I want to buy a Kodak Z740... good or bad idea?

[DLL_4ever]

I'm thinking of trading my old Pentax Optio 50 in for a Kodak Z740. I really badly want to upgrade my camera but dont have too much money to spend... the Kodak Z740 is $430 CA (about $360 US / 294 EUROs) ... It looks really nice, and has some awesome features; 10x optial zoom, 4x digizoom, etc. It's also a 5MP camera like the one i have now. The one i have now i baught for about half the price. So, my question is, is it worth it spending twice as much for this camera? Here's a list of some of its other features.

Also, If you know of any other digital cameras that are overall better and either cost the same or cost less, please let me know

thanks in advance...

 

[Don Simon]

Personally I wouldn't recommend spending that much for a 5-megapixel fixed lens camera when you have a 5-megapixel fixed lens camera; it won't offer that much more in terms of quality or features - except for the zoom, so I guess it's a question of whether you want 10x zoom (as a rule I don't really count digital zoom).

Just out of interest, what is wrong with the Pentax that makes you want to replace it? I'm not saying you have to justify yourself :mrgreen: but if you let us know what it is you're looking for then we can probably come up with a specific suggestion.

 

[DLL_4ever]

Personally I wouldn't recommend spending that much for a 5-megapixel fixed lens camera when you have a 5-megapixel fixed lens camera; it won't offer that much more in terms of quality or features - except for the zoom, so I guess it's a question of whether you want 10x zoom (as a rule I don't really count digital zoom).

Just out of interest, what is wrong with the Pentax that makes you want to replace it? I'm not saying you have to justify yourself :mrgreen: but if you let us know what it is you're looking for then we can probably come up with a specific suggestion.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Pentax. It works perfectly fine and takes great photos. I just want to try and get the best I can with the little money I have. And there are quite a few things this pentax cant do (for example, i cant control the shutter speed, i cant take good night pictures, the 3x optical zoom is boring, etc.
If this Kodak camera can take the exact same quality photos but instead with controlable shutter speed and 10x optical zoom, i think its worth it ... But i'm also very new to photography, so that's why i'm wondering what experienced photographers like yourself think about this idea.

 

[Don Simon]

Experienced, moi? Nooooooooo :mrgreen: I've only been at it for a couple of years. Also I also know very little about digital. What you really want is some digital people in here to give you their informed opinion. I'll try baiting them: DIGITAL SUCKS! FILM IS TEH BEST! Right, that should get them in here

In the meantime, here are some reviews of the camera I just Googled...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/kodakz740/
http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/kodak-z740/z740-gen.php
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/z740.html

After reading about it's features I was wrong to dismiss it. It does give you a lot more control, and nighttime photos should definitely come out better than with the Pentax. I'm just personally a bit prejudiced against cameras that look like SLRs but aren't - but that's just me, and I'm weird . It actually seems like very good value for money, although I'd recommend you also check out the Panasonic Lumix range - the DMC-FZ5 has some good reviews but the DMC-FZ20 seems to offer more, including image stabilisation and option to manual focus, and you could get it for only slightly more than the Kodak. It's also black and generally just looks cool :mrgreen:. Some might also recommend the Konica-Minolta Dimage series, but I won't because I think they look... odd.

 

[damian5000]

I've been doing a lot of research lately on cameras in that price range... Personally I wouldn't get a megazoom without Image Stabilization. Look at the Panasonic or Canon S2 IS. dcresource (has a lot of real world photos taken with the camera in the review) and zdnet have, in my opinion, the best reviews.

 

[DLL_4ever]

I've been doing a lot of research lately on cameras in that price range... Personally I wouldn't get a megazoom without Image Stabilization. Look at the Panasonic or Canon S2 IS. dcresource (has a lot of real world photos taken with the camera in the review) and zdnet have, in my opinion, the best reviews.

I hear that a lot ... but does it really matter with the image stabilizer if you're using a really fast shutter speed? Or if you're using a tripod?

 

[Big Mike]

No, IS is not for when you are using fast shutter speeds or a tripod...but it does help get sharper images when you can't use a fast enough shutter speed...which might be anytime you are indoors or when it's not bight & sunny.