I've been combing the newsgroups and reviews for information on a good zoom
digital camera. The more I look, the more confused I get. I can't afford
to buy two separate cameras to get the features I want, so I have to
trade-off some of my wants.

I have a Canon G1 now and the other day I used a friend's Kodak zoom camera
and I really am hooked on zoom cameras now. But....the Kodak isn't on my
wish list.

I've been disappointed in not having more wide angle and a longer zoom in my
Canon, but it is still a good camera which I will continue to use. I
thought maybe the Canon Pro1, because I am familiar with Canon, but the
reviews and reading the user's forum on Canon sort of convinced me that it
wasn't for me. And there are features on "my" Canon that I really take
issue with. But I love that swivel LCD screen with adjustable brightness
control that I have now. I very seldom use the viewfinder because the LCD
swivels.

Then I started reading about the Panasonic FZ20. I'm really impressed with
the zoom length on it, but it's not wide angle and it seems users are having
issues with using it in low light. I do use my camera quite a bit in low
light. The FZ20 is considerably cheaper which is a plus, but maybe it's
better to pay more now for a camera that will satisfy my needs for a longer
period of time. But the FZ20 might be an acceptable trade-off with that long
zoom. The reviews talk about a small sensor and picture noise because of it
which scares me.

The other two cameras that mainly interest me are the Konica/Minolta A2,
which I really am leaning towards, but the mixed reviews of soft pictures is
a main concern. I'd have to give up the long zoom of the Z20 for the wide
angle on the Minolta. I wish I could have both wide angle to mega telephoto!
And there is the Nikon Coolpix 8800 that sounds interesting. I don't use
the higher ISO speeds on my Canon, but if I had a telephoto lens I think
having the higher ISO option on the Minolta would be really nice. The Nikon
has some nice features and I've always thought Nikons took good pictures.

Things I would like in a digital camera are better color accuracy than my
Canon, to be able to screw a protective filter on the lens without having to
add a bulky adapter to do so, being able to take low light pictures, a
feature to minimize camera shake, spot metering, less purple fringing than
the Canon, vivid photos, etc. I also want there to be less time between the
time I push the shutter and the picture is actually taken. I will be taking
pictures of wild life too, which doesn't wait for the camera to catch up. I
want auto and manual options. I also want to be able to save the pictures
in different formats as I mostly use RAW now versus JPEG. I guess this last
wouldn't be the deciding factor on whether I bought a certain camera or not,
but it would be nice. Rechargeable batteries would be great, but not a
deciding option either.

I know that the other choice is DSLR, but I'd rather be more compact than
that. I don't know if I would be able to use lenses I already have on a
DSLR camera or not. I do have 3 older lenses, flash, teleconverter, etc.
for Pentax 35mm. I suppose the DSLR have to have self focusing lenses which
means I would have to buy everything new anyway. I'm completely dumb about
DSLR, but it seems like it would be out of my price range and I don't want
to have to lug around a large camera bag full of lenses and equipment. So,
back to deciding on which camera I want.

Out of the group of cameras I have selected does anyone have any
negative/positive comments, or do you use any two of these cameras that
would give me a good comparison of your opinion? Reading the reviews is so
confusing. I'm back and forth between cameras and I wonder if all the
cameras would take good enough pictures that it doesn't really matter what I
buy. I take pictures of landscapes, people, wildlife, sunsets, etc., just a
large variety of objects that I need a versatile camera for.

Thanks for any comments on these cameras, or maybe I should of included some
more cameras in this group - but at least 5MP.




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