prosumer cameras

Prosumer digital cameras

personally, if I had only one camera with a non-interchangeable lens, I would choose a lens range of 28-140mm over a 38-380mm as it is far more versatile (as long as you are not into wildlife photography) and wide angle images usually create much better visual impact than long telephotos and you can always crop an image to digitally zoom in but you can never "zoom out".
in general, the larger the sensor size (in mm, not the megapixels), the lower the noise at high ISO for the same number of megapixels and the narrower the depth of field & thus more pleasant portraits, but the larger the physical size of the lens that is needed.
in general, the larger the optical zoom range, the more versatile it is but the poorer the image quality is over the whole range, hence for best image quality, settle for a 28-140mm zoom rather than a 35-430mm zoom.
it also helps if the telephoto end has a fast f-ratio such as f/3.5 as a minimum to make low light photography accessible (eg. for available light portraits).
to me, image quality is important and this means a reasonable size sensor combined with a high resolution lens with minimal aberrations, so in the prosumer non-interchangeable camera field this means that I would go for either:
- Fujifilm S6500fd (late 2006):
  - 6mpixels, 28-300mm f/2.8-4.9, facial recognition AF, up to 3200ISO; a pity it is xD card only;
- Sony DSC-R1
partial list of digital cameras with wide angle at least 28mm (CF memory cards unless otherwise specified):
- compact 5-7mp cameras:
  - Kodak V570 (2006) - 5mp dual CCD/lens - 23mm + 39-117mm lenses, auto-panorama stitch, image stabiliser; MPEG4 video with AF/zoom functional; big LCD screen; SD;
  - Canon S60 - 5mp, 28-100 f/2.8-5.3
  - Canon S70 - 7mp, 28-100 f/2.8-5.3
  - Fujifilm Finepix E500 (4mp) / E510 (5mp) - 28-91mm f/2.9 (xD, no RAW)
  - Ricoh Caplio R series
- with external flash / filter capability:
  - Sony DSC-R1 (late 2005):
    - almost a killer prosumer camera but has a too many serious faults still:
      - takes 9sec to write a RAW file, can only take 3 jpgs in burst mode
      - minimal menu options and no MyMode, settings stay the same as last time you turned it off - so check ISO, etc.
      - proprietary flash hotshoe doesn't work well with other flashes including Metz
      - RAW file size way too big at 23Mb
      - AF and noise still no where as good as a digital SLR and AF, like on the 8080 has trouble with faces, but if you can forgive this, its lens alone would be worth the price of the camera, although still not as good as that on the 8080.
    - 10.3mp APS-C size sensor (21.5x14.4mm with 5.49micron pitch) - 2.5x dynamic range of the much small 8mp prosumer sensors.
    - 24-120 f/2.8-4.8 lens, minimal in-camera image adjustments, no movie mode, flash can only be adjusted +/- 2EV.
    - X-sync to 1/2000th sec! no optical viewfinder as no mirror.
    - it is the 1st APS-C sensor sized camera that has live preview and the 1st in a non-removable lens prosumer camera & 1st camera to have top-mounted LCD screen. $US1000.
    - for $US200 more you could get the 8mp Olympus E500 with 14-54mm lens f/2.8-3.5 (28-108mm equiv.) for more flexibility, more in-camera options, better low-light AF, more control over flash output and exposure compensation, better burst mode, bigger LCD, wider shutter range but no live LCD view and smaller viewfinder view although optical rather than EVF, and noise at ISO 800 is a little more obvious.
    - perhaps the best competitor to this is the Olympus E330 SLR - much more responsive, better AF.
  - Fujifilm FinePix S9000/S9500 (late 2005):
    - 9mp, 28-300 f/2.8-4.9, 1/1.6" sensor, ISO 80-1600; RAW; 118,000 pixel tilt LCD; xD/CF; 645g;
    - 30fps VGA movie with manual zoom;
  - Samsung Pro815 (late 2005):
    - very interesting new camera which attempts to be an all-in-one camera but has some considerable problems of being slow to use, poor AF and poor quality jpgs
    - $US795 retail.
