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I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a trip to
Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy and complicated.
She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good zoom, and it should also
focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag should be minimal, and lcd size
should be as large as possible. Price is not an issue (within reason).
Suggestions?

Marcus

The Ricoh R4 or R5, Canon PowerShot A710 IS, Canon PowerShot G7


Rob-L

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"Mark" <> wrote in message
news:XeWfh.23$...
> I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a trip
> to Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy and
> complicated. She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good zoom, and
> it should also focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag should be minimal,
> and lcd size should be as large as possible. Price is not an issue (within
> reason). Suggestions?

I bought the Canon A710 IS. Very nice camera. Leave it on Auto and click
away.

Bruce.

Mark wrote:
> I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a
> trip to Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy
> and complicated. She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good
> zoom, and it should also focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag
> should be minimal, and lcd size should be as large as possible. Price
> is not an issue (within reason). Suggestions?
>
> Marcus

For bird photography you need as much zoom as you can get, which in turn
implies that the camera needs to be held steady which is where image
stabilisation helps. For a high-quality but simple camera which does this
(and includes movies) you could look at the Panasonic FZ7 or (with a
slightly poorer lens) the Canon S3 IS. The Panasonic is particularly
light and yet gives excellent results. I have the earlier Panasonic FZ5,
and my wife the slightly larger FZ20, with which we have both been very
pleased.

David

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicFZ7/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/

Mark wrote:
> I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a trip to
> Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy and complicated.
> She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good zoom, and it should also
> focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag should be minimal, and lcd size
> should be as large as possible. Price is not an issue (within reason).
> Suggestions?
>
> Marcus

Panasonic Lumix LX1. Great lens, good zoom, image stabilization, very
nice high-resolution LCD, and it looks cool if you get it in black. And
it's relatively inexpensive because it's discontinued, but it's a
better camera than its replacement, the LX2. I've had it for a few
months, and it's great.

-Gniewko

Mark wrote:
> I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a trip to
> Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy and complicated.
> She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good zoom, and it should also
> focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag should be minimal, and lcd size
> should be as large as possible. Price is not an issue (within reason).
> Suggestions?
>
> Marcus
>
>
Take a look at the Kodak P880 or the V610.

"David J Taylor"
<david-> wrote in
news:GfYfh.15820$ .uk:

> Mark wrote:
>> I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on
>> a trip to Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too
>> heavy and complicated. She likes to photograph birds, so it needs
>> a good zoom, and it should also focus fairly close, as well.
>> Shutter lag should be minimal, and lcd size should be as large as
>> possible. Price is not an issue (within reason). Suggestions?
>>
>> Marcus
>
> For bird photography you need as much zoom as you can get, which in
> turn implies that the camera needs to be held steady which is where
> image stabilisation helps. For a high-quality but simple camera
> which does this (and includes movies) you could look at the
> Panasonic FZ7 or (with a slightly poorer lens) the Canon S3 IS.
> The Panasonic is particularly light and yet gives excellent
> results. I have the earlier Panasonic FZ5, and my wife the
> slightly larger FZ20, with which we have both been very pleased.
>
> David
>
> http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicFZ7/
>
> http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/
>
>
>

I have the FZ5 also, and am very pleased with it for exterior shots! Got
some really good (to me) pics of birds and other wildlife!

--
Eric Babula
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Ron Hunter wrote:
>
> Mark wrote:
> > I'd like to buy a good P&S for my girlfriend. We will be going on a trip to
> > Costa Rica early next year, but she finds a dslr too heavy and complicated.
> > She likes to photograph birds, so it needs a good zoom, and it should also
> > focus fairly close, as well. Shutter lag should be minimal, and lcd size
> > should be as large as possible. Price is not an issue (within reason).
> > Suggestions?
> >
> > Marcus
> >
> >
> Take a look at the Kodak P880 or the V610.


Hello, Ron:

The P880's optical zoom is only 5.8x, and it lacks image stabilization.

Don't you mean the P850 (12x, IS), instead?


Cordially,
John Turco <>