Expert: John Oliverio - 11/6/2004

Question
Hi,  I am looking to buy my first digital camera.  I am looking for something with a big zoom and also something fairly easy to operate.   I reallly like the Kodak 6490.  Recently, I have noticed other cameras with a similar optical zoom of 10x or higher that comes with a stabilizer such as the Konica Minolta Z3 or the Canon Sl l5, Panasonic DMCFZ3S.   How important is this feature?  There are also other comparable models to the Kodake  by Fuji, Olympus and some others to name a few.  Anything you could tell me would be helpfull.  thanks.  Sue

Answer
Sue,
I'm a big fan of image stabilizer.  And you will find it very helpfull with long lenses.  You can get by without it....  people did for years and years and managed to get good pictures.  However, I can get by without a TV and washer and dryer and many other handy things but I don't want to.  So, if you like one of the cameras that has it, I'd go for it.

John