is the Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V my best bet?

[tommo123]

need a new cam for a trip in may (this is out in april apparently).

i need a good zoom (this has 30x optical) and HD video (this apparently does 1080p60).

i did see the fuji hs20 out at around the same time but this seems to have it beat in all areas - and dSLR is not an option. not carrying around different lenses

 

[tommo123]

anyone with opinions? alternatives etc?

 

[tommo123]

guess no

 

[AkumaX]

Powershot SX30 IS ?

 

[tommo123]

seen that, very nice zoom but was hoping for more than 720p video

the sony cam is meant to do 1080p/ 60 frames/sec

 

[Raghu]

Panasonic FZ100, Nikon P100

 

[Sephire]

PowerShot SX230 HS or a S95 (no 1080p video)

 

[tommo123]

Panasonic FZ100 - 24x zoom, 1080p@30 video. 220fps low res video mode looks nice.
Nikon P100 - only has a 15x zoom. my current panny has 12x so not much of an upgrade.
PowerShot SX230 - 1080p video but only 14x zoom again.
S95 - unless i'm reading it wrong, this only has a 4x zoom?

i'll have a look into the panasonic as i like their stuff but unless there's a huge price diff, the sony beats it in all areas iirc

 

[AkumaX]

yeah, the S95 is only that (4x optical zoom), 28-105mm, but has an aperture of f/2.0 @ 28mm, easier to take pix in low-light, if you're that kind of person

however, actually that DSC-HX100V seems very intriguing... a zoom of 27-810mm with min aperture f/2.8-5.6...

the DSC-HX9V is not bad either, if you don't need that far of a zoom, but comes with a bit extra on the wide end (24-384mm), although the min aperture is only f/3.3-5.9

also, just noticed that the sensor on both Sony's is 1/2.3", a bit small and could be detrimental to image quality (in comparison, the S95's sensor is 1/1.7")

you should take another look @ that Fuji HS20, it has 720p/60fps as an alternative prize, but is also good for wide shots (24-720mm), f/2.8-5.6, and the sensor is a little bigger (1/2")

p.s. i hope you have decent hardware/software to process that 1080p/60fps video

 

[tommo123]

any half decent recent gpu will handle the video easily enough, as for re-encoding (which i'm not convinced i'll do) i have a 6core PC so can do it easily enough

i'm hoping there's be reviews of both cameras by the time i go on holiday in may

the fuji has a better zoom iirc but really like the sound of 1080p/60

 

[AkumaX]

use a program like Media Player Classic to play it 1/2 speed, has nice effects

fuji's zoom is 24-720mm, vs sony @ 27-810mm... only a difference if you value either end.
the fuji does have a max ISO of 12800 vs sony's 3200, could make or break a shot (if its usable, that is)

 

[tommo123]

thanks mate

barr any new considerations, i'll have to wait for reviews i guess

 

[Raghu]

Nikon P100 - only has a 15x zoom. my current panny has 12x so not much of an upgrade.

26x zoom

http://www.dpreview.com/products/nikon/compacts/nikon_cpp100

 

[tommo123]

thanks Raghu.

i just scrolled down on the link below but it's for the L110. my mistake

http://www.nikon.com/about/news/2010/0203_coolpixp100l110_03.htm

 

[tommo123]

ok, looks like delays are setting in meaning i may have to fall back on dslrs

 

[tommo123]

ok, decided on the canon eos 550d (EOS Rebel T2i in NA afaik).

gonna get it this week and it's not much more expensive than the sony i was looking at. only downside really is it comes with an 18-55mm lens and i haven't decided whether to buy a 250/300mm lens on the cheap now, or rent one for my trip to canada until i know what i'm doing.

package
here

any thoughts? buy a lens or just rent for the vacation?

 

[tommo123]

got the canon and a 250mm lens. nice!

now need to practise.

anyone know of any good sites for info/guides on good practice/ hints/tips with this cam?