Camera Labs

I am in the market for a new cam preferably a super zoom. I have been doing research on whats available right now as follows:

Olympus 550
Canon S5
Sony H9/H7
Panasonic FZ8
Panasonic TZ3

They all have there flaws but i think i have been reading way to much into them and have just got my self way confused and just maybe starting to get a little nit picky on what to buy.
I really like to have a camera with AA batteries and a SD card (i allready owne these products) but then i start to nit pick and just cant deside the only one that matches those items is the S5, but it has no raw and from what i have read it has not the greatist pic quality.

What i am usisng this cam for is every day photos of my family and for trips and so on.

I am just confusing my self i need some opinions so i can make the right desicion.

PLEASE HELP

Maxvalocity

Hi maxvalocity, welcome to the Cameralabs forums!

I think you've answered your question - if you want a superzoom which takes AAs and SD memory, then the Canon S5 IS is the only choice in your list!

As for image quality, they'll all have problems with noise at higher sensitivities, so it really boils down to comparing features, shape and price. Handling is very important, so pick them all up for yourself.

We'll be reviewing the S5 IS in the future, but already have reviews of all the other models you've suggested. We've compared several in the verdict of our Sony H9 Verdict here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/SonyH9/verdict.shtml

Gordon

Thank you for your response well it looks like that panisonic is the way to go either the TZ3 or the FZ8 for pice and image quality.
So is the tz3 realy better then the fz8 in pic quality and video?
Like you said the only real down fall of the tz3 is its lack of manual controls and no RAW.

When will you be testing the Canon S5??????

Now i just saw that panisonic has a new super zoom comming out the DMC-FZ18?
I might just have to wait to see that review.

The FZ18 certainly looks good in theiry, but if you check our Olympus SP550UZ review, you can see its 18x zoom was quite soft at times - this may also affect the FZ18. We'd hope to have a review of this model in a couple of months time - and we'll be doing the S5 IS when Canon gets one to us.

As for the FZ8 vs TZ3, check our verdict page on the FZ8 review!

Gordon