Tsx536

Hey guys,

I'm a camera noob. I'm looking for a good point and shoot camera. I have pretty much narrowed it down to 3 choices:

1) Canon SD800 $330 3.8x Optical Zoom
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

2) Casio Exlim EX-V7 $249 7x Optical Zoom
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1170290184416

3) Panasonic TZ3K $320 10x Optical Zoom
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...lang=en-US&s=1

I've heard that the higher optical zoom cameras will usually have lower picture quality. Opinions?

I'm also considering the Canon SD850 instead of the SD800. Opinions?

I'm a camera noob, so any help is appreciated
BTW, I also might be open to other suggestions. Looking to spend $250-$350ish.

jupitersolo

I would suggest looking at amazon.com for all three cameras. Take a look at what others have said about them.

edit...The Casio seems to be a BestBuy exclusive, so that puts it out of the running right off the bat for me. I won't shop BestBuy any more.

theoryzero

Have you considered the Canon SD850? I don't think it is quite as wide as the SD800, but quite versatile. My gf has one and loves it. If you watch out for sales + coupons it shouldn't be too hard to get it below $330 (keep an eye on fatwallet.com)

synth19

I love the SD800IS... here is some samples with just some minor edits in photoshop and lightroom:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/new-camera-new-shoot-%2Ano56k-%2A-369436/

Costco

How about this SD850 IS? Its actually not the successor to the SD800 but the cameras are similar as far as I know, but the SD850 IS is newer and has this slick titanium finish.

I've had my eye on the Exilim for quite a while, and the consensus from some members here and some review sites were above average at best. However, that was back then when the Exilim V7 was listed at $400. As you probably know, it currently is $250. Circuit City also has it at the same price as Best Buy, but its only available in-store in silver. I'm not much of an expert, but from my hands-on the video mode is very good and the zoom is pretty impressive. Two other cameras with just 3x optical zoom in the Exilim lineup (Z75 and Z1050) got pretty good reviews but again, just above average for the V7.

I also had my eye on the TZ3 too but it was a bit out of my budget. Circuit City only has it in black in-store, but currently Costco has the best deal. Zoom is very impressive, I don't own this either but I have a Lumix FX12K that also has a Leica lens and I'm very satisfied with it.

Your best bet is to go into a store and try out each of these cameras, ask a lot of questions, play around with the features for a while and see which one you like the best.

bgsm1th

What does everyone think about the SD800/850 Vs. the Nikon S50/S50c?

Need some advice on this.

Thanks!

Tsx536

Thanks for all the help fellaz

I went to the store yesterday and played with each camera a lot. I am now strongly leaning towards the Panasonic TZ3S. (Silver version instead of black) After playing will all of the cameras, I really liked the zoom on the TZ3S. It is 10x, but can go all the way up to 15x if I lower the resolution. the Panasonic also had a nice 3" LCD. It's a little bigger sizewise than the Canons, but I think I am willing to make that sacrifice in order to get better zoom. I also think the picture quality of the Canon may be a little better, but I heard you will only really notice when making the pictures very large. General consensus on the online reviews is the picture quality is still very good with the Panasonic TZ3K though.

LKLD

I just picked this up yesterday

I wanted a tough point and shoot that I could take anywhere. A camera like this opens up some options that you wouldn't consider with your DSLR.

LINK