Help for a budding beginner

[N_Birch]

Hey all

Im pretty new to digital photography, have used a few compacts such as the ixus 40 etc but decided i wanted something with a bigger optical zoom as i was going to be using it for more than taking pictures of friends etc.

Im into nature/scenic kind of shots, need to get good quality close up shots as well as long range.

Im not really worried about size or looks, i just want a good quality reasonably priced camera. Ideally i would like something with manual focus.

I was thinking around the size and price bracket of :

CANON Powershot S2 IS
# Effective Pixels: 5.0M
# Max Image Resolution: 2592 x 1944
# LCD Screen Size: 1.8
# Optical Zoom: 12x
# Digital Zoom: 4x
# Supplied Card Size: - 16mb
# Internal: -
#Movie Mode: Yes
# Audio Recording: Yes
# Dimensions (mm): 113 x 78 x 75.5
# Weight: 405g

Sony Cybershot DSC-H1
# Effective Pixels: 5.0M
# Max Image Resolution: 2592 x 1944
# LCD Screen Size: 2.5
# Optical Zoom: 12x
# Digital Zoom: 24x
# Supplied Card Size: -
# Internal: 32MB
#Movie Mode: Yes
# Audio Recording: Yes
# Dimensions (mm): 108 x 81 x 91
# Weight: 438g


Fujifilm Finepix S7000 Zoom
# Effective Pixels: 6.3M
# Max Image Resolution: 4048x3040
# LCD Screen Size: 1.8
# Optical Zoom: 6x
# Digital Zoom: 3.2x
# Supplied Card Size: 16MB
# Movie Mode: Yes
# Audio Recording: Yes
# Dimensions (mm): 121x81.5 x97
# Weight: 500g


Ok, can anyone either tell me any experience or thoughts on these 3 or recommend another in the same price/quality range.

Thanks for your time.

Nick

Oh yeah there all in about 300GBP/540USD

Thanks again.

[almo]

Those cameras are all very nice. They will all create very pleasing images. In fact I doubt you would see much difference between the three of them except for the 6.3 mp's of the fuji. For nature/wildlife you will want the longest zoom of the three, That would be the canon or the sony at 432mm each. The canon features image stabelization and better optics than the sony, so for me it is the clear winner here.

I would also consider the Panasonic DMC-FZ30.

I hope this helps.

[Chunk]

One thing that can be real irritating is a slow shutter response time so I'd recommend checking those.

Another thing to do is go to a store and actually handle the cameras. They can feel quite different to differnt folks and some menu/control systems are a lot less pleasant to use than others.

[almo]

One thing that can be real irritating is a slow shutter response time so I'd recommend checking those.

Another thing to do is go to a store and actually handle the cameras. They can feel quite different to differnt folks and some menu/control systems are a lot less pleasant to use than others.

Good point Chunk.

Size and feel are important too.