Looking for entry level large zoom digi cam

[Jondot]

Hi

I've had quite a few cameras over the years, mainly rubbish ones, but my latest was a Concord Eye-Q 4363z:

It's alright-ish, and gives reasonable pics when it wants to, but i really want to upgrade now.

I've been looking around, and i'm realy after something with a decent zoom, large lens and a good macro mode, but mainly after something that can take really good pictures (who isn't). Price wise, it musn't be higher than £180 ideally, but i can't go any higher than £200.

So far i've liked:

Fuji S5500

and

Konica Minolta Z2.

I didn't get a real go on the Fuji - Currys don't seem to grasp the idea of putting memory cards into their cameras, but i really liked the Z2.



Has anyone got either of these, or reccommend their camera?If you have any sample pics, i'd love to see them

Cheers

Jon

 

[Jondot]

*Moved to photgraphics forum*

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Don't go to Currys! Find your nearest Jessops. They understand what it takes to evaluate a camera, and will allow you to play with them. They're price-competitive with the High Street, but the internet is always cheaper. The good news is that your price point has a lot of good cameras in it at the moment.

Have a look in Jessops at the £200-mark, then source off the internet at a discount. Use the discount to buy memory cards.

 

[vladimir]

i've got the s5500 and i am very satisfied with it. pictures can suffer from a little noise if you do nightshots with long exposure, but apart from that i have not had any problems. it is renown for being a very good entry level camera. i think they both have only 4 megapixels, so none of them has an advantage there, although i never understood the megapixel race anyway. i have had some pictures produced in 30x20cm (A4 size) and they turned out very good indeed.
i can't see any difference between those two cameras, except that the fuji looks better (in my opinion) and the konica used SD cards (instead of the fuji's xD), which are more common. xD cards are only used by a few manufacturers and therefore they are marginally more expensive.
so if you already got SD cards, you could still use them in the konica but not in the fuji.

on this page you can view testfotos done with those and other cameras. although i can't really see any real difference there either.

on the following links you can view reviews of both cameras, done by the same person or team, maybe you can find a difference there.
the s5500 is the s5100 in the US, but its the same camera.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/fuji_s5100.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/z2.html

edit: oh, i think i just spotted a difference: the fuji comes with a lens adapter, that screws to the front of the camera, so that the lens is safe inside it. you can then hold the camera very well by gripping the adapter with you left hand like you hold a proper camera. i wouldn't want to grip the camera by the retractable lens itself. at first i wondered what the adapter was for, but i quickly figured it out and i have never took it off since.

 

[Jondot]

Giles: Thanks, that's exactly what i did after going to currys . That's where i found the dimage, and someone gave me some advice as to what to look for. I'll take a look as to what i can get in the £200 range in jessops, and do a pricecheck

Vladimir: Thanks for the opinion . I was looking for some comments from an owner - the test pictures that i had seen were rather noisy.
I've spotted the lens adaptor on the fuji before - it doesn't come with the Minolta as standard, but as a £60+ charge. Personally, i'm not too bothered, but my mum is concerned about the lens protection. Oh, and i already have SD cards, so i might be slightly more inclined toward the minolta, despite me only having a 64mb one

I only really got a proper go on the minolta, so at the moment, that's the one i'd go for at the moment. But, before i choose, i'm definately going to try the Fuji out as much as i did the minolta.



Thanks for all the advice, and i'm still open to suggestions.


Cheers

Jon.

 

[Burnout]

My mom has an S5100, which I'm pretty sure is the same thing as the S5500, just that it's a US version.

Anyways, about the camera.. It's pretty nice, personally I have a Canon G6 so my standards are somewhat high when I use cameras, but the S5100 seems to do pretty well. You can't get too aweful close to objects for stuff like macros, but for wide angle shooting, and for zooming into objects at a distance, it does pretty well.

Noise is an issue when it's dark, but you'll have that. I recommend it.

 

[Jondot]

Thanks Burnout!

Yeah, it seems the macro on the S5500 isn't too great - the minolta is better for that, but it's interesting about the noise when it's dark - that's a problem i get with my current camera. The minolta has the same zoom, so that's not an issue. The other thing i don't like about the s5500 is you having to press the shutter to focus it. The minolta is auto focusing constantly (there's a posh name for it somewhere).

One question i have to ask is, how quick is it to take shots? The minolta is pretty much instant, but, like i said, due to Currys being stupid, i couldn't try out the Fuji

 

[Pebb]

If you want future proof, get DSLR. Its getting cheaper every month, you can pick up a good D50 SLR. For about £800 now these days i think.

 

[Jondot]

Yes, but i don't have that kind of money to spend, sadly. Otherwise i'd be buying one.

 

[vladimir]

Thanks Burnout!

Yeah, it seems the macro on the S5500 isn't too great - the minolta is better for that, but it's interesting about the noise when it's dark - that's a problem i get with my current camera. The minolta has the same zoom, so that's not an issue. The other thing i don't like about the s5500 is you having to press the shutter to focus it. The minolta is auto focusing constantly (there's a posh name for it somewhere).

One question i have to ask is, how quick is it to take shots? The minolta is pretty much instant, but, like i said, due to Currys being stupid, i couldn't try out the Fuji

you can enable continuous auto focus on the fuji, too. i usually use the semi automatic focus though, since it gives you more control over the focus. only manual focus is totally useless unless you use a pod and take pictures of something static.
the speed is pretty much instant, too. you do notice the difference in speed between the s5500 and a good DSLR like the canon eos350d or the nikon d70, which are totally instant, but i have no experience of similar priced cameras. you should try it out.

 

[CDailey]

I can also vouche for the S5100. Great camera. 👍 If you are looking at the Fuji S5100, you might as well take look at the latest model, the S5200. I don't know what it's called outside the states, though.

 

[Jondot]

Thanks, that's been a great help

It's nice to have an opinion on the camera

 

[Jondot]

Sorry to double post, but i just found another camera.

Has anyone got any expreience of it?

It doesn't seem to have as many features as the Minolta or Fui, but i thought i'd ask anyway.

I'm more veering towards the Minolta at the moment btw.

 

[CDailey]

My friend has that camera and he likes it. 👍

 

[Jondot]

Ok, it looks quite nice, but according to the specs, the macro isn't too good.

 

[Jondot]

Right, well i went to jessops today, and decided on the Minolta Dimage Z2.

Although a lot of people reccommended the Fuji, i decided the Minolta was better for me (memory card, closer macro etc).

I'd love to crack it open now, but it's an xmas present. I see a lot of my presents being bought for me - my mum would probably buy the wrong one .

I'll close this now, and re-awaken it when i'm done playing with it

Thanks for al the help!

 

[Jondot]

Got the Minolta today, and i love it 👍

I haven't really taken any proper photos yet, but i'm dazzled by the difference in quality between it and the Concord.
Here's a quick snap (clicky for biggerer):

 

[MagpieRacer]

Thats immense! Awsome!

 

[Jondot]

Thanks

Couple more Here.