Best digicam around 8k??

H

PLS SUGGEST BEST DIGICAM IN THIS RANGE

N

Panasonic FS5, Panasonic LZ10

K

i'm using a w55 cybershot ... records at VGA 30fps ... mpeg format ... pretty decent ... but its only 7.2mp

A

prices have reduced for cameras from sony/nikon/canon and other companies u can get 8MP well within 8K now in 9-10K u r getting 10MP and 12MP cameras

H

so ppl///pls sugest d best one under 8k with good video as well as pic capabilities....

+1.. for Panasonic FS5

go for Nikon L20
10 mp
3.6 X optical zoom
3 inch screen
very light
and at 7,500 with 2gb memory card

T

+1 for panasonic . Really good camera.

try to find out Panasonic DMC-LZ8, else LZ10..

H

so ppl.let me buy the fs5...now dere is a deal for rs.7390 at ebay..or shud i buy smthin else..........

G

A small related query. I am also planning to get one of these cameras. I see that the DMC-LZ8 uses AA batteries. Aren't Lithium Ion batteries better? Is there any model of Li-Ion Batteries which can be used instead of AA in the same socket?

H

so ppl.let me buy the fs5...now dere is a deal for rs.7390 at ebay..or shud i buy smthin else..........like...ppl say dat sony nikon and canon are best brands....so...

H

so ppl.let me buy the fs5...now dere is a deal for rs.7390 at ebay..or shud i buy smthin else..........like...ppl say dat sony nikon and canon are best brands....also i come to hear that fs5 doesnt have zoom in video !!!!......so...

N

hari.vgl said:
so ppl.let me buy the fs5...now dere is a deal for rs.7390 at ebay..or shud i buy smthin else..........like...ppl say dat sony nikon and canon are best brands....also i come to hear that fs5 doesnt have zoom in video !!!!......so...

The cheapest compact camera which can zoom in videos is Panasonic TZ15 which costs around Rs.15k. A couple of Sony T series cameras can also zoom in video but they are also in the same range.

As far as brands is concerned, rest assured Panasonic is amongst the best brands in the world as regards compacts cameras.

There is no other camera in a budget of Rs.8k which can take videos in widescreen format, has a reasonably wide angle (30mm) and has Image stabilisation.

H

thanks...nikeel
iam having an offer from ebay for fs5 at 7390 and 500 discount.....ie...6890....so i think ill go with it...let me????

N

hari.vgl said:
thanks...nikeel
iam having an offer from ebay for fs5 at 7390 and 500 discount.....ie...6890....so i think ill go with it...let me????

I think its a dam good deal. Go for it.

H

but wait....i still have dat doubt which i had for so long...i see no site rating fs5 as best....and in most sites its not ranked high......cams like ::

canon a1000 is
nikon l19
olympus stylus 9000
fuji finepix z30

rated the best...the thing is dat in no webite do i find fs5 rated high...so what do u ppl say?????i want to take good pics and videos.

T

I find panasonic cameras getting rave reviews in all the photography magazines(not digit sh!t) like better photography and smart photography all the time . Dont know what website you are talking to.

I personally never saw that particular panasonic model , but i find them to be decent shooter and with very high quality made.

H

ok...so as many ppl say i think ill g owith fs5 for 6890 at ebay...
2 things...
1. which card should i get with it ..both size and company and type....
2. is it true that it cant zoom during video...omg...lot of low end or poor branded cams even can zoom..if it can zoom at 4x in pics..why cant it do zooom in videos???

N

hari.vgl said:
but wait....i still have dat doubt which i had for so long...i see no site rating fs5 as best....and in most sites its not ranked high......cams like ::

canon a1000 is
nikon l19
olympus stylus 9000
fuji finepix z30

rated the best...the thing is dat in no webite do i find fs5 rated high...so what do u ppl say?????i want to take good pics and videos.

Out of the cameras you mention, Canon A1000 and Fuji Z30 are very good cameras in terms of image quality. But they are very poor in videos.
The other 2 cameras aren't that good.
Further, none of these 4 cameras have optical image stabilisation (not sure about the Fuji, but the others definitely lack it)

H

ok...so as many ppl say i think ill g owith fs5 for 6890 at ebay...
2 things...
1. which card should i get with it ..both size and company and type....
2. is it true that it cant zoom during video...omg...lot of low end or poor branded cams even can zoom..if it can zoom at 4x in pics..why cant it do zooom in videos???

