Newbie Help needed

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hi,

I am trying to find a digitial compact? camera to buy my girlfriend for her birthday. We had narrowed it down to the Konica Minolta Z10 (£90) on a web site vs £150 in the shop, however we have just seen the Z3, which has better pixels and zoom, but the cheapest I can find it is £180. Is the Z3 a much better camera, is it a better idea to go for better zoom and pixels?
We like these as they are slightly bigger and fell better in the hand. Are there any other make s we could look at?

Cheers
Rich
 
Hello Richard - welcome to the forum. 8)

These sites are probably the best sources of in -depth reviews of cameras..

http://www.dpreview.com/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

However it looks like neither site has reviewed these two cameras yet.

Both these cameras are from the highly successful range of Z cameras from Minolta, and I can't see you going wrong with either. Pixel count difference between the two is nothing to get worries about. There are lots of excellent compact cameras on the market now with excellent pixel counts and good optical zoom lens ranges.

Buying a digital compact is such a personal thing provided it meets all the desirable criteria - good pixel count, good zoom range etc. I'd personally be looking for something very pocketable, and usually the ladies place a high importance on this, being able to chuck it in their handbag etc? :wink:

There are so many choices out there now and prices have really fallen, so I'd advise you to have a good look at your options at this stage and really be sure what you want from the camera. Probably not too helpful to you, but if you need any other help or want opinions on specific cameras then sing out and we'll do our best to help.
 
Hell Richard and welcome to the forums. :)

I am not familiar with the two models that you have mentioned however I have just had a quick search of the web and found some information. For the £90 that you have found the Z10 there is no doubt that it is a feature packed and capable camera with some features that you would normally only find on much more expensive models. It can be used in full auto so that minimum amount of user input is required or if your girlfriend is more into photography (now or maybe in the future) the camera can be switched to various other modes or even full manual to allow her to be as creative as she pleases. This will allow her to grow into the camera and not feel too restricted by it. I also noticed that this model has a 8x optical zoom which for a camera of this price range is very, very good.

There is a plain english review/spec article on the Z10 here and an in depth review with sample images here


The Z3 has a slightly higher specification with a larger MP sensor (4mp vs 3mp on the Z10) 10x optical zoom vs 8x on the Z10 and the other main difference is the inclusion of Minolta’s CCD-shift Anti-Shake System which will allow for steadier and sharper telephoto photographs. All this extra technology will cost extra money but you will have to decide for yourself if the cost difference will be worth it to your girlfriend.

If you are going to print out any photos from these cameras than you are looking at a maximum size of about 8” x 10” from the Z10 and very slightly larger from the Z3, although in reality modern software can greatly increase these options for you.

An in depth review of the Z3 with sample images is available here

Hope that helps a little but I am sure that someone else will be along soon to offer you some more advice.


Edit I see Ct has beaten me to it again. :)
 
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