Nikon vs Olympus??

[AlexPs]

Hi all,
I'm new to photography and looking to buy a good camera to start with, without getting to complicated and for an all-round use. Maybe later on I'll get more serious.

Looking into these very similar models, I'm looking for some advice...

NIKON COOLPIX P90 or OLYMPUS SP-590 UZ ???

I am an airline pilot, and I want to be able to take some great pics,
air-2-air and air-2-ground. Therefore the large optical zoom needed.
Also I need something relatively compact, user friendly and quick to set up when I get a good view out of the cockpit.
Otherwise I enjoy taking pics when travelling, sailing, etc.
Ranging from pictoresque and panoramic views of towns to beaches and sunsets.

Nothing to expensive as this is only a hobby.
I've found the Nikon for 346 euros and the Olmpus one for 307.
All together dont want to spend more then 400 euros with memory cards and carry cases.

Thanks all in advance, looking forward for any sugestions and your advice.

 

[UUilliam]

If it is just for your own viewing / sharing then either will do tbh..
I would consider a Light DSLR e.g. Nikon d40 or a Canon 450D
I personally use the Canon 450D

You can get the Canon 450D with an 18-55mm IS lens for 580 EUR (or less) which should be more than enough for what you want to do tbh (unless by Air to ground you mean take pics and see your house... in which case you need a 600mm with a 2x converter giving you a 1200mm prime (that would cost about 2500 euro - only an estimate)

but the canon 450D kit should work well and is only 580 euro and you can print the size of a bilboard with no quality loss (if your viewing the billboard from about 20 - 30 metres away ) nah but you could easily print an A4 with no quality loss possibly even an a3

Also you can just stick the DSLR into Auto-Pilot mode (forgive the bad pun)
and point and.. Half click, then click
plus it captures images almost instantly with no lag whereas compacts can take about 1 - 2 seconds to finally take the image
so if you see a Red arrow (Fighter jet) pass by you and you decide you want a picture of it...

Time using a compact:
Start up - 2 - 5 seconds
Framing - 1 second
press shutter and take image - 2-6 seconds
Total time - (at the MINIMUM time according to times provided.) 5 seconds, by that time I am sure it would have dissapeared

Time using a DSLR:
Start up - Less than a second
Framing - 1 - 2 seconds
Press shutter and take image - lessthan a second - 1 second
Total time at the Maximum time provided - 3.2 seconds