    - 8mp 2/3" size sensor, 28-420mm (15x optical zoom!!!) f/2.2-4.6, 9point AF; multi/cw/spot metering; ISO 50-800; hotshoe;
    - continuous 1.5fps (2.5fps in HS mode and 10fps at 1mpixel); but what is shot-to-shot time in RAW mode??
    - gigantic 3.5" 230,000pixel LCD which rotates up for waist-level finder mode but not in portrait mode.
    - lens has 3 rings: manual focus; manual zoom; manual EV compensation adjustment;
    - sRGB or adobeRGB; CF card; USB2.0; RAW, TIFF, JPEG but can it do RAW+JPEG; shutter to 30sec but no BULB mode; VGA movies;
    - high capacity 1900mAh battery allows 500 shots. histogram;
    - flash compensation +/- 2 stops but can it work in slave mode like the Oly8080?
    - Cons: long shutter lag; slow RAW write; slow AF; jpgs not the best quality.
  - Olympus C7070 (2005):
    - 7mp, 28-110mm f/2.8-4.8 (same as the 5060)
    - new predictive motion AF, full swivel LCD, super macro, in-camera red eye reduction.
    - converters: WCON-17c 0.7x; TCON-17c 1.7x; TCON-30c 3.0x via CLA-7 adapter (same as C5060)
    - compared with 8080:
      - lighter 480g vs 724g
      - smaller 116 x 87 x 66 mm vs 124 x 85 x 99 mm but still not really pocketable
      - smaller sensor thus ? more noise and wider depth of field
      - optical viewfinder - thus better for IR photography potentially
      - no IR remote!
      - less WB options
      - less ISO speed options - probably not that important
    - see review http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/c7070wz-review/index.shtml
  - Olympus C8080 (2004)
    - 8mp, 28 -140mm f/2.4-3.5 (great for studio, travel but not for action)
    - converters: WCOD-08d 0.8x; TCON-14d 1.4x via CLA-8 adapter
    - sensor 50% larger in area than the 5050/5060/7070
  - Kodak P880 (late 2005):
    - 8mp, 24-140mm f/2.8-4.1, manual zoom ring, manual focus ring, 25point AF; AF assist lamp; RAW+embedded jpeg; SD; PC sync port for ext. flash; 30fps VGA video;
    - 1.5fps burst for 6 jpeg or 4 RAW; 2.5" 237,000pixel fixed LCD; BULB; 500g;
  - Sony DSC-F828 (2004) - 8mp, 28-200 f/2.0-2.8 (memory stick or CF but bulky & purple fringing)
  - Olympus C5060 (2004) - 5mp, 27-110 f/2.8-4.8
  - Nikon Coolpix 8400 (2004) - 8mp, 24-85mm f/2.6-4.9 - great for landscapes & holiday pics; not for portraits;
  - Nikon Coolpix 5400 - 5mp, no RAW
  - Minolta DiMAGE 7/7i/7Hi - 5mp, 28-200 f/2.8-3.5
  - Panasonic DMC-LC1 - 5mp, 28-90 f/2.0-2.4 (SD not CF)
  - not recommended due to image quality or significant usability issues:
    - Minolta DiMAGE A2 - 8mp 28-200 f/2.8-3.5 but relatively poor resolution/focus.
