I had posted earlier that I was planning on buying a new camera this summer. I've narrowed it down now to the following:

Nikon Coolpix P90
12.1 megapixels, 24x optical, 4x digital 3" tiltable LCD, no movie zoom

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28
10.1 megapixels, 18x optical, 4x digital 2.7" LCD, will zoom in on movies

Both of these are around the same price and have comparable good reviews on CNET. I am leaning towards the Panasonic because of the zoom movie feature. I've always thought, perhaps incorrectly, that Nikon made a better camera. Any opinions or suggestions?

Thanks,
Carol

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7

Carol

Maybe I can help you narrow your choice again. Yes the CANON SX10 is the camera Im using now, but I would not recommend it. Yes, it takes decent enough pics and vids. But Im sure you are aware of the color situation I had with it. and I also had to download extra software to transfer from mov. to avi. movie format just so I could preview the vids on wmv. an extra step I didnt have to do with the canon S5IS. The only real advantage over my previous camera is the 20x optical zoom compared to S5 12x optical zoom.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

Steve, yes I was aware of the color problems. I didn't have problems seeing your pictures so didn't read all of the threads about it. I also didn't realize you had to download extra software. What a pain! Okay, I'll delete that one from my choices. I've always had Canons and loved them. I love Canon printers, too. That's really disappointing. I thought overall you loved your camera.

Carol

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7

Yes, canon changed the format on sx and after talking to customer service rep said they thought it was better. I told them how disappointed I was in the change. Some designer sitting there at his/her desk felt like they had to make their presense felt. But I wanted the 20x zoom. Had I known ahead of time about the problems, I wouldve made another choice.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

I've completely edited my original post to remove the Canon and Olympus. I'm just not sure where to go between the remaining two!

Carol

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7

Just my personal opinion the one with movie zoom would sway my opinion, but I believe you said the other one had 24x opt zoom. When I was first looking at digitals I thought the panasonic lumix had the better lens from the reviews that I saw on youtube. I looked at different ones for months before I chose my first digital the S5, so take plenty of time and weigh the options. People put sample demonstrations of digitals on youtube showing you their zoom ability and how it looks.

Steve
Martinsville, In
Heat zone 6
Sunset zone 35

On my way to You Tube ...

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7

Here are the professional reviews:

Panasonic FZ28-

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q109superzoomgroup/

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/panasonic_fz28.html

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/FZ28/FZ28A.HTM

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_FZ28/

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Panasonic-DMC-FZ28-10623

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2008/08/22/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ28/p1

http://www.photoreview.com.au/Panasonic/reviews/advanced/panasonic-lumix-dmcfz28.aspx

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_panasonic_lumix_dmc_fz28.php

Nikon P90-


http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_panasonic_lumix_dmc_fz28.php

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2009_reviews/nikon_p90.html

http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/review/2009/04/30/Nikon-Coolpix-P90/p1

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_COOLPIX_P90/

http://www.photoreview.com.au/Nikon/reviews/advanced/nikon-coolpix-p90.aspx

-
Cheers,Bob
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a
Lexington,Ky.
It's Summer!

I know two people that have the panasonic and Love it. I don't know what model it is though. And Stephen from New Jersey has an older panasonic and he takes great photos and I'm pretty sure he likes it alot.

sarah merion station, Pennsylvania zone 6B

I don't know if Nikon makes a better point and shoot than Panasonic. I imagine that all p&s cameras are pretty decent by now. Have you also looked at the Sony HX1?

Though all the camera review websites have their biases, I would think any of them would be a more reliable source for information than CNET. CNET is basically a gadget lovers review site. They definitely don't specialize in anything to do with photography. I would recommend dcresource.com, dpreview.com and stevesdigicams.com for reviews. Check out the user reviews for these cameras on Amazon.com. It's good to read reviews from people who actually own the camera.

I couldn't believe this. I have a friend who lives in San Francisco and is always taking wonderful pictures and sending them to her. Earlier this year I asked her what kind of camera she had. I had forgotten about this until I was doing a search for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28. Her email to me came up in this search as being on my computer. This is the camera she owns.

Between this and reading various on-line reviews I've decided on this camera. Yea! I can give my neck a break from sitting at the computer and reading. Thanks everyone. I did not realize that about CNET being basically a gadget resource. I'll remember that. I read many other reviews though and do feel good about my choice.

Carol

Carol R
Tennessee
USDA Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 7