New Digital Camera

I have recently purchased a new digital camera. I looked at a number of different models - DSLR or Fixed Lens - Super-Zoom or Standard. There are so many makes and models it was very hard to decide.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that as I normally put a large zoom lens on my SLR-type cameras and very seldom change them, I might as well choose a good fixed lens type that had the zoom capabilities that I was interested in. (I like being able to stand back and use the zoom to get the close-ups without having the camera stuck in someone's face.)

I looked at all the major players in the super-zoom class of fixed lens cameras: Olympus, Canon, Panasonic and Fujifilm.

One of the things that I decided right off the bat was that I did not want to be tied to a battery pack - I would rather carry extra batteries if my rechargeables ran out than end up with a dead battery pack just at the start of a photo shoot. This ruled out the Panasonic models.

The Olympus at the biggest zoom - 18x, 10 pixels, image stabilization and top ISO of 800.
The Canon S3 IS had a zoom of about 16x, 6.0 pixels, image stabilization and top ISO also of 800.
The Fujifilm S6000fd/S6500fd - 10.75x zoom, 6.0 pixels, and the best ISO of the three at 3,200 (this model does not have IS, but with the useable ISO speed of up to 3,200 - this stops almost any motion and gives a sharp picture).

One of the best resources I found for making my decision was the DPReview website - this is an independent testing organization for digital photography. I was able to review all the makes/models that I was interested in to get reviews that were not tied to commission. This was a big help.

I checked with a number of different retails, but the best help from the most knowledgeable sales person was Oliver at PhotoExpress in Maple Ridge (besides being a great scrapbooking store). He is very familiar with all the current market models. He has used and tested all of the ones that I was looking at buying.

I ended up with the Fujifilm S6000fd and have been very happily playing with all the bells and whistles on this model. As it happens, my last digital camera was also a Fujifilm - this did not particularily sway my decision as I was completely ready to change brands.

I am looking forward to scrapbooking with the new pictures that I will be taking on my new camera!

Happy snapping!