges, too.

When you refuse the add-ons with some of these scammers, suddenly, your order goes to backorder status (they never ship the camera at the lower price), or they may try to ship you a camera without a U.S. Warranty, or with components like batteries and chargers missing from the package.

Unfortunately, these practices are becoming all too common.

Eddie J · Nov 13, 2003, 4:50 PM

Kat, while it's true you have to be concious of the fact that you are much more prone to blury shots at a zoom of say 6× or more, don't let that put you off buying such a camera. There are a few basic techniques you can use to minimise the chances of bluring your shots, and a few searchs in this forum will probably find some relevant tips for you.

Just simple things like bracing your elbows against something whenever possible, and watching that your shutter speed doesn't drop too low will help. Another handy technique is to set the camera to drive mode and take a few shots in fast succession. You will usually get at least one that is superior to the others and then you can just delete any that don't make the grade.

As an example of the sorts of pictures you can get at long zoom with relatively low shutter speeds, I have included a few of my pictures below. They were all taken handheld on my Oly C-730 and you can click on each one to see its focal length and shutter speed. If I recall correctly, the only two where I had any sort of support were the ones of the squirrel and the mouse, where I was sitting down and had my elbows braced on my legs.

PrmseKpr · Nov 13, 2003, 5:44 PM

Nobody mentioned the Panasonic FZ series yet. The FZ1 and FZ2 (which is not available in the US) are both 2 MP and the new FZ10 (due out sometime this month) is a 4 MP camera. All three are 12x with optical image stabilization.

These were both at 12x, hand-held:

digcamfan · Nov 14, 2003, 4:30 AM

Hi Kat...

Welcome to the forum

Yes, I concur with others who posted on your thread.

The Panasonic FZ series would be a great bet to meet
your needs.

Also, if you can find one, the Olympus 2100uzi would
be a good bet.

Read about it here:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/c2100.html

Sometimes, Olympus has them for sale on their refurbished forum.

Go here:

http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=73431637

One is there now (2 days left on auction) at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=30003

FYI...I have a C2100uzi that is almost 4 years old and still going
strong.

On a personal note, I can empathize with your zest to capture
images of your niece. My 2 y/o niece is just a beautiful, strong
lil' girl with fast "wheels" so the zoom comes in really handy.

Good luck!

Wildman · Nov 14, 2003, 9:25 AM

Look at the Oly 2100UZ (the "uzi") or the Canon Pro90IS. Both have a great 10 X (38-380mm equivalent) stabilized lens. Both are out of production but can be found refurbished on the Web. The uzi is a 2.0 MP camera and the Pro90 is 2.6 MP. I have printed excellent 13 X 19 inch pictures with my Pro90. You can't miss with either camera.

DarkThrone · Nov 14, 2003, 9:55 AM

I wonder how the Panasonic FZ10's going to fare out with the UltraZoom market... :roll:

Mike_PEAT · Nov 15, 2003, 5:16 AM

I've heard complaints about the quality of the FZ pictures...shame when it has a Leica lens. I actually tried the FZ10 at a camera show and didn't like the feel of it, but that's a personal preference.

arnoud venema · Nov 17, 2003, 8:11 AM

I'm using a Panasonic FZ2 now for a few weeks. 12 x zoom with very effective stabilization. Very easy to use!
Advantage (some folks pretend a DIS-advantage) only 2 Mb pixel CCD, which means less storage, smaller Flashcards and quicker sending of photo's to the lab for prints.

I'm not using it for posters, but even 15x20 cm is no problem.

Good luck with your choice.....[/img]

Nov 13, 2003, 3:06 PM	#1
Kat Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 22	10x zoom and quality of pics question I am just a shoot for fun kind of gal but I want to be able to capture pics of my niece when she is playing in the yard or swimming, etc. In other words, I want a zoom that is greater than 3x or 4x. I was looking at the 10x ultra zooms but now I'm afraid that I would have great difficulty capturing non-blurry shots without the use of the tripod, and I will miss prime shots if I have to get a tripod out and set up before I can take my pics. None of the ones I was considering have stabilized zooms. Price is a factor and the 10x cams would be at the top end and even over my desired budget. I have found very few other choices of zooms but Fuji has one (fuji finepix 3000) with a 6x zoom that is a good price. I still consider the 10x cams or can anyone suggest another zoom camera in the 300-400 range? :? Thanks Kat

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Nov 13, 2003, 3:20 PM	#2
gibsonpd3620 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 3,585	What is your price range? You can take 10X zoom shots without a tripod but some of them can come out blurry. The great thing about digital is you delete the ones you do not like. The Fuji S5000, 10X optical zoom, 3.2 mp sells for under $300 at ButterFly Photo. Here is a link: http://www.butterflyphoto.com/viewit...efTag=dealtime You can go to www.shopping.com for pricing on different digital cameras and do your search by zoom magnification.

