Olympus vs. Fujifilm

[Dis-Wiz]

Ok, I know there have been numerous threads asking for opinions on different cameras, but I really need help on choosing which of these cameras is better, and I thought you guys here in the Photography board are so experienced (and helpful), that you might help me with this.

The first one is the Fujifilm Finepix S700BK

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Fuji...74772/catOid/-16941/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

And the second one is Olympus SP-510 UZ

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Olym...60921/catOid/-16941/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The only difference I can see is that the Olympus has digital zoom (Fujifilm doesn't), and the Fujifilm accepts more types of memory cards.

Any advice would be very helpful! (and if you happen to know of a different camera that is within these price ranges that you think is better, please let me know)

Thanks!

 

[YEKCIM]

I wouldn't put much (if any) stock in digital zoom, since essentially all you are doing is cropping the image, which you can do on your computer anyway, if needed. You lose resolution, so there is no real advantage, IMO. According to the Fuji website, the S700 does have a 4.8X digital zoom.

The Oly shoots RAW, if that is important to you; the Fuji is lighter/smaller, takes more common/less expensive sD cards, and has a higher resolution LCD.

Other than that, they seem very similar in most respects. The Fuji S6000fd is available online for about $250 after mail in rebate, and would be a step up from the S700. It is larger/heavier, though, and is more "slr-like" in size/weight/handling, if that is a consideration.

~YEKCIM

 

[Groucho]

The S700 has a small 1/2.5" sensor (like the Olympus) while the S6000fd has the great Fuji 1/1.7" sensor, quite a bit larger. It also only tries to squeeze 6mp out of it rather than 7mp. The downside is that, like the Oly, it only takes xD cards, not xD or SD.

If you can handle the larger size, I'd definitely go for the S6000fd over the S700. Both the S700 and the Oly are going to have real noise issues in low light due to their small sensors.

 

[Dis-Wiz]

Thanks for your advice! I'll go look at the S6000fd. I think I saw it before, but it looked more expensive (but $250 is not bad for a better camera).

Thanks again!