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General discussion

please help-what 6-8 meg. ultra-compact should i buy

by jamjamhdtv Feb 26, 2006 7:10AM PST

hello,
i am a young, yet pretty advanced photographer. I need a new high-megapixel (6-8 megs) or ultra compact camera for spring break and college. I have looked at the Nikon 7900, Canon sd500, Casio Exilim EX-Z750, and the Panasonic FX9k. I have really have liked using nikon cameras over the years, but is the Nikon 7900 really worth the $(b/c it doesnt have a 2.5" screen or manual controls?) Are the big brands like nikon and canon worth it, or should i go with my instinct and buy the casio? Well, here are my wants/needs:


-must be aesthetically pleasing (looks nice)
-must be small, yet somewhat rugged and last for a few years
-must have manual or decent semi-manual controls
-must have 3.0X or more zoom
-must have 2.0" or bigger lcd
-must have great image quality, esp for portrait and outdoor photography
-wi-fi does not really matter, nor does a view-finder, considering most view-finders in cameras this size dont do anything

please help me if you can; im running out of time and cannot make a decision.

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Ultra Compact
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Feb 26, 2006 9:29AM PST

You picked out four very nice cameras.

The Canon SD500 has been replaced by the SD550.

Here is a look at their specifications:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_cp7900%2Ccanon_sd500%2Ccanon_sd550%2Ccasio_exz750%2Cpanasonic_dmcfx9&show=all

Only the Casio Z750 has manual controls (Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Program, Manual).

All of the cameras have been rated high by their owners. You can't go wrong here.

Go to a camera store and get you hands on each camera. People usually prefer the feel of some over the others.

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RE: Ultra Compact
by jamjamhdtv Feb 27, 2006 5:32AM PST

Oh, thank you.
Yes, I have used dpreview.com, and it has proved very helpful.

I have went to a few camera stores and tried all the cameras out, too

I really do like the casio, but it hasnt generally been known for making superb cameras, has it? Or is this really that wonderful of a camera? Either way, if you were in my position, which camera would you buy?

Thank you again for your help. I have done an extensive amount of research, but I still cannot decide on which one of these wonderful cameras to buy.

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RE: Ultra Compact
by bliq Feb 27, 2006 5:59AM PST

The thing with manual controls is that the vast majority of people never use them, especially so in the case of ultra compact cameras. So even if the Casio had manual controls, make sure it isn't so buried in the menus that it's unwieldy.

That said, I really like the way the Z750 looked. I noticed when I was looking for a camera this last Xmas that there was a lot of talk about the 2.5in screens breaking, esp on the Canons. Plus it probably eats up more battery than a simple 2 in screen.

For me, it was more important to get more than 3x optical zoom and I only had $300 to spend, so I bought an HP R818 which has 5x zoom and was in my price range.

If I did have the money, I'd probably spring for the Nikon 7900 since I bought my mom a 4200 and she loves it and I find it easy to use and out of the box, the pictures were nice, though I'm not really qualified to determine picture quality in subjective terms.

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