Hi Tony, we have the Canon S5 IS 12X zoom, 8.0 mp camera, which takes nice, crisp shots and good video as well. I'm not sure how it goes on sports, but I took some photos and video of pandas moving about, using the zoom, and the are delightfully clear and sharp. I've also taken shots at Queens Gardens which are great. Low light shots are not fantastic, but that is true of point and shoot cameras generally.
This camera has been around for a little while, it was $600, but you may get it at the better price. On my .Mac gallery there are photos of pandas, and a few other animals at the Chongqing Zoo, you will need to look through the album for those shots. The other photos are taken with a Nikon D80, so not relevant to your enquiry. There is also a short video which is taken using zoom, so gives a good idea of the clarity. This camera has good reviews, better than the newer Nikon P80 which has 10.0 mp and 18X zoom in terms of picture quality. The Nikon is about $600 I think. The Canon also has a range of accessories, a hotshoe for external flash, and an articulated LCD. The downside is that it does use AA batteries, and if using the LCD a lot, you would always need to have spares (high quality batteries are a must as well). The advantage in a school setting is that rechargeable batteries always seem to need charging on the day you want to take photos. At least, that's my experience of trying to use a camera in a community setting. If you have the option of non-rechargeable batteries, then its easy to get it powered up quickly. cheers, Susan. --- Susan Hastings Chongqing Electric Power College Chongqing China http://gallery.mac.com/susanhastings On Tue Jun 3 8:15 , Evers <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> sent: >Greetings all WAMUGers, > >Some advice/user experience please. > >Our small primary school (Woodbury Boston Primary School - >www.woodburyboston.wa.edu.au - some of you have been generous with >advice and support in the past) is about to purchase a digital still >camera. Requirements include good optical zoom - 8-10x - and >resolution 6+ megapixels minimum (lots of outdoor and action shots - >sailing etc, so good zoom essential). Largish screen would help >students ease of use. Easy interface to eMac OS 10.3.9 network >essential (although I've yet to see a USB camera that won't talk to >this system). > >Budget is $600 or less. There is some bias toward Canon. The school >has had disappointing/frustrating recent experience with a Fuji >FinePix 90 (devours AA batteries, indifferent performance, >intermittent crashes - I think they got a lemon) although this is >helping to guide current purchase parameters. > >Past experience suggests that cameras with dedicated lithium ion >rechargeable batteries (same as video cameras) perform better/last >longer/are more reliable between battery changes than those using AA >cells - any comments? > >Any recommendations greatly appreciated. > >Cheers >Tony Evers > > > >-- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >Archives - http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >Guidelines - http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >Unsubscribe - [EMAIL PROTECTED]','','','')">[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