    - Canon Powershot Pro1 - 8mp, 28-200 f/2.4-3.5 - many problems see below
if I really had a need for a long telephoto, I would consider a digital SLR or a camera with an image stabiliser and consider buying a wide angle lens converter, such as:
- Panasonic FZ50 (late 2006):
  - 10mpixel 35-420mm f/2.8-3.7 IS; 12x optical zoom; the new Panasonic Intelligent ISO control to adjust ISO to reduce effects of camera shake; up to 1600 ISO; 2fps; support for SDHC cards; RAW no TIFF;
- Panasonic FZ30 (late 2005):
  - 8mpixel 35-420mm f/2.8-3.7 IS version of the FZ20 but with added features:
    - larger 1/1.8" sensor than the FZ20 so hopefully less noise, but this sensor is smaller than the 2/3" sensor in the 8080;
    - manual zoom ring as well as manual focus ring; free-angle LCD; 180% more resolution of LCD & EVF, now 230,000 mpixels; higher quality VGA video;
    - 0.01s shutter lag; 1s start up time instead of 5s; 1pt high speed AF time reduced by ~75%; 730mAh battery for 280 images/charge;
    - RAW as well as TIFF or jpeg; 55mm lens thread; 60sec max. exposure instead of only 8sec; 740g instead of 556g and larger; tripod mount now in line with lens as is EVF; better low light EVF performance; aperture down to f/11;
    - optional 0.7x wide angle adapter gives effective 24.5mm wide angle, while the 1.7x adapter gives 714mm telephoto;
- Panasonic FZ20 (late 2004):
  - 5mpixel 12x 36-432mm f/2.8 IS with MF ring, hotshoe but too noisy above 200ISO and SD not CF. TIFF no RAW;
- Panasonic FZ-7 (2006) - 6mp, 36-432mm f/2.8-3.3; IS; MF joystick; 2.5" 114,000pixel LCD; TIFF but no RAW; no hotshoe; up to 60sec shutter;
- Panasonic FZ-5:
  - 5mp; 36-432mm f/2.8-3.3 IS; no ext. flash; TIFF, no RAW; fast AF; no MF; SD; less noise than FZ-3; more compact, light & cheaper than the FZ-20;
- Kodak P850 (late 2005):
  - 5mp, 36-432 IS f/2.8-3.7, 25 point AF, RAW + embedded Jpeg, 30fps VGA video, SD, no AF assist lamp, no spot meter, 1/1000th - 16sec max. shutter; 2.3fps burst for 5 jpeg or 3 RAW; 2.5" 237,000pixel fixed LCD;
- Canon Powershot S2 IS (mid-2005):
  - 5mp, 36-432 f2.7-3.5, Digic II (2.4fps, startup & AF twice as fast as in the S1), can take full jpeg during movie mode; wide adapter available to give 27mm wide angle; larger 1.8" variangle LCD; no RAW; no BULB; no WB fine tune; timelapse; no flash hotshoe;
  - supercedes the 3mp Canon Powershot S1 IS - 38-300 f2.8-3.1 (light, no RAW)
- Nikon Coolpix 8800 (2004) - 8mp, 35-350 f/2.6-4.9
- Sony DSC-H5 (late 2006):
  - as for H1 except: 7mpixels; 14bit; 3" LCD; 32Mb int. memory;
- Sony DSC-H1:
  - 5mpixel, 36-432mm f/2.8-3.7 with IS, 2.5" LCD; no RAW/TIFF; max. shutter only 2sec on auto.
- no image stabiliser but worth considering:
  - Olympus C770UZ - 4mp, 38-380 f/2.8-3.7 (only 300g, good images, no RAW, noisey above ISO200, poor MF)

The Olympus C-8080WZ compared to other prosumer digitals:

Olympus C5050:
- most people who have both the C5050 & C8080 no longer use the C5050
- the C5050, other than the faster lens & optical viewfinder (of dubious value in this case), it doesn't have the WA, telephoto, fast start up, better LCD viewer, etc. the 8080 has. And, the 5050 isn't small enough to be used as a "pocket camera". Furthermore, the 5050 with WA & telephoto converters (to get roughly similar performance as the 8080) is a bigger and heavier package than the 8080 and you can't use the optical viewfinder with the converters attached.
- the image captured is also a slight crop of the LCD which can be a trap.
