Need a new Camera. Help

[kenny]

I had a Minolta Z2 but I dropped it this past weekend so I am looking around for a new camera.

Basically I want something with more than a 3x optical zoom, anti-shake, decent MP (z2 was 4 so more would be great), takes good night pictures (z2 stunk! No good Firework or night castle shots), and not too big. My wife hated the Z2 because it would not fit in a pocket.

Is there anything out there that meets my criteria or do I have a better chance of winning the "Night in the Castle" from YOAMD!

Thanks

 

[rhiansmom]

For a point and shoot I have a Panasonic Lumix TZ1. I picked this one because it has a 12x OPTICAL zoom and IS and it is small. The TZ1 is 5 mp but they now have a TZ3 that is the updated version. You can get the TZ1 for about $200 now.

 

[ukcatfan]

I had a Minolta Z2 but I dropped it this past weekend so I am looking around for a new camera.

Basically I want something with more than a 3x optical zoom, anti-shake, decent MP (z2 was 4 so more would be great), takes good night pictures (z2 stunk! No good Firework or night castle shots), and not too big. My wife hated the Z2 because it would not fit in a pocket.

Is there anything out there that meets my criteria or do I have a better chance of winning the "Night in the Castle" from YOAMD!

Thanks

Unfortunately, you have a better chance being struck by lightning during your night in the castle than finding that camera. Small cameras are the enemy of low light abilities and more zoom. You probably will be the best off with a Fuji for low light and still a small size, but they do not offer any form of IS. The other longer zoom cameras will likely have IS, but have a smaller sensor and not do as well with low light. They only way to get both is with a DSLR, which is not close to pocketable.

Also, do not worry about MPs. Five or six is enough for a p&s camera and more usually just means more image noise.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

You also won't be able to get big zoom and a camera that will fit into your pocket - unless you have pretty large pockets.

I had a Minolta Z5, which had 5mp vs the 4mp of the Z2 (plus 12x vs 10x, and had IS), and low-light was a big issue, but today's crop of cameras are not much better and some are worse.

Ultimately, the camera you're looking for doesn't exist, I'm sorry to say (otherwise we'd all use it!) Either you're doomed to be somewhat unhappy (short zoom range) or your wife is ("fat" camera that won't fit into pockets well.) In this case, it's usually best to keep the wife happy! Maybe the solution is to buy her her own pocket camera.

Your current camera is definitely capable of good fireworks photos, if used in the right mode - for fireworks, almost any camera can get good results, the trick is to use a long shutter speed and a tripod. Photos of still objects (like the castle) can also be taken in the same way. What you can't get (without lots of ugly image noise and/or blur) is night photos of moving objects, or ones taken when you're moving.

And like Kevin said, don't get too hung up on megapixels. A Fuji F31 or S6000 with 6mp is going to produce much nicer photos than most any non-Fuji 8+ mp point-n-shoot, especially in low light.