Hi
This is my first post and I am hoping someone will give me some direction. I lost my beloved Panasonic Sv-Av30 digital camera after 4000+ pictures and many years of reliable service. I realize that it had very poor resolution and limited video recording but it suited my purposes very well. I loved its small size, flip up screen and I especially loved the fact that it had no delay for snapping pictures. I know its performance was limited but for what it was, it was fantastic.
Here's my dilemma:
Do I buy a used one on-line or do I keep looking around for another small camera that will do what the SV-Av 30 did, only better ? You'd think that after 4 or 5 years, someone would have made a decent upgrade to this little camera.
Does anyone have any suggestions on a viable upgrade ?
The other thing I liked about the Panasonic was the position of the lens. You didn't have to hold it like a traditional camera to take pictures. The lens was on the side of the camera and you could just point it in the general direction and usually end up with a decent shot.
The camera was about 2.5" wide by 3" long and only about an inch thick.
I would greatly appreciate anyone's guidance with my problem....Please help if you have any opinions,
Thanks very much,
Dave

I realize that it had very poor resolution

It doesn't take a huge amount of resolution to make a good print - however, it depends on a lot of things such as your expectations and print size. If you were happy with it, you could probably find one for a bargain price on Ebay. My Nikon Coolpix 5000 has been upgraded many times but I still like it due to things the upgrades don't do, and they sell for just over $100 these days ($700 when I bought it as it was on clearance being discontinued, $1200 when it came out). I'd buy another one if I needed to replace it.

However - newer digital cameras have improved by a huge amount in that time period. Take a look at the newer cameras out there before you spend much time looking for a replacement of your old one. Image quality might be better and other things - resolution isn't a huge deal to me with small cameras because I don't expect to try a 20x30 print with them. I really can't point you in a particular direction because the cameras offered change so often, and I haven't tried video on anything. You might want to start by seeing what Panasonic is offering these days.

I just purchased the Panasonic TZ5 - and it's really awesome! Depending on your budget, it may be a bit expensive. Check out the features and specs on the website link below. The IQ is excellent, it has a wide angle (28mm) and many features. It's $289 at most places.

The "older" but not by much model TZ4 is $229. There isn't too much different from the TZ5. The LCD is 2.5" where the TZ5 is 3" - and there are a few other differences. It's also a great camera.

TZ5
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545292-REG/Panasonic_DMC_TZ5A_Lumix_DMC_TZ5_Digital_Camera.ht ml

TZ4
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545294-REG/Panasonic_DMC_TZ4K_Lumix_DMC_TZ4_Digital_Camera.ht ml

Other Panasonic p&s cameras - just to add to the confusion. :D
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=search&A=search&Q=&ci=0&sb=bs%2Cupper%28ds%29&sq=asc&ac=&bsi=&bhs=t&ci=8612&shs=&at=Brand_Panasonic&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

Liz

Hi

Thank you both for your advice. I appreciate both of your points of view and I will examine these options more closely. I went and bought a Sony GC-1 Net-Sharing Cam because it was available locally and I have been playing with it for a couple of days but I think I'm going to return it and look at a Canon TX-1 instead. The Sony is okay and there are a few things about it that I like but I'm sure not in love with it. It turns on and is ready to take a picture in about 6 seconds. You can choose between photo and movie without have to toggle modes and there are other nice things about it.
I called Panasonic and spoke with a rep there. He told me that they didn't have anything like the SV-AV line of cameras anymore and directed me to their camcorders which I looked at and was very impressed with but are much too big to slide in the front pocket of your jeans every day.
Anyway, thanks again for help, I will write back if I find anything interesting.

Dear ChopChop; This is my first post here and I'm prolly over my head so bear with me.
I bought my Canon PS A570IS last year from Amazon $158 and I love it dearly. The shutter speed is pretty darn good unless you are using the flash of course. And if you care about movies you will love it also. The movies look like hi def (maybe they are) and you get a cable for your TV, its amazing!! The movies do of course eat up room on your card. I don't like the zoom much but I'm having a lot of fun with the macro feature in my garden.

Liz; I read a review on what I think is your Pansonic. They called it a DSLR "like
' camera. Is it true that you get get the blurry backgrounds (is it called bokah) with that? I thought only the true DSLRs have the right size sensor for that. It also said that this camera had thread to allow for filters and lens changes. If all these things are true, I think I really want one
thx, irma

Hi Irma,

I will look into your CanonPsA57OIS camera. Thank you for your input
I brought the Sony GC-1 back and bought the Canon TX-1 instead. I was going to hold off on the purchase but they had one open-box-clearance TX-1 left and it happened to be on sale with the sale ending - you guessed it, today.
So I bought it and will play with it but I might bring it back. The Canon was $309 which is more money than I wanted to spend but it is actually an HD camcorder that takes 7.1 MP pictures - which is more than I need but.....It was on SALE. One of my favorite words.....

They had a Samsung (I think L-100) for $129. It was 8.1 MP and really nice and small. I have a feeling that one is going to be my baby. Does anyone have any experience with Samsung L-100 's ?

Thanks again everybody for your help,

Dave

Liz; I read a review on what I think is your Pansonic. They called it a DSLR "like
' camera. Is it true that you get get the blurry backgrounds (is it called bokah) with that? I thought only the true DSLRs have the right size sensor for that. It also said that this camera had thread to allow for filters and lens changes. If all these things are true, I think I really want one
thx, irma

Irma,

I haven't done enough shots yet and haven't specifically tried getting good "bokeh" yet. However, check these flowers out. Also on this website there are 50 pages of shots done with the TZ5.

You won't get the kind of bokeh with any p&s that you can get with a dslr and the "right lens." However, for a (relatively) inexpensive p&s, the TZ5 is excellent. And the bokeh on Greg's flowers look good enough for me. I have the XTi and the 50mm/f1.4 lens if I want "perfect" bokeh. But that's more than 4 times the cost for the gear - unfortunately.

Greg's gallery of TZ5 shots
http://gmchappell.smugmug.com/date/2008-05-01/2008-05-31#P-39-9

Liz