N

hari.vgl said:
ok...so as many ppl say i think ill g owith fs5 for 6890 at ebay...
2 things...
1. which card should i get with it ..both size and company and type....
2. is it true that it cant zoom during video...omg...lot of low end or poor branded cams even can zoom..if it can zoom at 4x in pics..why cant it do zooom in videos???

1. Get a Sandisk SDHC Card. Since you are interested in videos, I would strongly suggest you get a 8 GB card which should cost you around Rs.900-1000

2. Most compacts cannot zoom in video including the FS5. You can setup the optical zoom you want before you start shooting, but once you start shooting you cannot change the zoom.

H

so i think ill get a sandisk 4gb sdhc....8gb not required i think....

one more thing::

from where can i get original videos shot by this cam both in 640.480 and the hd 848.480 resolution or anything.....i cant find them...i can find only pics....or if anybody has videos...pls send them to my id:: hari.vgl007@gmail.com

N

hari.vgl said:
so i think ill get a sandisk 4gb sdhc....8gb not required i think....

one more thing::

from where can i get original videos shot by this cam both in 640.480 and the hd 848.480 resolution or anything.....i cant find them...i can find only pics....or if anybody has videos...pls send them to my id:: hari.vgl007@gmail.com

On a 4GB memory card, u can fit in about 38 minutes of video at 848x480.
Consider accordingly.

H

as i was saying..look....for example...in toptenreviews.com, the fs5 is ranked onlt 2.5 stars and 1056 in 1600 cams!!??

and is the video size toooo large.....4gb for 38 mins video.....???den i think i have to reconsider!!!!cant still get to a decision

N

hari.vgl said:
as i was saying..look....for example...in toptenreviews.com, the fs5 is ranked onlt 2.5 stars and 1056 in 1600 cams!!??

and is the video size toooo large.....4gb for 38 mins video.....???den i think i have to reconsider!!!!cant still get to a decision

If you compare this camera with cameras costing 15k and 20k then obviously its not going to be ranked high. This cam will be ranked quite well in cameras less than 8k. You are totally ignoring your budget aspect.

As regards 4GB for 38 minutes, 95% of the cameras you will get in the market today use the Motion JPEG codec which will give you the same video length. You will then need to look for cameras which use the MPEG4 codec which allows you to store more longer videos. I just bought the Sony W270 a couple of days back which uses MPEG4 codc and you can record 40 minutes of 720p video (1280x720) in a 2 GB card. This cam costs Rs.15k with bill & warranty but u may get it for Rs.12k on ebay (without manufacturer warranty)

P.S If you want to read camera reviews, look for dpreview.com or Steves-digicams.com or trustedreviews.com or dcresource.com

H

but still its not ranked high i nlow cost cams too....for example

at *www.digitalcamera-hq.com

This camera--fs5-- is ranked
64th of 165 in Ultra Compact
61st of 97 in 9 and 10 Megapixels
19th of 48 in Panasonic
29th of 92 in Under $150

so dis is d same in all sites..dats why iam asking...n i dont see much attention given to dis cam like oder canons and nikons and sonys....but still i want d opinion of u users...better than sites...so pls tell a final word...and tanx a loooott for alll answers u pp l r giving..

T

hari.vgl said:
but still its not ranked high i nlow cost cams too....for example

at *www.digitalcamera-hq.com

This camera--fs5-- is ranked
64th of 165 in Ultra Compact
61st of 97 in 9 and 10 Megapixels
19th of 48 in Panasonic
29th of 92 in Under $150

so dis is d same in all sites..dats why iam asking...n i dont see much attention given to dis cam like oder canons and nikons and sonys....but still i want d opinion of u users...better than sites...so pls tell a final word...and tanx a loooott for alll answers u pp l r giving..

I agree that canon ,sony and nikon get more coverage but trust me panasonic is equally good as nikon and canons and much better than sony. They were one of the last companies to enter digital camera business and still managed to get a very resectable position solely based on its quality . Among canon , nikon and panasonic , i prefer canon most for quality but they are somewhat bulky . Low end nikon are also not as good built (their high end are awesome ). Panasonic generally have great built , good looks and decent quality , and trust me their mega ois is simply awesome and is very helpful in practical situation .

As for video size , you should not worry much . Sd cards are really cheap these days and you can always convert them to any format . Btw , as for cards i suggest sandisk ultra , costly but super reliable.

Also , is there any other particular model you're thinking of in this range ?

H

Well Tamoghno....i was looking at this model...but iam not only into this model...i dont have any other model which iam looking at...but can surely get anything in this range whichis better...so u itself tell...d better ones dan dese....