- having said this, the 5050 is a good backup camera as takes regular AA batteries & better for light low situations with its optical viewfinder and fast f/1.8 lens, and may have some advantage in shallower depth of field situations but low light focusing is poor and manual focus difficult and shutter lag significant. Poor for action photos.
- 5050 apparently has good macro, able to macro down to image width of 35mm horizontally while the E-1 can only get to 65mm without special lenses and 43mm on the 8080.
- it makes a great travel camera:
  - robust, especially if you use a lens converter adapter with filter attached to protect the lens
  - 5mp do not take up as much space on your CF card as do 8mp, and still produce acceptable A3 and great 8'x10" prints
  - lens quality rivals or betters kit lens quality for most digital SLR's
  - My Modes allow presets to allow rangefinder style usage
  - smaller size and quiet use means it is less obtrusive while AA batteries are readily obtainable
Olympus C7070:
- modeled on the C5060 with which it shares the same lens converter adapter & battery holder
- improvements on the C8080:
  - new predictive motion AF and 143 AF target zones instead of 9, thus better for action photos
  - much more versatile LCD swivel
  - lens converters give more wide angle (0.7x instead of 0.8x) and longer telephoto (up to 330mm focal length)
  - sensor presumably will have less noise as it is only 7 mp instead of 8 mp.
Canon Pro 1:
- this is a much more compact camera with a great 7x 28-200mm f/2.4-3.5 lens, but this camera has many problems according to DPreview.com:
  - expensive (although now almost half original price!), slow start-up, some vignetting at max. aperture, visible noise;
  - long CF write times for JPEGs 4.8s vs 3.6s for the Oly8080 but better RAW write of 9.2s compared with 13s for Oly 8080
  - no AF assist lamp so difficulty in focusing in low light; poor auto WB;
  - no BULB time exposures; USB 1.1 only; poor battery life;
Nikon Coolpix 8700:
- 8x zoom 35-280mm but no wide angle and only f/2.8-4.2;USB1.1;slow startup; only avg. resolution & noise reduction;
- if you are a wildlife photographer, consider the newer Nikon Coolpix 8800 which has the following advantages over the 8700:
  - 10x zoom 35-350mm f/2.6-4.9 with vibration reduction; 2.3fps; USB2;
- if you are mainly a landscape photographer, check out the new Nikon Coolpix 8400:
  - 24-85mm f2.6-4.9; full i-TTL support;
Sony DSC-F828:
- 7x mechanical zoom (28-200mm), f/2.0-2.8; CF; USB2; good startup times; 7 shots at 2.5fps;
- perhaps a better low light, infra-red and action camera than the Oly 8080 BUT:
  - image quality issues with fringing, green hue shift & only avg WB, flash; no BULB; only 1/2000th sec min. shutter;
  - v.bulky & heavy 832g w/o battery!
Panasonic DMC-FZ20:
- image stabiliser; 5mpixel 12x 36-432mm f/2.8 zoom with IS with MF ring, hotshoe but too noisy above 200ISO and SD not CF. TIFF no RAW;
Sony DSC-R1 (2005):
- this great camera is like the Olympus 8080 on steroids, functionally it does not give you any significantly different functionality but it expands on the 8080's strengths by providing:
  - excellent quality 24-120mm f/2.8-4.8 lens
  - approx. 25% more pixels 10.3mpixels
  - larger sensor so lower noise at high ISO, and shallower DOF for better portraits
  - better live magnified view for manual focusing
  - better AF but still not as good a digital SLRs
  - flash x-sync to 1/2000th sec
  - rotatable LCD screen
  - 67mm filters instead of 58mm
- but its exposure, telephoto range and in camera adjustments are more limited, and it is bigger and heavier, while still having the same downsides as the 8080 including no optical viewfinder, slow RAW write time, noise at high ISO, no interchangeable lenses, and no image stabiliser.