£250 All in one Camera - Specifically Panasonic DMCFZ18EBK

[Ceege]

Hi fellow TP-toggers,

I have a friend who is in the process of getting a new camera for general family / holiday shots and isn’t in the market for a fully fledged SLR but has been impressed by the reviews of this Panasonic camera. I was wondering if any of you out there in TP land have any experience of this or can recommend anything comparable for a similar price. (£250)

It seems to have an impressive specification with image stabilisation, an 18x optical zoom (28mm to 524mm), a 2.5 Inch LCD and an 8Mp sensor. To my mind not bad for the money. A link can be found here http://www.panasonic.co.uk/high-zoom/dmc-fz18eb-k/index.htm and at the bottom are some of the tech specs. He likes the idea of having both a reasonable wide-angle lens with a good telephoto reach for versatility encompassed all in a no-fuss all in one camera.

If anyone who has any experience of these type of spec cameras or this one in particular can post their experiences, it’d be a great help.

Thanks!!

Product Specification
Effective Pixel (in Megapixel): 8.1
Optical Zoom (Ratio): 18
Digital Zoom (Ratio): 4
LCD Monitor Size in Inch: 2.5
Memory Type: Internal + External
Movie / Voice Recording: Movie + Voice
Image Stabiliser: Yes
Size of Internal Memory in MB: 27
SLR / Compact: Compact
Maximum Pixel (in Megapixel): 8.32
Chip Type: CCD
Sensor Size: 1/2,5''
Zoom Type: Optical + Digital
Lowest Focal Length in mm: 28
Highest Focal Length in mm: 504
Changeable Lens: No

Autofocus: Yes
Range Finder Type: Optical / Electronic Viewfinder + LCD
LCD Monitor Resolution in Pixel: 207000
Built-in Flash: Yes
MP3 Playback: No
Bluetooth: No
PictBridge: Yes
WiFi Connectivity: No
Compact Flash Card: No
Multimedia Card: Yes
Reduced Size Multimedia Card: No
Smart Media Card: No
XD Card: No
Secure Digital Card: Yes
Mini Secure Digital Card: No
Secure Digital High Capacity Card (SDHC): Yes
Micro Drive: No
Memory Stick / Memory Stick Pro: No
Memory Stick Duo / Duo Pro: No
microSD/ TransFlash Card: No
Serial Shot Mode: Yes
RAW Format: Yes
Maximum Aperture Wide: 2.8
Maximum Aperture Tele: 4.2
Weight in Grams: 360
Photo Resolution Width in Pixel: 3264
Video Resolution Heigth in Pixel: 480
Video Resolution Width in Pixel: 848
Battery Type: Panasonic CGR-S006E/1B
Longest Shutter Speed in s: 60s
Shortest Shutter Speed in s: 1/2000s
Photo Resolution Height in Pixel: 2448
Depth in mm: 88
Height in mm: 75
Width in mm: 118

 

[dizzledazzle]

Fuji S9600!!!

(if i had £1 for everytime i reccomended this camera!)

http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/digital/cameras/s9600/

Can be got brand new around £230 in the shops or £180 brand new off ebay, amazing little camera, id rate it as the best "bridge" camera money can buy.

 

[HanC]

Haha yep iv been recommended the fuji S9600 a lot as well as im looking for a pretty similar camera to one that your friend wants! someone also recommended a Canon S3 or S5 - the S5 is the newer model so slightly more expensive but they are all around £200-£250 on amazon

 

[Alex S]

I recommend the Canon S3/S5 but I've never tried the Fuji so I'm sure that's good too. The canon is great for macro and has a revolving LCD display which makes it great for taking shots outside in bright sunlight or for framing self-portraits.

 

[dizzledazzle]

The Fuji is also very good at Macro and has the pull out/tilt lcd screen. I loved mine to bits!

 

[Ceege]

Ironically enough, I have/had a Canon Powershot Pro1 which is as excellent little camera but obviously a few years dated from the newer technology available. Again, a great macro on it and a wonderful lens.

Thanks for the info so far. Greatly appreciated! Looks like I may well nudge him down the Fuji route!

 

[HanC]

Make sure ur friend shops around for the fuji! its about £270 in jessops but amazon have it for £202 i think