N

Can u increase your budget?
If no, I will still recommend the Panasonic FS5.
If yes, let me know how much you can extend it upto & I will let u know which other models you can consider.

And like Tamoghno said, if you have liked any model based on the reviews you have seen, let us know & we can tell u whether that model is good or bad.

T

I read some reviews of this phone . For its price there's nothing wrong with this model , so if you like it just go for it.

Personally i think there's very little difference in picture quality of digital cameras these days. They are already great enough , so it really comes down to personal choice and preference.

H

in lot of places i saw canon a1000 ,a1100,a2000 is ranked very high...pls comment bout dese and oders ,if any,which feel r good in dis range...i don have any model which iam thinkin bout...also tell bout dese models and oder models' video..whetehr quick time or not...is dere anythng withou t quick time

ill be takin lot of pics and video of family indoors.

N

Canon models are normally very high in image quality but low in features.
All the 3 Canons you mention will have slightly better image quality than the Panasonic FS5.
But consider the negatives:
1. AA / Nimh Batteries ; hence bulkier & slower flash recycle times
2. No wide angle: All these 3 cams have 35mm lens
3. No widescreen videos: Only shoot at VGA mode

Budgetwise only the A1000 will be closer to your budget (Rs. 10k)
Other two will be on the higher side. A1100is 11k and A2100 is 15k.

Its upto you to decide. Whether you need more image quality & lesser features or vice versa and whether you are willing to increase your budget.

As regards Quicktime, Nikon & Panasonic use Quicktime containers.
Canon uses avi but their newer models have Quicktime. Sony uses MPEG.
Don't worry about the format since you can easily convert them to avi using DivX converter or other converters. You are unlikely to save the original video file on your hard disk in any case since the file size will be very high.

H

nikeel said:
You are unlikely to save the original file on your hard disk in any case since the file size will be very high.

so what can i do with the videos!!!!!

and also bout cam..i told..i don have any preference...just mentioned dose canons...so can u tell me a model which is better than fs5 at its range...or if nothing is dere pls suggest me to buy fs5..and den surely ill get it for myself..

N

hari.vgl said:
so what can i do with the videos!!!!!

Convert them using software such as DivX convertor which will convert your file to a very small size without any 'significant' loss of quality

H

and also bout cam..i told..i don have any preference...just mentioned dose canons...so tell me a model which is better than fs5 at its range...or if nothing is dere pls suggest me to buy fs5..and den surely ill get it for myself..

and is the flash on fs5 so poor....and audio

N

hari.vgl said:
and also bout cam..i told..i don have any preference...just mentioned dose canons...so tell me a model which is better than fs5 at its range...or if nothing is dere pls suggest me to buy fs5..and den surely ill get it for myself..

and is the flash on fs5 so poor....and audio

Panasonic flash is normally supposed to be slightly weaker than brands such as Canon, Sony. But nothing so significant as to not buy them.

Audio on most cameras is mono and the FS5 is no exception. Again, its the norm in all cameras in this range, in fact even in some high end cams, so nothing you can do about it. No other cam is going to give you better quality at this range. I can only think of a few models such as the Sony T500 which records audio in stereo.

I repeat, in a budget of Rs.8k and with good video requirements, you have no other choice other than the FS5.

H

what do u say bout fs3..just saw it now..alsmost similar...and only 6k around...1k less than fs5....

N

FS3 has a 33mm wide lens as against the FS5's 30mm. It has a slightly smaller sensor too compared to the FS5

Only positive is its faster F2.8 lens compared to FS5's F3.2 lens.

I would go with the FS5 mainly for its 30mm lens

T

You are not taking marriage decision , you are buying only a digital camera , so stop worrying so much and get what you like .

H

sony w220
fuji j120
sony s930
nikon s520
fuji f40 fd
sony s950
nikon s51
nikon l18 , l20

All these are under rs.8500 at ebay.....which of these(one or more can also be told) are better than fs5.....

N

hari.vgl said:
sony w220
fuji j120
sony s930
nikon s520
fuji f40 fd
sony s950
nikon s51
nikon l18 , l20

All these are under rs.8500 at ebay.....which of these(one or more can also be told) are better than fs5.....

Only the Sony W220 can compete with the FS5. But even that does not have widescreen videos which I feel is a letdown. Also note that this is a grey market price as the official price with bill & warranty for the W220 will be Rs.12k

I would ignore the Sony S series completely as picture quality is pathetic.

N

Tamoghno said:
You are not taking marriage decision , you are buying only a digital camera , so stop worrying so much and get what you like .

