Canon A620 or Finepix S9000...help me decide?

[JustMe]

I have posted before about my quest for a digital camera and have gotten lots of help. Thanks again!

No, I still havent bought one. I am torn btwn the the Canon A620 and the Finepix S9000. The Canon has great reviews, and my only hesitation is that I might want more zoom. The Finepix seems to have it all, but I dont know about the brand and it is a lot heavier...

Thoughts, suggestions, advice? All are appreciated!

Thanks,
Robyn
single mom to a 3 yr old from Guatemala

[randomkid]

My DH has researched digital and we have a friend who is a professional photographer. They both really like Nikon. The Coolpix series is nice, but their zoom on the smaller cameras is less than the Canon you are looking at. Here is a really neat one that has 10x optical zoom.

http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2&productNr=25533

You can check out all of their cameras here. I don't think you would go wrong with a Nikon. Just note that if it does video, some don't do sound, but others do. Also get one that uses an SD memory card, not a memory stick. They seem to be more reliable.

http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=2

Look for deals. We found the Coolpix L3 online for $170 at Circuit City (retail is $199.99) and had a code for $15 off. We got the camera for $156 before tax, plus I used Ebates. Also check http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ DH just got a really good deal on a flash there.

HTH,

[o_mom]

I think in a camera that size, if you get much more zoom you will have camera shake issues. I have the A540, which is slightly smaller, and if I have it zoomed all the way you have to be pretty steady. I would play around with some at a store.

[randomkid]

Good point. The other thing to be aware of with zoom is that if you are too far away, the flash is pretty much useless on a point and shoot. It would only be good outside.

[JustMe]

Thanks!

I have heard that Nikons can be slow in between pictures (I think that's called shutter lag, not sure)...any thoughts on that?

Robyn

[randomkid]

I'll ask DH. I did notice that with my stepdaughter's camera, but there may be an adjustment for it. I can also ask at the lab where we have prints made. They also recommended the Nikon.

[JustMe]

Thanks, Kim!

Robyn

[o_mom]

If you look here:

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/cameraList.php


You can find detailed info on most cameras. They test everything, including between picture times (shot to shot lag). You should be able to find the info for any Nikon you are considering. Also, go to the store and ask them to put a card in the camera. That way you can get a feel for how long it takes to store each picture, as well as the flash recycle time. Both will affect how long it takes between pictures.

Now that I look at these, the Fuji looks like a much bigger camera than the A620. The A620 is a compact camera that would fit in a diaper bag. It weighs only 10.1 oz vs 26.3 for the S9000. That is why you can get more zoom without shake. These are not really comparable cameras, so I think you need to decide how much of a camera you need.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the great website! I will spend some time checking it out.

Yes, I am stuck on how much of a camera I need...I don't know if I will regret not having more of a zoom when dd is older and participates in dance/sporting events.

Robyn
mom to a 3 yr old from Guatemala

[lmwbasye]

I just bought a camera this past weekend and researched it to death!!! I knew I wanted the ultrazoom type, though, so I could do a bit more with my pictures of Liam. I narrowed it down to the Canon S3 IS, the Panasonic DMC FZ7 and the Finepix S9000.

I ordered both the Canon and the Panasonic from Costco, since I knew I could try both out side by side for awhile and decide then. I ruled out the Finepix because I couldn't get it at Costco and I wanted their no questions asked return policy....also it was the most expensive of the 3 and lower-rated across the board than the other two. I wanted to know I could return the Canon at anytime if I have a problem...even years down the road and didn't have to purchase any kind of extended warranty because of this.

We went with the Canon for $500 shipped from Costco.com. I could have kept the Panasonic for $400 instore from Costco, but a couple of things led me to the Canon.

1. It is rated the highest of the two everywhere I look. And I looked everywhere.

2. More user friendly (to me).

3. We are military and live nowhere near family, so we use our digital camera for a ton of videos that we post online also. While they both took awesome video, with the Canon, you can zoom while shooting video. You can also film a video and take pictures at the same time.

4. Canon has a higher battery life.....like 550 pictures vs. the Panasonic's 300 or so.

5. The Canon was way better at catching good shots of my will never sit still for a second toddler. LOL!

I know these two weren't mentioned, but thought I'd share my experience and reasoning. Like I said, we only looked at the ultra zoom cameras. The sights mentioned earlier are awesome resources.

HTH! and let me know if you have any more questions.

[JustMe]

Thanks, Laura.

Do you find that you are able to crop and blow up with the 6 megapixels? That is one of the things I would like to be able to do and thought I needed a higher megapixel to do so.

Sounds like you did a lot of good research!

Robyn