Which Would You Pick . . .

Looking to get a good digital camera (who isn't?) to use for outdoor sports,
family outings and the usual kid shots. I'd also like to take short movies
with it so that I don't have to lug around my video camera. I have three
kids, 7, 4 and 1 that require a fast shooting times, so the autofocus speed
needs to be pretty good. I don't want another SLR system - too big and
bulky to carry. Smaller and digital is better for me at this point. I've
increased my budget to around $700 and these are the models that I've
narrowed the choices down to:

Olympus C-5060wz (~$500)
Is it always better to go less camera and more memory? I can add a good
size memory card, and just be at my budget.

Minolta Dimage A2 (~$700)
Put my whole budget into the good camera and get a larger memory card later
after I save up a few bucks.

Olympus C-8080 (~725)
I guess I can squeeze out a few more bucks.

Maybe Fuji S7000??? (~$450)
Nikon Coolpix 8700??? (~750 minus $200 rebate = ~$550)

Any others I should consider?

Thanks-

BTW - I would like to print some 8x10 photos (maybe larger), but mostly 4x6
prints would work for my family.

Thanks again-

BTW - I would like to print some 8x10 photos (maybe larger), but mostly 4x6
prints would work for my family.

Thanks again-

Olympus C8080 would be my choice but bear in mind that this is a compact
digital so essentially a point and shoot. In my experience it is the best
out of all the 8mp compacts. The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to
pic quality. Just read the reviews on them here and decide
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...s7000&show=all
I would go for the 8080 hands down.

"Tom C." wrote in message
...
Looking to get a good digital camera (who isn't?) to use for outdoor
sports,
family outings and the usual kid shots. I'd also like to take short
movies
with it so that I don't have to lug around my video camera. I have three
kids, 7, 4 and 1 that require a fast shooting times, so the autofocus
speed
needs to be pretty good. I don't want another SLR system - too big and
bulky to carry. Smaller and digital is better for me at this point. I've
increased my budget to around $700 and these are the models that I've
narrowed the choices down to:

Olympus C-5060wz (~$500)
Is it always better to go less camera and more memory? I can add a good
size memory card, and just be at my budget.

Minolta Dimage A2 (~$700)
Put my whole budget into the good camera and get a larger memory card
later
after I save up a few bucks.

Olympus C-8080 (~725)
I guess I can squeeze out a few more bucks.

Maybe Fuji S7000??? (~$450)
Nikon Coolpix 8700??? (~750 minus $200 rebate = ~$550)

Any others I should consider?

Thanks-

Olympus C8080 would be my choice but bear in mind that this is a compact
digital so essentially a point and shoot. In my experience it is the best
out of all the 8mp compacts. The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to
pic quality. Just read the reviews on them here and decide
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...s7000&show=all
I would go for the 8080 hands down.

"Tom C." wrote in message
...
Looking to get a good digital camera (who isn't?) to use for outdoor
sports,
family outings and the usual kid shots. I'd also like to take short
movies
with it so that I don't have to lug around my video camera. I have three
kids, 7, 4 and 1 that require a fast shooting times, so the autofocus
speed
needs to be pretty good. I don't want another SLR system - too big and
bulky to carry. Smaller and digital is better for me at this point. I've
increased my budget to around $700 and these are the models that I've
narrowed the choices down to:

Olympus C-5060wz (~$500)
Is it always better to go less camera and more memory? I can add a good
size memory card, and just be at my budget.

Minolta Dimage A2 (~$700)
Put my whole budget into the good camera and get a larger memory card
later
after I save up a few bucks.

Olympus C-8080 (~725)
I guess I can squeeze out a few more bucks.

Maybe Fuji S7000??? (~$450)
Nikon Coolpix 8700??? (~750 minus $200 rebate = ~$550)

Any others I should consider?

Thanks-

Petr wrote:
The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to pic quality.

The picture quality on the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is excellent - I own one and
use it so I have direct experience. Is your opinion based on ownership?

The picture quality of the Minolta A2 (8MP) is no better than the 5MP
Nikon 5700 in my own tests. (Yes, I have owned both).

The original poster could save themselves quite a lot of money by going
for a 5MP camera instead of an 8MP one. If they want god telephoto zoom,
I would recommend the Nikon 5700, otherwise the Nikon 5400. Going for 5MP
will leave some money for those memory cards and accessories that you will
need. There are plenty of other models which will do as well, of course.

Cheers,
David

Petr wrote:
The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to pic quality.

The picture quality on the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is excellent - I own one and
use it so I have direct experience. Is your opinion based on ownership?

The picture quality of the Minolta A2 (8MP) is no better than the 5MP
Nikon 5700 in my own tests. (Yes, I have owned both).

The original poster could save themselves quite a lot of money by going
for a 5MP camera instead of an 8MP one. If they want god telephoto zoom,
I would recommend the Nikon 5700, otherwise the Nikon 5400. Going for 5MP
will leave some money for those memory cards and accessories that you will
need. There are plenty of other models which will do as well, of course.

Cheers,
David

The pictures from the 5700 were compared to a Canon pro 1 and I much
preffered the canon. That is from personal experience. However, I ended up
with a D70 so there is really no comparison between that and any of the
compacts. What type of photos do you take with your Coolpix?
"David J Taylor"
wrote in message ...
Petr wrote:
The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to pic quality.

The picture quality on the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is excellent - I own one and
use it so I have direct experience. Is your opinion based on ownership?

The picture quality of the Minolta A2 (8MP) is no better than the 5MP
Nikon 5700 in my own tests. (Yes, I have owned both).

The original poster could save themselves quite a lot of money by going
for a 5MP camera instead of an 8MP one. If they want god telephoto zoom,
I would recommend the Nikon 5700, otherwise the Nikon 5400. Going for 5MP
will leave some money for those memory cards and accessories that you will
need. There are plenty of other models which will do as well, of course.

Cheers,
David

The pictures from the 5700 were compared to a Canon pro 1 and I much
preffered the canon. That is from personal experience. However, I ended up
with a D70 so there is really no comparison between that and any of the
compacts. What type of photos do you take with your Coolpix?
"David J Taylor"
wrote in message ...
Petr wrote:
The coolpix is a piece of junk in regards to pic quality.

The picture quality on the Nikon Coolpix 5700 is excellent - I own one and
use it so I have direct experience. Is your opinion based on ownership?

The picture quality of the Minolta A2 (8MP) is no better than the 5MP
Nikon 5700 in my own tests. (Yes, I have owned both).

The original poster could save themselves quite a lot of money by going
for a 5MP camera instead of an 8MP one. If they want god telephoto zoom,
I would recommend the Nikon 5700, otherwise the Nikon 5400. Going for 5MP
will leave some money for those memory cards and accessories that you will
need. There are plenty of other models which will do as well, of course.

Cheers,
David

Petr wrote:
The pictures from the 5700 were compared to a Canon pro 1 and I much
preffered the canon. That is from personal experience. However, I
ended up with a D70 so there is really no comparison between that and
any of the compacts. What type of photos do you take with your
Coolpix? "David J Taylor"

Thanks for that, Petr. I have ruled out a DSLR on weight, bulk and costs
grounds (even though I used to use a Nikon SLR). A lot of these
preferences can depend on in-camera defaults for sharpness, contrast,
colour balance etc.

I take a whole variety of shots of events (conferences, holidays,
personalities etc.) with my camera, but nothing with a tripod. Daytime,
evening nights, indoors and out. Very general. For macro I would
probably stick with my Nikon 990. I very rarely make prints, though, all
my viewing is on computer screens. I have had my shots published, but
just to illustrate a conference report.

Cheers,
David