Cameras Cameras!

I'm sad to say I'm "retiring" my Canon IXUS 60. It's a pretty good camera, but it's more than 3 years old, so technology has advanced much since, with image stabiliser, greater megapixels and optical zoom, etc. So I decided to seek out a new camera at SITEX'09 today. I might still use it as a backup though.

Doing my research, I was initially set on getting the Canon IXUS 990 IS...until I found out that it has been taken off the market. I have a soft spot for IXUS due to my old camera, so I shortlisted a few more models like IXUS 120 IS, IXUS 110 IS and IXUS 100 IS, but I wasn't really that sure about them, which turns out true when I went down to test it out today. I didn't like the function keys of these and was hesitant.

I had also researched on Lumix DMC-TZ7.
It had good reviews and looked really nice with strong functionality (25mm Ultra Wide-angle, 12x Optical Zoom LEICA Lens, HD Movie Recording, among other things). And I would have bought it if not for the fact that there was no Panasonic booth at the fair (how can that be?!)! I could not get a feel of the camera and with an uncertainty with the IXUS models I'd seen, I was contemplating not buying a camera at all at the fair (yes, my friends with me would have "killed" me after dragging them along and spending so much time considering), until a photographer friend of mine suggested checking out Fujifilm. I wasn't sure coz I never researched on it, but I checked it out anyway...

And I bought the FinePix F70EXR.
After all that research and I didn't get any of those! Well, my photographer friend said that this model fitted my specs so it's worth a buy since it was selling at only $469 at the fair, inclusive of a bundle pack of an 8GB SD card, 1 spare battery, 1 screen protector, 1 mini tripod, 1 card reader and 1 camera case. It's not bad, with 10x opitical zoom, intelligent flash, 27mm wide angle, etc. It's a bit heavy, but that's due to the metal casing which makes it sturdier. Only thing there's no HD movie recording, and it doesn't look as nice as the Lumix. Well, for movie recording, I guess I have to compromise. After all, the objective here is to take good stills. If I want video, I should get a proper video recorder.

Well, hope this camera will serve me well. I'll treat this as a Christmas present to myself.