Reasonably priced ($150 or so) digital camera with GOOD zoom?

[Oatsdad]

I attended a concert the other night and even though I was in the fifth row, my photos look like crap. The 3X zoom on my little PowerShot just doesn't do much, really. Even when zoomed to the max, images still look smaller than when viewed by the naked eye.

So what's a good inexpensive digicam with nice zoom capabilities?

[Oatsdad]

Nobody??? :(

[Michael]

you could look for a used older 5 or 6 meg...if you have any pawn shops around you can find a bargain.

more bang for your buck...

[MikeT]

I just picked up a new Panasonic Lumix FZ-8, with a 12 times megazoom, and it was only about $249.00 on sale. The problem with the megazoom digital camera is when you zoom way in, you need to hold the camera REAL steady to get a good shot, especially in darker light like at a concert (unless you can use the flash, which is generally not allowed at a show). If you don't hold the camera steady your shots look pretty shakey (even with full image stablization on).

Panasonic, Canon and Sony all have Megazoom point and shoot digital cameras (ranging from 10X to 18x optical zoom) that may not be anymore than $300.00 overall.

$150.00?? I don't know if you will find a megazoom camera at all, those are usually limited to the 3x optical zoom.

[Oatsdad]

I went ahead and ordered a Canon with image stabilization and 4X zoom. Not "mega-zoom", but hopefully it'll fare better than my sad little PowerShot! It was only $140 and it seems well-regarded...

[kevinsinnott]

I recently bought a Canon Power Shot A720. It has a 6x optical zoom. I am extremely happy with the picture quality. I had purchased a Fuji a week before and returned it after being disappointed. Also, for your application, it has a viewfinder, not often found on today's cameras.

[MikeT]

I went ahead and ordered a Canon with image stabilization and 4X zoom. Not "mega-zoom", but hopefully it'll fare better than my sad little PowerShot! It was only $140 and it seems well-regarded...

Well 4X zoom won't be that much different than a 3x zoom - so hopefully you will get the results you are looking for.

Doesn't the current Powershot you have at least have additional digital zoom capabilities over and above the 3x optical zoom? I know my old Canon Powershot A70 has a 3x optical zoom, but can go to 9x digital (although the picture quality really suffers with the digital zoom).

Even the new Panasonic I got (which has the 12x optical zoom), can go to 48x (again picture quality begins to suffer though).

[daveman]

The problem is that what you're looking for probably doesn't exist. Concert photos can't get much tougher, because the light is so poor. There aren't many (or any) small digicams on the market that can really handle that situation well; and to compound the problem, the more you zoom in, the harder it gets, because you then need an even faster shutter speed which just isn't possible in that light.

That said, a Panasonic might be the best bet, as they have among the best zooms with optical stabilization. Also check out Canon offerings as long as they have stabilization. That won't solve the problem, but it will help.

[kevinsinnott]

Not to be a broken record (but vinyl), but a good viewfinder is a wonderful natural image stabilizer. Many digital shots in normal light without zooming are ruined because people have a hard time holding steady while leaning away from the viewing screen. A viewfinder uses your face's natural stabilization.

I would also opt for optical lens stabilization over digital. With optical lens stabilization and a viewfinder, you'll find you can do pretty well.

[Oatsdad]

The problem is that what you're looking for probably doesn't exist.

No, it does. The guy next to me had a snappy little digicam that zoomed in much better and took some really nice shots. Maybe it was some super-deluxe camera, but it didn't look like anything special...

[MikeT]

No, it does. The guy next to me had a snappy little digicam that zoomed in much better and took some really nice shots. Maybe it was some super-deluxe camera, but it didn't look like anything special...

Well there are mega-zoom cameras that are small and appear to be a similar form-factor to those 3x zoom cameras. I know the "companion" Pansonic camera to the mega-zoom I purchased, is something called the TZ3 is a smaller more compact camera to the FZ-8 I purchased, yet it has a 10X zoom. They are about the same amount of money, just have somewhat different features to make them slightly different overall.

[Drew]

And you certainly can't tell how sharp a 6 megapixel picture really is by looking at it on a 2.5 inch screen on the back of a camera.

[ffracer]

I got a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 with 18x zoom as a Christmas present. Thanks parents!!:righton:

It is wonderful. Lightweight, fast zoom, 8 mp, great pictures. Uses SD cards. Really love it.

As mentioned, you can get the older version with 12x (FZ8) for cheap these days. Made in Japan too.

They make some other smaller cameras with 10x and 6x zoom for reasonable prices around $200-$250.

Check out Olympus for longer zoom also. Fujifilm might also make a long zoom too.

[Oatsdad]

Best Buy has a Casio EX-V8 on sale for $180. It's 8.1MP with 7X zoom - I think I'll give it a spin...