It’s time for me to buy a new digital camera. Presently I have a Kodak DC280 that I purchased in early 2000. It was OK for it’s time, and under ideal outdoor lighting conditions it has taken pictures so good that I can scarcely believe it was me operating the camera, but… That’s not good enough anymore. The DC280 takes miserable shots under typical indoor lighting. It’s too big and too heavy by today’s standards, and it was too slow by 1999 standards. And 2 megapixels ain’t what they used to be.
I want a new camera that is small and lightweight enough to be worn on my belt constantly without making my pants fall down. It should be able to take decent indoor shots. It should be at least 4MP and 3X optical zoom. Beyond that, I’m not a photography geek so fancy adjustment features will probably never get used.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7 has caught my attention. 5MP, 3X optical zoon, Leica lense (that’s good, right?), and Optical Image Stabilization. Camera shake has probably been my biggest obstacle to taking decent photos with my camera phones, so I really dig the OIS — given the phone-like dimensions (3.7×2x1 inches) I will probably need it. Digital Photography Review didn’t have anything horrible to say and owners seem to universally love it.
Any other currently-available cameras I should be looking at?