Nov 13, 2003, 3:57 PM	#3
JimC Administrator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Savannah, GA (USA) Posts: 22,378	Use bizrate.com and resellerratings.com to check out the vendors. Please see the customer feedback for butterfly at bizrate.com: http://shop.bizrate.com/ratings_guid...id--32853.html Also, see their recent customer feedback at resellerratings.com: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4576.html Personally, I'd stay away from a newer vendor, with very little feedback, especially when some of it mentions words like "scam". After all, some vendors have been known to "pad" their own feedback ratings, too. Use the price search engines to find the best deals. Often you can find a model at significantly lower prices from an online vendor. However, make sure to check out the vendors reputation, using both http://www.resellerratings.com and http://www.bizrate.com There are MANY scam artists now. These guys usually advertise a camera model at prices below anyone else. When you place your order online, they'll usually call you back, claiming that the credit card didn't process correctly, etc., or pretending to be helpful, noticing that you may need a spare battery or memory card. Then, they'll try to sell you add-ons (spare batteries, memory cards, extended warranties, cases, etc.) at drastically inflated prices. Watch out for inflated shipping charges, too. When you refuse the add-ons with some of these scammers, suddenly, your order goes to backorder status (they never ship the camera at the lower price), or they may try to ship you a camera without a U.S. Warranty, or with components like batteries and chargers missing from the package. Unfortunately, these practices are becoming all too common.

Nov 13, 2003, 4:50 PM	#4
Eddie J Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 117	Kat, while it's true you have to be concious of the fact that you are much more prone to blury shots at a zoom of say 6× or more, don't let that put you off buying such a camera. There are a few basic techniques you can use to minimise the chances of bluring your shots, and a few searchs in this forum will probably find some relevant tips for you. Just simple things like bracing your elbows against something whenever possible, and watching that your shutter speed doesn't drop too low will help. Another handy technique is to set the camera to drive mode and take a few shots in fast succession. You will usually get at least one that is superior to the others and then you can just delete any that don't make the grade. As an example of the sorts of pictures you can get at long zoom with relatively low shutter speeds, I have included a few of my pictures below. They were all taken handheld on my Oly C-730 and you can click on each one to see its focal length and shutter speed. If I recall correctly, the only two where I had any sort of support were the ones of the squirrel and the mouse, where I was sitting down and had my elbows braced on my legs.

Nov 13, 2003, 5:44 PM	#5
PrmseKpr Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 626	Nobody mentioned the Panasonic FZ series yet. The FZ1 and FZ2 (which is not available in the US) are both 2 MP and the new FZ10 (due out sometime this month) is a 4 MP camera. All three are 12x with optical image stabilization. These were both at 12x, hand-held:

Nov 14, 2003, 4:30 AM	#6
digcamfan Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,422	Hi Kat... Welcome to the forum Yes, I concur with others who posted on your thread. The Panasonic FZ series would be a great bet to meet your needs. Also, if you can find one, the Olympus 2100uzi would be a good bet. Read about it here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/c2100.html Sometimes, Olympus has them for sale on their refurbished forum. Go here: http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=73431637 One is there now (2 days left on auction) at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=30003 FYI...I have a C2100uzi that is almost 4 years old and still going strong. On a personal note, I can empathize with your zest to capture images of your niece. My 2 y/o niece is just a beautiful, strong lil' girl with fast "wheels" so the zoom comes in really handy. Good luck!

Nov 14, 2003, 9:25 AM	#7
Wildman Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 544	Look at the Oly 2100UZ (the "uzi") or the Canon Pro90IS. Both have a great 10 X (38-380mm equivalent) stabilized lens. Both are out of production but can be found refurbished on the Web. The uzi is a 2.0 MP camera and the Pro90 is 2.6 MP. I have printed excellent 13 X 19 inch pictures with my Pro90. You can't miss with either camera.

Nov 14, 2003, 9:55 AM	#8
DarkThrone Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 143	I wonder how the Panasonic FZ10's going to fare out with the UltraZoom market... :roll:

Nov 15, 2003, 5:16 AM	#9
Mike_PEAT Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,910	I've heard complaints about the quality of the FZ pictures...shame when it has a Leica lens. I actually tried the FZ10 at a camera show and didn't like the feel of it, but that's a personal preference.

Nov 17, 2003, 8:11 AM	#10
arnoud venema Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 7	I'm using a Panasonic FZ2 now for a few weeks. 12 x zoom with very effective stabilization. Very easy to use! Advantage (some folks pretend a DIS-advantage) only 2 Mb pixel CCD, which means less storage, smaller Flashcards and quicker sending of photo's to the lab for prints. I'm not using it for posters, but even 15x20 cm is no problem. Good luck with your choice.....[/img]