Need Buying Advice

[historically]

Hi guys, Im not into photography, just want a decent camera for my travels (scenery etc). My budget is around $500 and I dont really mind older technology as long as its good. I've read some posts and narrowed my choices to the following:

1. Olympus E-P3
2. Olympus E-PL3
3. Canon S110

I know the first two choices are mirrorless which are more bulky than the compact and im fine with that. Can you guys advice me on which is better? Im open to recommendations too! Thanks.

 

[hardwarebob]

For a compact travel camera, I suggest the Panasonic Lumix TZ40.
Here's a review link:
LUMIX DMC-TZ40 | Panasonic

 

[xonix]

If you are fine with the last gen tech on EP3/E-PL3, they take excellent JPEGS out of camera. But I haven't seen either gone under $500 locally.

As for fixed lens compacts, for $500, maybe...

LX5 or 7
XZ-10
XZ-1 or 2

 

[historically]

If you are fine with the last gen tech on EP3/E-PL3, they take excellent JPEGS out of camera. But I haven't seen either gone under $500 locally.

As for fixed lens compacts, for $500, maybe...

LX5 or 7
XZ-10
XZ-1 or 2

im interested in lx7 but i hvnt seen any that is below $500.
how does ep3 compares with e-pl3? is it worth paying $50 more for ep3?

 

[xonix]

The 2 Oly are pretty much the same, other than different body shape.

The only other major difference is EP3 has fixed touchscreen vs EPL3 has tiltable non-touch screen.

 

[intrance]

...

1. Olympus E-P3
2. Olympus E-PL3
3. Canon S110

For travel n with your budget, i go for S110..
And if can save a bit more, i go for LX 7, for its wide and faster lens.

 

[historically]

For travel n with your budget, i go for S110..
And if can save a bit more, i go for LX 7, for its wide and faster lens.

thanks. decided on lx7, trying to find one that is near my budget now.

 

[c1528351]

thanks. decided on lx7, trying to find one that is near my budget now.

So which is better lx7 or tz40 in terms of travelling for holidays

 

[intrance]

So which is better lx7 or tz40 in terms of travelling for holidays

different league... LX7 is much better..

anyhow.. u should list down your priority on what functions/features you want in a camera and your budget too..

 

[sandywong]

So which is better lx7 or tz40 in terms of travelling for holidays

For the tz40 you have 20x zoom but a smaller sensor so the image quality cannot compare with lx7 especially in low light. For such a long zoom to be useful it is best to have a tripod but for travel might be too much a hassle and you most likely will not make use of this feature much, atleast not the full focal length.

For my personal experience(during travel) I find that I take most of my pictures at the widest end to capture the most out of the frame, unless I want to remove people or objects then I would zoom in a little.

While both camera have a good wide 24mm at the widest, the lx7 have a brighter aperture of f1.4 compared to tz40 with f3.3 at widest. This will help you get a sharp image despite low light situation as it can let in more light(allow faster shuttle speed). Finally at the long end of zoom for the lx7 is an impressive f 2.3 which is still very bright, for the tz40 it drops to f 6.3 so it is only useful in bright sunlight as you need much faster shuttle speed at the long end of the zoom to get a sharp image.

I would recommend the lx7 or equivalents of other brands.