Camera decisions pt1

Here i am again facing another decision. Ok its like this. I've always wanted a replacement camera for my long dead canon powershot A75 which i really liked. And i was hoping last december to get a new one but it didn't happen.

Because i love photography i got my N73 which takes decent pictures when the lighting is good and lousy ones when its dark, and because i love photography i joined the photography club in Curtin. There are about 80 members in the club far which is a large number considering that most of us are casual photographers but i joined because i want to improve.

Well you can't take pictures if you don't a decent equipment right? I mean i have my phone but i feel its inappropriate especially since we're going to have a seminar soon and a trip this weekend, a trip i signed up for knowing there are going to be photo-taking sessions.

So bottom-line, i need a camera and the nice one's are not cheap but i've narrowed them down to a few. And well the purpose of this post is to seek advice on which would be the best choice. My friend told me not to worry about megapixels but look at a camera that has a decent size optical zoom to it and get one with AA size batteries where possible. So here's the list:

Sony Cybershot DSC H7

8mpx
15x optical zoom
2.5" screen
Image stabilizer
comes with a laughable 512mb memory stick duo
lithium ion battery
About RM1,699.

Sony Cybershots are solid but the thing i dont like about them is there lack of support for other non-proprietary storage medium. And the fact that they tend to be more expensive for no apparent reason. I

Sample picture*

Flickr/KHall65890

Panasonic Lumix DMC-fz18



8.3 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
image stabilizer
2.5" screen
storage options include sd, sdhc, mmc
Lithium Ion Battery pack.
About Rm1,599.

I've never used panasonic but i have a friend who has one and he takes great shots. I'm not sure i'll go for this, especially after reading the review where they complained about the pictures not being so crisp.

Sample image*

Flickr/Dave :-)

Fujifilm Finepix s8000fd



8 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
dual image stabilizer
2.5" screen
storage options include sD, xD, sdhc
4 AA size batteries
About Rm1,599

While there's not much difference between this camera and the previous one, the review complains that the zoom produces significant levels of chromatic aberration at the long end and clearly visible distortion. Thats not good.

Couldn't find a sample image on flickr. appears this camera is not so popular among flickr photographers.

Olympus sp550 ultra zoom



7.1 mpx
18x Optical Zoom
image stablizer
2.5" screen
4 AA size batteries
Storage medium: xD
About Rm 1,499.

So far this is my favourite but it has a little issue displaying colours right, especially red. And not have usb 2.0 support is a no no. Also couldn't find a sample picture from flickr for this camera.

So far i'm not impressed, but what do you think?

~shalom~

*Sample images from flickr.