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What Camera?
Jan. 9th, 2010 01:54 amAfter BrumCon, I realised that I need to invest in a new compact camera as my current camera, a Fuji FinePix E550, which being a fairly capable camera, is kinda ancient by today's standards (It came out in 2004). It's chunky, eats batteries for breakfast, only does VGA video (in MJPEG) and is only 4x zoom. In addition to that, while the flash still operates, since its recent encounter with a Slushie Otter, the flash eject mechanism no longer works.
What I'm looking for is a compact camera I can easily put in my pocket which takes great photos inside and outside (mostly for conventions to be honest) but also record at least 720p HD video (as I quite enjoy video editing). I'm a bit of a gadget nut too so I like having all the latest and greatest features. I've spent many an evening being tempted by various models and I seem to have got it down to two (until commenters of this inevitably suggest some other options). Ultimately, it's come down to the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 (Or ZS3 to Americans) and the Samsung WB550 (or HZ15W to Americans). The TZ7 has 12x zoom while the WB550 has only 10x however the WB550 has a slightly wider zoom at 24mm to the TZ7's 25mm (useful for indoor shots). The WB550 allows manual control over shutter and aperature wheres the TZ7 mainly relies on a number of preset "scenes". Both cameras seem to have negative opinions of their performance in low light however both look like they have great quality 720p video according to YouTube.
So, I'm not too sure which I should get in replacement camera. It seems like the TZ7 should be better and is a well respected make but it seems there's little things it lacks in. In terms of price, I can get the WB550 for £170 while the TZ7 is around £210. I'm keen to know what suggestions others may have however but it's gotta be slim and not have a chunky zoom lense and also record 720p video in H.264.
What I'm looking for is a compact camera I can easily put in my pocket which takes great photos inside and outside (mostly for conventions to be honest) but also record at least 720p HD video (as I quite enjoy video editing). I'm a bit of a gadget nut too so I like having all the latest and greatest features. I've spent many an evening being tempted by various models and I seem to have got it down to two (until commenters of this inevitably suggest some other options). Ultimately, it's come down to the Panasonic Lumix TZ7 (Or ZS3 to Americans) and the Samsung WB550 (or HZ15W to Americans). The TZ7 has 12x zoom while the WB550 has only 10x however the WB550 has a slightly wider zoom at 24mm to the TZ7's 25mm (useful for indoor shots). The WB550 allows manual control over shutter and aperature wheres the TZ7 mainly relies on a number of preset "scenes". Both cameras seem to have negative opinions of their performance in low light however both look like they have great quality 720p video according to YouTube.
So, I'm not too sure which I should get in replacement camera. It seems like the TZ7 should be better and is a well respected make but it seems there's little things it lacks in. In terms of price, I can get the WB550 for £170 while the TZ7 is around £210. I'm keen to know what suggestions others may have however but it's gotta be slim and not have a chunky zoom lense and also record 720p video in H.264.
