Looking to buy a camera....

[Gr44]

Ahoy there! ;-)

I'm planning a nice 3 week road trip to the USA, late April time - I want to take some snaps while I'm there so I'm hoping to pick up a half decent camera shortly to give me a little time to play around with it before hand!

Firstly, I've never owned my own camera (bar a couple of really, really dreadful things about 10 years ago) - but I have used enough of them, be it works, relatives or friends. I've also had a play with dSLR's but they're probably more than I'm willing to spend for this excursion. I'm not really looking for anything too fancy, a few features to tinker with would be nice and a good zoom would be a huge advantage!

Given the camera is mainly for the holiday let me tell you briefly the plan as it may have a baring on the camera? Planning to hit San Francisco, Las Vegas and Chicago. With loads of national parks and lots of scenic driving in between! Hence why a zoom would be a big advantage!

Anyway, I was hoping you might be able to suggest some good cameras for such a trip (and such a novice!) I'm looking to spend AROUND ~£200, but willing to spend more if it's going to make a big differance. Obviously I understand I'll end up paying more for SD cards or whatever, pointers on those would be good too!

Thanks,

Sean

[Bobster]

buy ur camera out there.. might be able to pick up a G9 cheap

[kalniel]

Don't forget the duty limit is something like £150 (can't remember the exact amount) so try and keep below this if at all possible. Otherwise you'll be liable for duty or will have to try sneaking it past customs which usually involves leaving your reciept and USA specific manuals/warranty behind.

[Bobster]

try sneaking it past customs which usually involves leaving your reciept and USA specific manuals/warranty behind.

not if you mail them to yourself first

[nichomach]

On the basis of my experience with a Panasonic Lumix FZ7, if I were spending about £200 now and wanted a big zoom, I'd be buying the DMC-FZ28, which can be had in silver from http://www.buyacamera.co.uk/ for £214.99. It's 10.1MP, and has a 27mm Wide Angle f/2.8 LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT Lens with 18x Optical Zoom. Which ought to just about do .

[Gr44]

Thanks nichomach.

Any other suggestions?

[freddie]

i've been looking for a camera myself and was going for either top compact or low dslr.
from my research i found panasonic is a very good choice for compacts. especially with its wide angle lens which is great for landscapes. they might have dropped in price since the last time i checked. it probably would still be cheaper to get the camera there but the flip side is if you get it here you'll have time to play with it and know what settings work for you etc. not too much of a big deal with a compact but still....

[nvening]

The Panasonic Lumix TZ7 looks really nice - its £280ish over here but theres the TZ6 for £230