Need camera suggestions...?

[justink]

looking for a new point and shoot, i'm as amateur as it gets, but i want something with a decent optical zoom that will react well for concert photography as well as everyday family fun. i think i've narrowed it down to the following:

Canon 210is

Olympus 8010

My biggest concern is compact yet a good optical zoom. So the canon got my first interest but now I'm looking at the Olympus even though it's only 5x zoom versus the canon's 14x. But the Olympus is slimmer, no protruding lens and shock resistant and waterproof to 33 feet, perfect for the pool, river or beach. the toughness/waterproof of the Olympus is a huge plus for me.

I found both at the same price ($300) so, that's negligible. i keep going back and forth... right now i'm leaning toward the Olympus, but that could change in an hour. :lol

thoughts?

thanks for looking.

[KenJulio]

The Panasonic ZS7 is a nice little point and shoot. It has a built-in GPS, does video, has a pretty good range from 25mm to 300mm.

Amazon.com: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black): Electronics

[justink]

Originally Posted by ken74

The Panasonic ZS7 is a nice little point and shoot. It has a built-in GPS, does video, has a pretty good range from 25mm to 300mm.

Amazon.com: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black): Electronics

i'll take a look at that for sure... making my decision difficult! i've read that olympus has rugged features (underwater most appealing to me), but the image quality leaves something to be desired... so now i'm back at square one.

[pcdeatherage]

imho, you won't be happy with just 5x...you'll want more in no time at all...

[KenJulio]

Hmm...so I have to ask, if the image quality is iffy on the Olympus, why buy it? Isn't the point of having a camera to take high quality images? :)

[Carl Stone]

Originally Posted by ken74

Hmm...so I have to ask, if the image quality is iffy on the Olympus, why buy it? Isn't the point of having a camera to take high quality images? :)

Perzactly!

[brewercm]

So is underwater a priority for the camera or just waterproof? If the first I'd see what's either available in underwater capability or an underwater case for a good camera, although that can almost double the cost.

[justink]

Originally Posted by ken74

Hmm...so I have to ask, if the image quality is iffy on the Olympus, why buy it? Isn't the point of having a camera to take high quality images? :)

exactly.

now i'm leaning toward the Panny and Canon. i need to go somewhere and get hands on time...

[justink]

Originally Posted by brewercm

So is underwater a priority for the camera or just waterproof? If the first I'd see what's either available in underwater capability or an underwater case for a good camera, although that can almost double the cost.

underwater isn't a priority, but a cool feature we could use since we live near the beach and spend lots of time at the pool as well as the river, just an extra "carrot" thrown out there to make the decision tougher. :lol

[L Stegall]

Canon makes a lot of affordable underwater housings for it's P&S's. My husband has a G9 (now I think they are up to the G11 or G12). That's the only one p&s I'm familiar with in terms of hands on experience. He's very happy with the pictures he gets from it and I did buy the housing to use it in the pool. So far, so good. It's a little big to just stick in your pocket, though.

[justink]

Originally Posted by L Stegall

Canon makes a lot of affordable underwater housings for it's P&S's. My husband has a G9 (now I think they are up to the G11 or G12). That's the only one p&s I'm familiar with in terms of hands on experience. He's very happy with the pictures he gets from it and I did buy the housing to use it in the pool. So far, so good. It's a little big to just stick in your pocket, though.

I'd LOVE a G11, but my wife will be the primary user and she demands slim/compact... and since she is the primary user, i demand durable and drop resistant. j/k... sorta.

[L Stegall]

Gotcha. But, since you mentioned using it around the beach, I do think lots of the Canon's have nifty little housings and that is a plus. And, just FYI, Canon has, in the past, put housings on sale on their website. I was on the verge of ordering one from B&H and looked at the Canon website and got it for 50% off, so it's worth checking there if you are interested.