buy f100 now or wait???

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

phil only gave it a recommended while the canon and other cams got highly recommended so maybe i shouldn't get this camera. plus so many other cams will be coming out soon. do you know how much worse the canon elphs are? i guess the highest they go is 3mp so it would be much worse? what about s40 and pentax optio? i was thinking of getting the s40 b/c it takes a microdrive but it just seems to clunky and poor focusy, etc.

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the
better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise
image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is
ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with
more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I
like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I
should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina
coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming
out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and
the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out
and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are
any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait
for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z
or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the
Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

--
David
[email protected]

Hmmm... sounds like you just want someone to tell you what to buy. Well... buy the F100! For the price, it can't be beat, and I paid lots for it up here in Canada. The Pentax Optio series have terrible image quality, in my opinion. The pics look like they are lacking some serious resolution. If you want to use a microdrive since it sounds like you have one, you'll have to go with the s40. The SD cards for the F100 aren't cheap, so add that into the cost if it means you'll have to switch, but then again, the AA's save you money if you already have those. The biggest complaint wtih the F100 is start up time, cause its like seconds for the lens to come out. So can you live with that? I do like the Canon S230, especially the size, so if you need really small, that's the one to get, but the F100 has way more features. Also, is the Canon S45 even coming to US? I thought I heard a rumor that it wasn't, but I might be confused with something else cause I hang out in the printer section alot.

Basically, find out what you need for sure or dont' care for. Is 6 seconds of start-up too slow? If yes, drop the F100. Do you need to use microdrive or don't want to pay more for SD cards? If yes, drop the F100. But if those don't deter you, then F100 would be at the top of my list.

Kiran

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out?

Click to expand...

I THINK YOU SHOULD WAIT

Then again you pay what you get.

If you wait for a new camera to come out be prepared to spend alot more cash, for the price nothing can beat the f100, offcourse there will be better ones that's the nature of all this.

Do as other told you, see what you need and what you don't need.

SeYa/Ambrose...

John Stavick said:

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out?

Click to expand...

I THINK YOU SHOULD WAIT

Click to expand...

If you don't mind spending over $500 for a pocket point and shoot, you might want to look into the Oly50. If you want a great camera for $350, you won't beat the F100, since anything comparable coming out over the next couple of months will still be way more expensive.
--
Ty Cooper

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the
better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise
image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is
ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with
more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I
like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I
should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina
coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming
out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and
the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out
and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are
any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait
for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z
or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the
Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

When the F100 first came out it (only a few months ago) was $100 more than the s404. Now it can be had for as much as $150 less than the s404 (discontinued??). That might tell you something about the relative quality of the F100 versus the others out there just now.
--
Brian

haha that's why i posted - there are two complete opposite opinions on this board - people are saying definitely wait b/c the f100's quality is lacking and better things are coming out and startup time is slow but others have the f100 and it is a good price! i just don't want to get suckered like when i bought a compaq desktop and then a month later they discontinued the entire line and launched all new computers and the one i bought was a POS!

bmoliver said:

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the
better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise
image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is
ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with
more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I
like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I
should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina
coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming
out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and
the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out
and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are
any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait
for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z
or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the
Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

When the F100 first came out it (only a few months ago) was $100
more than the s404. Now it can be had for as much as $150 less
than the s404 (discontinued??). That might tell you something
about the relative quality of the F100 versus the others out there
just now.
--
Brian

Click to expand...

--
David
[email protected]

if you keep waiting, then you'll always be waiting for the next one in line. while you are waiting, i've already taken some 300 photos. yeah, why not wait some more.

dmcgibbo said:

bmoliver said:

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the
better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise
image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is
ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with
more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I
like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I
should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina
coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming
out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and
the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out
and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are
any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait
for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z
or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the
Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

When the F100 first came out it (only a few months ago) was $100
more than the s404. Now it can be had for as much as $150 less
than the s404 (discontinued??). That might tell you something
about the relative quality of the F100 versus the others out there
just now.
--
Brian

Click to expand...

--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

that's the thing - i rushed out several months ago and got the fuji s602 b/c i didn't want to wait and not take any pictures - even tho the camera was very nice in some aspects, it had serious flaws and i never took any pictures b/c it wasn't the right one for me. Maybe for you blowing 4-500 bucks on a camera is chump change but its a big deal to me not a yearly purchase or a 2nd or 3rd backup camera and I am willing to post on this forum and find out what the best camera for my needs is and if something is on the horizon.

gudels1 said:

dmcgibbo said:

bmoliver said:

dmcgibbo said:

should i buy the minolta f100 now or should i wait for new cameras
that are coming out? i want a small camera - the smaller the
better so that i'll always have it on me yet doesn't compromise
image quality/zoom too much. The minolta is 4mp, 3x zoom which is
ok - I'd like more zoom but the Fuji 3800 is the only thing with
more zoom and that's way too big for me to carry around. Plus, I
like how the camera uses regular NiMh batteries so I'm thinking I
should get the camera. However, I've looked at the Photokina
coverage and heard about tons of cool ultracompact cameras coming
out plus the f100 lost to the s40 in image quality comparisons and
the s45 may be coming out in the US soon so I don't want to go out
and spend 400 bucks and then a better/smaller camera come out. Are
any more Minoltas or other cool cams coming out that I should wait
for before Christmas? Are any of the Kyocera s5 or Konica KD500z
or Olympus D50, etc. coming out that I should wait for - I bet the
Olympus will be worth the wait! Any advice is welcomed - Thanks!

Also, what's the best place to get the f100 from?
--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

When the F100 first came out it (only a few months ago) was $100
more than the s404. Now it can be had for as much as $150 less
than the s404 (discontinued??). That might tell you something
about the relative quality of the F100 versus the others out there
just now.
--
Brian

Click to expand...

--
David
[email protected]

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
David
[email protected]