nikon S9100 or any other?

[aroraanant]

my bro was planning to buy a cam.
I check at many dealers and also on the internet.
I like the Nikon S9100 the most though it exceeds the budget a little bit but it seems to be good for that.
There were also some other cameras in my mind like sony H55,H70,HX7V and nikon S8100.
Looking for a good zoom in a compact camera.
Now I would like to ask the experts what would they suggest?

 

[Sounava]

Mention the budget and what exactly are your requirements. Good zoom is a relative term. One can say 10x zoom is good, another can say 24x.

 

[aroraanant]

Mention the budget and what exactly are your requirements. Good zoom is a relative term. One can say 10x zoom is good, another can say 24x.

a min of 10X zoom in a sleek/slim camera,don't want a bulky one.
Though the budget was 15k but I m getting S9100 in 16.5K from ebay and letsbuy,so that is the max budget now and can't be increased any further

Plz suggest from the models mentioned above as I don't think there is any other good ones better than them available in market right now.
And also please reply soon as I wish to do a purchase soon.

 

[Sounava]

If you are getting S9100 in 16.5k then go for it. Or see if you can find Panasonic TZ18.

 

[aroraanant]

If you are getting S9100 in 16.5k then go for it. Or see if you can find Panasonic TZ18.

Though I m not going to buy panasonic but I still wanna know why you people suggesting panasonic,I have heard about panasonic camera that much and no one says that they are comparable to nikon,canon or even sony as professionals recommend only nikon or canon.


After discount the price which I m getting is:
H70-11700
HX7V-13700
S8100-11200
S9100-16450

S9100 is going out of my budget so can u suggest me from the rest of the three models listed above

According to me S8100 is a nice option.
And I don't think H70 would be a good option as I m getting s8100 for a 0.5K less than that but HX7V also seems to be pretty good and it has better features than S9100
So now left with only 2 options S8100 or HX7V(and is it worth to spend 2.5K extra on it)

 

[Sounava]

Though I m not going to buy panasonic but I still wanna know why you people suggesting panasonic,I have heard about panasonic camera that much and no one says that they are comparable to nikon,canon or even sony as professionals recommend only nikon or canon.

If you think what we recommend is wrong then feel free to buy what you want and better ask those "professionals". I am basically "typeless" after seeing this reply of yours!

 

[aroraanant]

If you think what we recommend is wrong then feel free to buy what you want and better ask those "professionals". I am basically "typeless" after seeing this reply of yours!

hey I didn't want to hurt u I think u think u took my words otherwise,I just wanna know the reason why u people say that panasonic cameras are good coz i haven't heard much about them thats it.Please don't take it in a negative way.

 

[Sounava]

^ There is nothing to get hurt about. I think the smiley " " signifies this!

 

[aroraanant]

But atleast tell me the reason why you people suggest panasonic cameras,I really want to know atleast to enhance my knowledge.

 

[Sounava]

But atleast tell me the reason why you people suggest panasonic cameras,I really want to know atleast to enhance my knowledge.

I have heard about panasonic camera that much and no one says that they are comparable to nikon,canon or even sony as professionals recommend only nikon or canon.

First tell me from where have you heard these and who are your so called professionals.
Also tell on what factors you classify a camera as "good".

 

[aroraanant]

I mean that if we go to ANY store, and if ask the sales person which one is the best then no one suggests panasonic(I have visited many store and even at reliance digital,ezone,croma etc no one suggested/asked me to go for a panasonic camera) but have heard one thing that nikon and canon are better than sony

 

[sujoyp]

Its a typical shopkeeper mentality...either they r ignorant and outdated...or they must be having bigger profits with canon or sony or nikon.

I belive Panasonic tz10 and fz35 are one of the most popular and good quality cams around...you can check the reviews..

We dont say that others are bad...even some models of olympus and fuji are better then these big companies..

Its like selecting the best cam out of the cam jungle and not about selecting a religion called brand

 

[Sounava]

I mean that if we go to ANY store, and if ask the sales person which one is the best then no one suggests panasonic(I have visited many store and even at reliance digital,ezone,croma etc no one suggested/asked me to go for a panasonic camera) but have heard one thing that nikon and canon are better than sony

Don't pay any heed to shopkeepers. They one day decided they need to earn money and they set up a store which happened to be a camera store. So the distributors give them cameras which they sell. How will they know about the other details. They usually make stories out of thin air or use their own notions to come to conclusions. They are also guided by profit margins to some extent.

Whether a camera is good or bad depends on the following criteria (may not be exhaustive):
1. Image Quality - Includes sharpness, noise performance, colour reproduction, dynamic range etc.
2. Build quality of the camera
3. Lens
4. Features (movie resolution, smile shutter and what not)

And Panasonic usually performs exceptionally well in this aspect.

Note that FZ35 is (was) one of the best superzooms ever produced. FZ45 is just an incremental upgrade. SX20 IS was also a good camera but lost out to FZ35 in features.

Also note that "travel zooms" i.e. large zooms in slim bodies were first introduced by Panasonic under the TZ line after which other manufacturers started copying.

 

[aroraanant]

Guys FZ35 is a big camera and I don't want to buy a big one,I want a sleek/slim/compact camera.
And FZ35,TZ10 are far out of the budget,I just checked TZ8 but sorry to say it is also out of the budget.
Now what?

 

[Sounava]

What is your budget? TZ8 should be available @ 15k.

 

[aroraanant]

My budget is Approx 12-13K.
TZ 8 costs 20K,after discount(with the help of coupon on letsbuy) also it is not going to cost me less than 18K

 

[Sounava]

Then the TZ8 is way overpriced in your area. Anyway, you should tell your budget carefully. Previously you said your budget is 15k and can extend upto 16.5k.

I am again saying, if you are getting S9100 @ 16.5k then take it.

These is no competitive model from Canon in that range, except SX130 IS. This camera is "slightly" bulkier than a true compact. And uses AA batteries instead of Li-ion ones.

And I do not recommend and follow Sony cameras as they use proprietary memory cards which are costly and proprietary cables. All other cameras except Sony use SD cards. And almost all cameras use mini USB to USB cable.

A good option apart from S9100 is TZ8 which costs 15k but is overpriced in your area probably due to distribution problem.

The Samsung WB600 has also got really good reviews and is available at around 14.5k. As far as I remember it got the best travelzoom award from dpreview.com. If you are not allergic to Samsung you can go for this camera too.

 

[sujoyp]

@Sounava.......which sony model u r talking abt....H55, Hx5 uses SD cards

 

[aroraanant]

@sounava- the budget was always 12-13K but the thing was that I was getting S9100 for 16.5K which is a really good deal.
Now I have finally decided that most probably I will be buying S8100 but if in case there will be some chance of increasing the budget then I will surely go for S9100 as u guys say that sony is not that good and even I have listened the same form many.
BTW thanks for the suggestions

 

[Sounava]

@Sounava.......which sony model u r talking abt....H55, Hx5 uses SD cards

Oh really? I think then I may have to start following Sony cameras again