Right I'm after a tidy camera with good optical zoom and high mega pixels. Needs to have a good video recording option too. Don't want to spend silly amounts but anything around the £200 mark I'll consider if it's a really good one. I know digital SLR's are way out of my budget and are too bulky for what I want.

I think I've narrowed it down to 2

Sony Cybershot DSC-H55

and

Panasonic Lumix TZ7

Both have their pros and cons but which one is the better camera. The Sony has the Sweep Panorama feature but the Lumix has better zoom. What do you guys think. Are there any other cameras I should consider?

Thanks

Martyn

I'd go slightly bigger and consider the Panasonic FZ28/FZ38, but then I'm biased :yes:

The only thing I'd do to improve it would be to put a tilting screen on it

Let me know if you want any links to albums

Out of those two - the Lumix

I've seen the Panasonic TZ8 which looks good. Unless I can find anything better I'll get this. I did consider getting a bigger camera but if I do that I may as well go the whole hog and get a DSLR. I'll get something small for now to practise with and when I get more confident I'll get a DSLR.

I have had the TZ7 for 5 months now and am very happy with it.

My sister has the cannon powershot sx200 and it is very good, about £200 too.

Packed with features, very quick to respond, well made.

I did consider getting a bigger camera but if I do that I may as well go the whole hog and get a DSLR

Not necessarily - how much would an SLR lens cost to give you an 18x optical zoom ?

Then there's carting them all around, changing them etc etc etc

Not necessarily - how much would an SLR lens cost to give you an 18x optical zoom ?

Then there's carting them all around, changing them etc etc etc

Exactly what I was going to say, budget plasticy lenses are expensive, good quality ones are, well, very expensive

to say the least. There may be an FZ28 going on the 'for sale' section soon, if you're interested, failing that get

a Panasonic G1, you'll get the flip screen and bigger sensor.

When I needed a new camera to replace my Olympuis C4000 (which got stolen) I opted for a Casio EX-S880. The first EX-S880 I got also got nicked but I had no hesitation in getting a second EX-S880 to replace it.

You can't get the EX-S880 in shops nowadays but the replacement for my stolen one came off eBay (£15 but had no instructions, leads, etc. though I already had leads, instructions, etc. from my previous one) and has given me no problems whatsoever.

Can't find any of these on eBay at the moment but I do recomment them. A number of photos that I have taken with my EX-S880s can be found at http://davespix.fotopic.net/ where the "Late Show" section shows this to be a good camera for taking photos at night as well as during the day. The best thing about the EX-S880 is the "best shot" facility on it which allows you to adjust the camera for YouTube movies, Scenery, Night photos and other things.

Happy camera hunting,

Dave

Always found www.dpreview.com to be an excellent source of info for the camera scene.

The Canon SX210IS (2010) Model looks good!

Nikon S4000 at the bargain end, albeit with low zoom.

if you can stretch to it this is supposed to be excellent:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-powershot-sx210-is-black-digital-camera/p1519452?go=kits_bundles&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=SX210+IS&utm_content=Cameras_-_Canon_PowerShot_SX210_IS&utm_campaign=Cameras_-_Digital_Compacts&cm_mmc=Google%2bWarehouse%20Cameras%20And%20Lenses-_-Cameras%20-%20Digital%20Compacts-_-Cameras%20-%20Canon%20PowerShot%20SX210%20IS-_-SX210%20IS

Why not go the whole hog and get an Panasonic Lumix TZ10

I will be getting one of those soon to replace the TZ6.

The TZ10 will be the main camera and the TZ6 i will use when i go away.

Carl

Because no matter how good the zoom etc is on those compacts, the sensor isn't that big, so the picture quality won't be top notch.

The picture from my TZ6 is perfect (not DSLR quality but better than some DSLR photo's i have seen) and the TZ10 is just as good according to all reviews

Carl

Panasonic Lumix FZ38...Fantastic camera!!

I ended up getting a Panasonic Lumix TZ8. Really good camera. Very easy for beginners to get good shots. Still playing with all the settings. Here's a few pics of my parents Swift I detailed the weekend. The pics were taken using the Intelligent Auto Function.

Products used: Meguiars Quik Clay, AG SRP, AG, Extra Goss Protection and Collinite 476