Suggestion Needed

[macsam]

I am planning to buy a digital camera. I have thought of two camera
1. Fujifilm FinePix S304
2. Sony DSC P-72

Plz give me suggstion to buy one of the above said camera. You can also suggest me some other camera in the same range.

Thanks and regards

[Porteplume]

Bonjour Mac,

A nice idea to get an opinion about what kind of camera would fit your expectations, would be to click Gallery > Categories > Equipment - Then choose the cameras you like ( and you can afford ;o) and see the photos which have been made here on TE with these particuliar camera's by clicking on the types/brand names.

I personnaly began with the smallest Fuji (1.3 pix) and the easyness & colours of that one were the most important reasons which made me buy again a Fuji (S602Zoom).

Amicalement - Viviane

[TimWilson]

I can only give my experiences with the S304

Pros:
Good 6x zoom
Great colours

For a small amount (£32 approx you can buy a 128mg memory card that holds approx 100 images on best qaulity.

Good solid feel and doesnt look silly on a tripod.
Good battery life on decent rechargables.
Can record movies with sound.

Cons:

Macro mode was a disapointment for me (ive been able to focus closer on cheeper cameras)

Under artificial light its bad, to the point where in some conditions you cannot focus at all....The tungusten light setting doesnt help either.

Movie mode is also disapointing with only 30sec clips.

My advice would be to avoid if you plan on using it for macro shots or dodgy artificial light conditions (the fuji 68000z? is a better alternative, but as a cheap camera that has a good zoom and is nice and friendly its a good buy. On another note you can buy a lens for about £90 that will knock the optical zoom to x9.

[Keitht]

In depth reviews of many digital cameras can be found at www.dpreview.com. Although much of the technical detail flies straight over my head, information such as shutter lag and overall opinion can be useful. You will also find user reviews at the same site and these tend to be warts and all.
The bottom line though has to be to handle both before making the decision. It doesn't matter how good the spec is if you can't get on with the handling.

[Porteplume]

Bonsoir Tim,

The Fuji S602 has some good macro properties. This one was my very first macro with it...

But I agree with you about the super natural colours of Fuji + easy rechargeable batteries, with 3 sets (One in the camera, one in the bag, one in the charger) I have never had any problems.

With the S602Z you can hold some 50 pictures on a 128 card.

Amicalement - Viviane

[TimWilson]

Is it true that you can focus up to 1cm from target with the 602? Its my next considered purchase as I was disapointed with my fuji 304 and if it wasnt for the 6x zoom I would have gone back to my Canon AT-1 SLR.

[zto]

I'm using Fujifilm FinePix S304 My self. When it comes to macro i knew when i bought it that the macro limit was 10 cm, not ideal for good macro shots. Inhouse lihgning is a bit poor, i will have to agree with TimWilson on that one. No party photos. Otherwise i'm content with the camera. The zoom is great. What i do miss is a possibility to set the shutter speed.

It depends what you want to do with the camera. If you plan to shoot a lot of macro and inhouse photos i would go with the Sony. Othewise i'm content with my camera.

[Porteplume]

I've only tryed shots with natural lighting, it was great. I can't say for sure I was as close as 1cm, but look at Olle/Fargo's shot to appreciate.

Amicalement - Viviane

[macsam]

Thanks for time and suggestions...

Regards

[macsam]

There was nothing mentioned about Sony DSC P-72. I would also like to hear some suggestion about sony