My Dad has given me the trask of sorting him a camera for his holiday.
He is off to Kenya and would like a camera that packs a bigger zoom than his current compact so he can zoom in on the wildlife without getting too close However he does not want to spend a fortune!
Here is a summary of what i have found out so far!
Fuji offer a number of camera’s that are compact but still feature a large optical zoom, and with many of them there isnt much between them.
Firstly the Fuji T200 is a very easy to use camera that is 14 Megapixels and has a 10x Optical zoom. It dosnt have some of the features such as GPS etc but is aimed more at those wanting to simply take easy pictures but with a 10x zoom not miss the action. This camera is a great price at £86.98 and is highly recommended.
Fuji also offer their EXR range, starting with the Fuji F300 , The F500 , F550 , F600 , F660 and the new Fuji F770 EXR.
It is the F500 EXR that sticks out the most. Apart from the new F770 the rest of the cameras are 16 megapixels with a 15x zoom (the new F770 has a 20x zoom) There really isnt much between them but the price of the F500 stuck out at a bargain £134.99. The camera is very easy to use, and even though it has the 15x Optical zoom it is not too big a camera meaning it is easy to pop in your pocket and take out for the day.
Panasonic have the FS35 which is a stylish little camera. This camera has an 8x zoom which may not quite be enough for the purpose, but at £94 is a great price for a camera with a leica lens!
Nikons version is the S8200 , but this camera is quite pricey at £182 seing as it’s zoom is not as powerful as the Fuji’s and is an extra £50 than the F500! Nikon do have the S9100, however this camera seems to be having some problems with lots of bad reviews, so stay clear of that model!
All in all there are many good compact camera’s out there with larger zooms, so its never been a better time to get a camera that gets you right in the action. So if i were to recomend a camera more than anything is the Fuji F500 EXR