Even while making a marriage decision, remember, you can't get everything in one package :))

H

i more question...

would u suggest any other camera if the priority is pictures..mainly indoor pictures and also outdoor....

N

Any camera can take good outdoor pictures.
For indoor pictures, I suggest Fuji F60d & Nikon S620.
I would also consider the Canon Ixus 95.

H

1) so cant i go with fs5 for indoor pics????

2) also if i get the fs5 then which card shud i buy..
sandisk or shud i consider another brand.....
which 1 shud i choose....4gb or 8 gb.....will 8gb make the fs5 slow??
and also which type (sdhc or micro sdhc) and class....

3) fs5 available fr 6651 at ebay and
4gb sdhc sandisk at 495 and
8 gb micro sdhc sandisk at 899
8 gb sdhc sandisk at 1000

are all these good prices???

N

FS5 is also good indoors but the others I mentioned will be slightly better with lesser noise, especially the Fuji because of its large sensor.

Note though that all the 3 other cameras I mentioned don't have wide angle for photos and are not that great for videos.

Stick with Sandisk SDHC 8GB. It won't make the camera slow. You can go for Class 6

H

whats d difference b/w micro sdhc and sdhc.....which one shud i buy???

N

Micro SDHC is generally used for mobiles.
SDHC is for cameras

H

any idea how much sandisk sdhc CLASS 6 card will cost..both 4gb and 8gb???
and is it (sandisk sdhc CLASS 6 card) available on ebay at dis price which u mention??...

N

Not too sure abt the latest prices. The prices u mention seem reasonable.
Suggest you buy the card from a physical store instead of ebay as there are lot of duplicates in circulation on ebay.

H

ok....ill get card from shop...what bout getting fs5 from ebay for rs.6650????(can i buy camera safely at dis good price or must i buy from shop..at shops d price wud be surely high...right???)

N

The price u mention on ebay is surely a grey market price.
You will get it officially with bill & manufacturer warranty for around Rs.8 - 8.5 k

H

ill mainly take indoor pictures at home....so iam still thinkin bout fs5..can u give me a links for indoor pics taken with fs5 so dat i can decide...

also is dere any other cam in de range for better indoor pics????

also....regarding fs3....what is d difference if it has 33mm lens compared to 30 mm on fs5??

N

Try this link:
*www.flickr.com/cameras/panasonic/dmc-fs5/

Lesser the mm, wider the angle, so more area you can cover in a shot from the same distance.

H

so..everyone says that fs5 is not good for indoor pics...ill be taking mostly pictures of my family at home...so pls tell me a cam which is also grt for indoor use....

N

Do you want to take indoor pictures with flash or without flash?

With flash any camera will take decent pictures. Without flash most cameras will take less than decent pictures except a few like Fuji F200EXR and Nikon 620 which would be out of your range.

By the way if you want to see the benefit of wide angle, look at the illustration shown on top of this page:
*www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fx35-review/

H

confused about which colour to chose for FS3....Any suggestions.....silver or black????

N

hari.vgl said:
confused about which colour to chose for FS3....Any suggestions.....silver or black????

That's your choice entirely

H

Still cant fix the FS3....ok let me tell....actually i want a cam to take videos and pictures of for future ....so i dont want professional quality of course!!!! i have to take many photos and videos....so the thing which iam thinking is dat the videos from FS3 are so huge...right???so will i be able to take many videos???even if i convert to avi it wud be huge....right?? and also what about video size from other cams in dis range from canon and nikon which takes avi videos.....will deir size and the converrted avi's sizes be the same??? so shud i reconsider anything else in the range of FS3???

also...if i take videos in 640*480 or 320*240 will the videos be in avi format...whichever format it is , how much time video can i take in 2gb card at
1) 640*480
2) 320*240

N

All cameras in this price range will produce similar length videos.
If videos is a priority, I reiterate that the cheapest camera giving compressed video sizes is the Sony W270. I bought it myself two weeks back "only for its ability to take compressed videos". I was also initially considering the Panasonic FS5 but then decided to pay a premium only for W270's MPEG4 videos. I was also considering the Panasonic FX36 but finally decided upon the Sony W270.

I got it for Rs.15k. If u r ok with buying on ebay, you can get a grey market piece for Rs.11-12k

You could get MPEG4 compression in the Casio Exilim range of cameras too; but Casio is not that good a brand in cameras.

Regarding the time & length of movies encoded under various resolution under various cards, I suggest you download the FS3 manual from Panasonic website. It gives a table of time & video size based on memory cards & resolution.

H

nikon l19 vs
nikon l20 vs
fuji a100 vs
panny fs3 ???????