However - I'd never recommend that someone buy a camera without getting a real feel for it. Different cameras fit different hands ...well, differently. A camera that I think is small may be too big for some people; and when I hold a tiny camera comfortably, someone with large hands may not. Also, are the controls suitable? For a first camera, you really want to make sure that you are not intimidated by the complexity of the camera, but yet that there is enough room to grow into.
And so, we took our camera-hunting friend to a large shop with a good selection of compact digital cameras on display. After playing with a few models, such as the Nikon Coolpix, and the Canon Power Shot A650, along with a few others, it was determined that the camera he was most comfortable with was....a Lumix TZ3!
In fact, after further research, and seeing that the impending release of the TZ4 and 5 had resulted in significantly reduced prices for the TZ3, that's the camera he that he decided to buy. You can read a thorough review here. It has 7 megapixels, 10x optical zoom, fits in his beefy hand and also in his pocket. Though lacking manual controls (so you can't set the shutter speed or aperture yourself), there are plenty of "Scene" modes, such as snow, parties, portraits, sports, food...(trust me, the "food" option is valuable here!).
We ordered the camera online at http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/emedama/guide.html
I'm sure the budding photographer will be happy with his purchase!
2 comments:
Hi again,
I commented a few months back looking for digital camera advice, and now I'm officially in the market for a new camera b/c our Nikon Coolpix recently suffered an unfortunate death (cause of death: very wet hike).
I'm deciding between the Lumix TZ3 (or higher), Ricoh Caplio R7, (which is supposedly comparable but much less expensive) and the Canon sd 870 IS. I know everyone will have a diff. "best camera", but my problem is that I don't know how important zoom is to me b/c I've never had the luxury of anything better than 3x. Image quality is obviously #1 though.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Sorry for the random posts.
Hi again!
I'm not sure how much help I can be because I have never used the Canon or the Ricoh, though of course I've heard good things about both.
For me, zoom is fairly important - it lets me get "candid" shots, and get up close to things. Though of course, the more you zoom, the more trouble there is with camera shake (though image stabilization helps some).
I love love love the Lumix. The TZ4 and TZ5 are a bit expensive, but have lots of flexibility.
Some things to check for:
Do you want manual controls (TZ3 at least does not have this)
Zoom?
Size? (TZ3 is larger than some models)
Low light situations? Indoor/outdoor shots?
Check out Ken Rockwell http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm
OR, my favourite review site:
DP Review http://www.dpreview.com/
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