megapixel madness

as a reward for coming to visit my page today i have decided to completely bore you with some info on my pending digital camera purchase.

my current camera is a fuji finepix 50i. i bought it a couple of years ago when it was "the pinnacle of current digital technology, offering superb image quality, a movie mode with sound and an MP3 audio player in the slimmest digital camera ever available". the specs at the time were cutting edge, but it's definitely showing it's age compared to the cameras out there now.

when i was thinking about buying the fuji i got into a debate with my good friend joe. he was also shopping for a camera but was looking at larger ones with more features, more pixels, etc. he'd send me articles with so-so reviews for the fuji. i wound up buying the fuji as i thought that the portability would outweigh the megapixel deficit. overall i've been happy with my choice over the last couple of years and i'm pleased with the photos i've taken with it.

one feature i thought i'd use and but didn't was the mp3 function as the actual mp3s eat up too much space on the smartmedia card and my mp3 player is much easier to use. one feature i didn't think i'd use and use a lot is the ability to take mpeg movies, like those you can see in my linkin park blog entry. i only wish the quality of the movies were a bit better.


all the photos on this blog up until today were taken with my fuji, but i feel it's now time to retire my it and upgrade to a new camera. with so many choices in the market, the first thing to decide is what type of camera i want to buy. i'll almost certainly go for another ultra-portable model as if i wanted to get serious, i'd invest a few thousand bucks into an slr digital camera and some good lenses.

here are the cameras i'm considering:
- pentax optio s4 - (review) (review) one of the best of the ultra-compact camera segment. one big improvement over the fuji is the 3x optical zoom- amazing that it can fit into such a tiny body. picture quality (at a higher res) and functions probably on par with what i have now.

- casio exilim ex-z40 - (review) the casio equivalent to the pentax, using a pentax 3x zoom. very similar to the pentax in spec, only slightly larger. difficult to choose between the two- i'd probably lean towards the casio if only because service could be an issue out here in asia with some of the lesser-known brands.

- sony dsc-w1 - (review) (review) sony, the king of proprietary since betamax, is still using their memory sticks in their products. this is one reason i've never given sony a serious look for cameras. not really a good reason, though, as i find that for my mp3 player, palm pilot, and cameras i've wound up buying them each their own memory anyway. finally here's a sony that's a contender- good size, 3x optical zoom, great movie mode, and (wow) 5 megapixels in its small body.

- canon powershot s500/digital elph - (review) (review) similar specs to the sony, 3x optical zoom and a 5 megapixel sensor. good movie mode, limited to 3 minutes- which is fine as i can't imagine watching a tiny grainy movie for more than a few seconds anyway. overall got great review and the sample photos look decent.

- casio exilim ex-s3 - (review) (review) a super-slim camera, only half an inch thick. can't get much more portable than this in a camera with more than 3 megapixels. although the reviews are generally favorable, i'd lose some functionality with it's fixed-focus and it's at a pixel deficit compared with the other cameras. like my fuji, no optical zoom only digital. looks really cool, though, and i'm a sucker for cool....

- pentax optio 555 - (review) (review) this is what would be called a mid-size camera these days, and i'm not sure it'll pass my portability requirement. will be interesting to take a look at this one, as it's got a 5x optical zoom and boasts 5 megapixels.

- casio exilim pro ex-p600 - (review) (review) this is i think the largest of the exilim series, probably better called exichunky. a bulging-pant-pocket camera, it makes up for its size with a 4x optical zoom and (whoah) 6 megapixels. lots of features and the sample pictures i've seen in the review sites are great.

i'm disappointed that fuji doesn't have a better offering as i've always used fuji digital cameras. the company used to be on the forefront of small camera design and technology, but the only camera i found in the compact segment (the a340) really doesn't measure up to the competition.

video camera sensors are becoming better and better, with some able to take decent still images. the sony dcr pc 330 is one of the best compact video cameras on the market, but is only capable of taking 2.1 megapixel stills which i've read don't measure up to the quality found in dedicated 2 megapixel digital cameras. still, one day the technology will converge- i'm looking forward to it as there are definitely times i've had a still camera with me and wished i had a proper video camera.

will head to pantip plaza this week to make my decision. any suggestions? there's also a nice fuji finepix 50i for sale if you're in the market for a camera.