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richlevy · 10-15-2006, 01:15 PM

DPreview is great. The first thing is to decide how many megapixels you really need.
Circuit City is selling the Panasonic LZ-3 for $160. It has image stablization, but is 5MP. The Canon is 7MP, but costs twice as much. Both have stablization and 6x zoom.

Optical zoom is as important as megapixels, because when cropping long shots to enlarge the subject, you are pretty much doing what a 'digital zoom' is doing, which is sacrificing image quality by cropping and enlarging the image. So a long shot taken with a 5MP and a 6x zoom might be better than the same shot taken with an 8mp and a 3x zoom if you end up cropping.

IMO, Canon is a better name than Panasonic and I loved my A-10, but you probably don't need the 7MP unless you intend to do landscape or professional portraits, so I would buy the Panasonic and use the $150 I saved for accessories.

That being said, read the reviews. Some cheaper cameras have plastic bodies and feel flimsy.

BTW, if you might end up using the camera as a cheap digital videocamera, which I did with my A10, check the comments on audio. Apparently, some cameras do video but do not have microphones.

10-15-2006, 01:15 PM	#15
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	DPreview is great. The first thing is to decide how many megapixels you really need. Circuit City is selling the Panasonic LZ-3 for $160. It has image stablization, but is 5MP. The Canon is 7MP, but costs twice as much. Both have stablization and 6x zoom. Optical zoom is as important as megapixels, because when cropping long shots to enlarge the subject, you are pretty much doing what a 'digital zoom' is doing, which is sacrificing image quality by cropping and enlarging the image. So a long shot taken with a 5MP and a 6x zoom might be better than the same shot taken with an 8mp and a 3x zoom if you end up cropping. IMO, Canon is a better name than Panasonic and I loved my A-10, but you probably don't need the 7MP unless you intend to do landscape or professional portraits, so I would buy the Panasonic and use the $150 I saved for accessories. That being said, read the reviews. Some cheaper cameras have plastic bodies and feel flimsy. BTW, if you might end up using the camera as a cheap digital videocamera, which I did with my A10, check the comments on audio. Apparently, some cameras do video but do not have microphones. __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama Last edited by richlevy; 10-15-2006 at 01:25 PM.