The best digicam $800 can buy??

[Savij]

Originally posted by: HardWired
...but it sound like it rips through batteries like there's no tomorrow. And like the F717, a proprietary battery as well.

Personally I really like the battery/charger of the 707/717. It's nice to be able to recharge the battery w/o taking it out of the camera. I had an Olympus 720uz that took AA batteries and grew to hate having to change/charge the batteries all the time. Plus, the battery life of the 707 seems to have a (slightly) longer battery life than the 5050C. Text

Otherwise, it appears that the Olympus is a very strong contender.

Impressive, the C-5050 Zoom manages to match our current five megapixel 'king of the castle', the Sony DSC-F717. Resolution is on par and the detail carried through to extinction is slightly better resolved (although this is probably just down to sharpening). Proof by this stage of the reviuew, if it were required, that the Olympus F1.8 - F2.6 lens in combination with the new smaller 1/1.8" CCD sensor are more than capable of what we would expect from a five megapixel prosumer digital camera.

Text

Might be of interest
C-5050 sample gallery
F717 Sample Gallery

 

[HardWired]

My last post where I stated "I'm now starting to lean in that direction" is where I'm at. So no, I haven't really made up my mind at all. I was leaning towards the F717, then the V1, now the 5050C. I'm still mulling it over.

There are soooo many things to take in to consideration with a digicam purchase...

 

[imported_Mike]

unless size is an issue, your best bets are the G4/G5 or the 717

 

[Lars]

Sony F717

 

[Savij]

Might be worth noting that the F717 has usb 2.0 connection vs the C-5050's usb 1.1. If you plan on getting/prefer card readers then this a moot point.

 

[gordy]

Nikon coolpix, best all around and GP cam, ultimate for macros unequalled

sample 1

Sample 2

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: gordy
Nikon coolpix, best all around and GP cam, ultimate for macros unequalled

sample 1

Sample 2

Sony F707 Macro
Lighting: Dell E171FP displaying ATOT + 2 open blinds
Location: On paper next to milk/Frosted flakes that spilled on my desk
Distance: ~ 5 CM?
Tripod: Holding breath while trying not to shake my hands to much

I know it's kinda blurry, but I've got to get to work.

penny.png

 

[Ornery]

Here's my F707 penny picture..

He's right to give this some serious thought. When you get into this price range, it ain't just a passing fancy. Considering that you may be able to snag the F717 for $550.00 or even less, that would weigh heavily to me. Not 100% sure the V1 would be my next choice after the F717. If I were looking for a more portable camera, neither the V1, C-5050 or even the Coolpix would go in my pocket. I'd either stay with the F717 or drop all the way to a truly portable camera.

The swivel body is a much bigger deal to me now than before I bought the camera. Some people like it best for overhead shooting, and that's true, but I like it best for shooting from waist level. I do a LOT of shooting like that. It would be hard for me to give up that feature. You can shoot candid shots very easily. People don't realize your snapping away with the camera down away from your eye. That's the type of shots I enjoy most. Just shots of people going about their business or at parties and even at restaurants. I shoot everywhere! That's another thing. Using the 717's 5x zoom gets you nice and close. It's a bright lens even at that zoom level, so you can keep being candid by not using the flash.

Two more pretty big features that shouldn't be overlooked is, Hologram Auto Focus and Night Framing System. Two features I take for granted, but would miss a LOT if I didn't have them.

I couldn't think of any reason NOT to buy the C-5050. It's more a matter of the features GAINED by opting for the 717.

• LONG info lithium battery life
• Bright 5X zoom
• Swivel body
• Night Shot, Night Framing, Hologram Focus
• Competative price

 

[Ornery]

Hey HW, found another for you to check out. I don't know who is selling it, or even many details about it, but you could be the first on the block to own one!

 

[HardWired]

The USB speeds of a given camera doesn't pull me either way because 90%+ of the pics will be off loaded from memory with a card reader, and not the camera itself.

Yes Ornery, the Fuji Finepix S7000 looks very interesting. Thanks for the "heads up". I'll have to search around for it. The 5050C does have a swivel LCD for both above the head and waist level shots, so the swivel of the F717 doesn't really sell me. The output of the F717 looks great from all the pics I've seen, including yours, but again, it's so damn big. I don't think it would even fit in the wifes purse comfortably. And no, that's not the first consideration.

Gordy, I'm going to look at the Canon line a little more too.

I just got home a short while ago with the Canon i950 photo printer from Sam's Club. It was $219.00 with a USB cable and a Dazzle 6-in-1 memory card reader. I don't see it listed on Canon's site but it's boxed and sold as the i950S, and I'm thinking the "S" is for the USB cable and memory reader...which you don't get with the regular i950. A great deal for a great photo printer IMO. I spent an hour at CompUSA last Saturday with a sales kid and he shot and printed out several pix with the i950 and I was stunned with the output it produces. With 2 picoliter droplets of ink, it is an absolute photo print shop quality.

So now all I need is the digicam to capture the pics.

And the search goes on....