Digital Bullet Bit....and the winner is.....

It certainly wasn't the Panasonic Lumix I was so excited about in my
first post.

After reading dozens and dozens and dozens of reviews I narrowed the
field to about 7 or 8 candidates. Leading the list was the Sony
DSC-S500 which I was sure would be the winner...it wasn't. That
particular camera bit the dust as did several others after reading a
significant quantity of user reviews.

Eventually two cameras were left standing....the 6 megapixel Canon
PowerShot A540 and the 7 megapixel Pentax Optio M20. As much as it
pains this Nikon fan to say it....the Canon won.

Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II) had a
slighly higher pixel count and was a few bucks cheaper, the Canon had
more features that mattered (or appeared to matter) to me. It had a 4X
zoom as opposed to the 3X of the Pentax, had a larger maximum aperture,
offered more manual control and had an optical viewfinder which the
Pentax lacked. It also offered the choice of images at a 16:9 aspect
ratio which should look good on my 19" widescreen monitor.

I picked it up at CompUSA this afternoon for $175 ($25 off the regular
price) plus the requisite 6% Connecticut sales tax.

Now I didn't really buy this camera to shoot coins (I'd rather do that
with my 35mm macro setup), but I'm sure the camera is certainly capable
of doing a creditable job. I'm also sure I'll give it a try after
taking a couple of days to learn all of the features of this new
toy....and I'll post links to the results.

"Phil DeMayo" wrote in message
oups.com...
I picked it up at CompUSA this afternoon for $175 ($25 off the regular
price) plus the requisite 6% Connecticut sales tax.

Now I didn't really buy this camera to shoot coins (I'd rather do that
with my 35mm macro setup), but I'm sure the camera is certainly capable
of doing a creditable job. I'm also sure I'll give it a try after
taking a couple of days to learn all of the features of this new
toy....and I'll post links to the results.


Ahhh - shopping for therapy.
Fells good, don't it!

I'm sure it'll keep you happy, Phil.

When you post the test shots, can you please make sure to include some
low-light examples.
(Noise is not my friend)

Hooroo

--
Jeff R.

On Jan 2, 6:55*pm, "Jeff R." wrote:

When you post the test shots, can you please make sure to include some
low-light examples.
(Noise is not my friend)

The final nail in the coffin for the Lumix was advice offered in a user
review at CircuitCity.com:

"Set the thing at ISO 100 and fire away"

"Phil DeMayo" wrote in message
ups.com...

The final nail in the coffin for the Lumix was advice offered in a user
review at CircuitCity.com:

"Set the thing at ISO 100 and fire away"

Sighhhh.
Sad but true.

--
Jeff R.

"Phil DeMayo" wrote in message
oups.com...
It certainly wasn't the Panasonic Lumix I was so excited about in my
first post.

After reading dozens and dozens and dozens of reviews I narrowed the
field to about 7 or 8 candidates. Leading the list was the Sony
DSC-S500 which I was sure would be the winner...it wasn't. That
particular camera bit the dust as did several others after reading a
significant quantity of user reviews.

Eventually two cameras were left standing....the 6 megapixel Canon
PowerShot A540 and the 7 megapixel Pentax Optio M20. As much as it
pains this Nikon fan to say it....the Canon won.

Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II) had a
slighly higher pixel count and was a few bucks cheaper, the Canon had
more features that mattered (or appeared to matter) to me. It had a 4X
zoom as opposed to the 3X of the Pentax, had a larger maximum aperture,
offered more manual control and had an optical viewfinder which the
Pentax lacked. It also offered the choice of images at a 16:9 aspect
ratio which should look good on my 19" widescreen monitor.


My first SLR was a K-1000. I still have a fondness for Pentax and thought
if I could get
the digital I chose instead of what I can afford :-) it would be a Pentax of
some sort.
Anyway looking forward to seeing the test shots!
Dale

Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II)

My first SLR was a Pentax SP500 that I bought about 1970....

Of course I was a small child when I bought it....

"Wes Chormicle" wrote in message
link.net...
Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II)

My first SLR was a Pentax SP500 that I bought about 1970....

Of course I was a small child when I bought it....

Gosh, mine was a used Petri Penta I bought in 1959 for a photography course
I was taking in college. It was a handy replacement for the 30-pound
Calumet bellows camera and case we had to master first. Fortunately, the
flash powder era had ended..........

Bruce

"Dale Hallmark" dalehall at cableone.net wrote in message
...

"Phil DeMayo" wrote in message
oups.com...
It certainly wasn't the Panasonic Lumix I was so excited about in my
first post.

After reading dozens and dozens and dozens of reviews I narrowed the
field to about 7 or 8 candidates. Leading the list was the Sony
DSC-S500 which I was sure would be the winner...it wasn't. That
particular camera bit the dust as did several others after reading a
significant quantity of user reviews.

Eventually two cameras were left standing....the 6 megapixel Canon
PowerShot A540 and the 7 megapixel Pentax Optio M20. As much as it
pains this Nikon fan to say it....the Canon won.

Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II) had a
slighly higher pixel count and was a few bucks cheaper, the Canon had
more features that mattered (or appeared to matter) to me. It had a 4X
zoom as opposed to the 3X of the Pentax, had a larger maximum aperture,
offered more manual control and had an optical viewfinder which the
Pentax lacked. It also offered the choice of images at a 16:9 aspect
ratio which should look good on my 19" widescreen monitor.


My first SLR was a K-1000. I still have a fondness for Pentax and thought
if I could get
the digital I chose instead of what I can afford :-) it would be a Pentax
of some sort.
Anyway looking forward to seeing the test shots!
Dale

Ah the K-1000, made me think I was a good photographer at one
time.............

mk

"Wes Chormicle" wrote in message
link.net...
Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II)

My first SLR was a Pentax SP500 that I bought about 1970....

Of course I was a small child when I bought it....


My first SLR was a Pentax ME super. Billy

I have my dad's Ilford Sportsman camera, from the 1960's I think. I used it
in Greece in 1979, separate exposure meter, happy days.

I also have a very nice mahogany half plate camera. Billy

"Bruce Remick" wrote in message
news

"Wes Chormicle" wrote in message
link.net...
Even though the Pentax (my first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic II)

My first SLR was a Pentax SP500 that I bought about 1970....

Of course I was a small child when I bought it....

Gosh, mine was a used Petri Penta I bought in 1959 for a photography
course I was taking in college. It was a handy replacement for the
30-pound Calumet bellows camera and case we had to master first.
Fortunately, the flash powder era had ended..........

Bruce