which camera fz18 or fz50?

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kjwg

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I am new to this and hope someone can give me some advice. I am looking for a new camera and have (almost) decided on one of the above.

Originally I wanted the Canon 400D, but have decided against an SLR as with 3 small kids I have enough to carry around without all the extras that come with SLRs. So I decided on a "bridging camera" and after looking at reviews have found these two panasonics - fz18 and fz50.

Can anyone tell me which model is best? Pros and cons of either? As I understand it the fz18 is the newer model, but the fz50 has more mps, hotshoe for flash, whereas the fz18 has a better optical zoom, face recognition etc. I am confused :help:. Would be grateful if someone could help me chose (or is there a better similarly priced model out there?).

Thank you.
 
What will you be taking pics of?

Is there anything that you *must* have feature wise?

One of the best bridge cameras out there is the Fuji S9600, its a great camera, with a proper, albeit fixed lens. Image quality is amazing (being a Fuji) its got a really handy pull out LCD and a Viewfinder and hotshoe etc etc etc..

you can get them Brand New in the shops for around £230 or Brand New on internet for around £180..
 
Hello dizzledazzle, thanks for your reply.

Mostly I suppose it will be pictures of my kids, landscapes, holidays etc. But I do want something I can be a bit more creative with too, that I can add filters, close-up/wide angle lenses to as well and that I can use manually. My "must have" is the video mode - another reason I decided against the Canon DSLR.

Do you think the Fuji is better than the Panasonic, then? I will need to check it out now!:thumbs:
 
Sounds to me like the Fuji really would be up your street.

What you are getting is a superb camera that likes to think its an SLR. you get full manual controls, so can adjust apature/shutter speed, settings like ISO / white balance etc are one button away, its so easy to use, i had one as my first camera to learn on, i take pictures of pretty much everything and found the picture quality improved the more i learned about it.

It also has an excellent Video mode, will do 800x600 and you can use the lens to zoom in/out. It will take normal screw in filters and there are loads of accessories for it, wide angle / fisheye/ macro / super zoom lenses etc etc.

I really cannot reccomend this camera enough, Out of all the bridge cameras this is one of the best, if not the best!

All the photos in the galleries below were taken with the 9600



http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=51529&l=cc44e&id=735300369

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49703&l=eb3c3&id=735300369

:thumbs:
 
Hope you don't mind me joining in.

The Fuji S9600 is a very good camera and as close as you can get to a Dslr. But it is a big camera and weighs as much as a Dslr.

Think I'd have a closer look at the Panasonic FZ18 smaller got similar features but no manual zoom/focus ring as the Fuji or FZ50 but the Fuji as not got IS the panos have to get the best from the fuji you'll need a tripod more weight. the FZ18 will fit in your bag and give good images upto iso200 on bright days it will be fine. Only you can decide by holding all cameras.
 
Excellent photos, thank you. That has given me food for thought. I am certainly leaning toward the Fuji now. I think I will need to find somewhere locally that stocks both the Fuji and Panasonic models to get a proper feel for them. It is not quite the same looking at pictures of cameras online!
 
Thanks Outlaw, I think you are right, I will have to see the cameras "for real" to make a proper decision.
 
Just to let you know, I went to look at the cameras "for real". Although I thought the Fuji and the panasonic were OK, a lovely salesman showed me an Olympus DSLR, the E-510 and it just felt right!!! Much more than I wanted to (or can really) spend, but I think in the long run it's the right choice. At least I hope so......:lol:
 
kjwg said:
Just to let you know, I went to look at the cameras "for real". Although I thought the Fuji and the panasonic were OK, a lovely salesman showed me an Olympus DSLR, the E-510 and it just felt right!!! Much more than I wanted to (or can really) spend, but I think in the long run it's the right choice. At least I hope so......:lol:
Click to expand...

He has done his job well then, the classic upsale. Enjoy the camera, its great.
 
Thanks, I have a lot to learn, so I'll probably bore everyone for advice!!
 
Hi kjwg, I have the Olympus E-410 with twin ED kit lenses. Its great small and light great image quality and good handling. Hope your pleased with your E-510.
 
hello again outlaw! According to the courier my E510 should be arriving tomorrow, can't wait:clap:. I also got the deal with the twin lens kit. Am looking forward to trying it out, but I forgot to order a memory card, so will have to go buy one tomorrow!
 
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