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#1
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FZ5 vs S2 But Waiting
Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very
close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) offering with a larger swivel LCD, a 480x640 improved EVF, a movie mode as good as the Canon S2, better noise processing at ISO200 and ISO400, at the same size and weight as the FZ5 at a price that competes with the S2. If the image quality and performance are at least as good as the FZ5 then I should have not trouble making up my mind. I think that Panasonic will have this but I just cannot speculate as to when. Any guesses out there? |
#2
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On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 22:12:33 GMT, measekite wrote:
Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) offering with a larger swivel LCD, a 480x640 improved EVF, a movie mode as good as the Canon S2, better noise processing at ISO200 and ISO400, at the same size and weight as the FZ5 at a price that competes with the S2. If the image quality and performance are at least as good as the FZ5 then I should have not trouble making up my mind. I think that Panasonic will have this but I just cannot speculate as to when. Any guesses out there? Your predicted specs sound plausible, but if past history is any guide, the FZ8 (assuming same pixel count as the FZ30) will be announced in Feb, available in March or April. This gives 6 months to sell the higher-end FZ30 before introducing a cheaper alternative. My advice to you would be to pick one of the currently-available cameras and just buy it. There will always be something better 6 months or a year down the line. Which one depends on what features are most important to you. Let me quote from the summary of the DPReview review of the Sony H1, which sums up the strengths and weaknesses of the different models: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydsch1/page12.asp "When compared with its competitors the H1 has to sit near the top of the tree; especially if you are someone who likes to actually use the many photographic controls offered by this type of camera. The Canon S2 IS (which is the most obvious direct competitor) has a smaller screen, but one that offers swing 'n' tilt versatility, has a better movie mode (in quality terms), but one that needs a lot of card space and restricts clips to around 7 minutes. The S2 IS is also slightly better at shooting moving subjects at the long end of the zoom (despite the H1 having faster focusing overall). On the other hand I prefer the output of the H1 - even at the default settings, and handling / control are much better on the Sony. As our comparison tests show, there is very little to choose between the two in terms of resolution, and both cameras produce results that, viewed at 100%, look a little 'soft' (with too much sharpening - especially the Sony). The Panasonic FZ5 has very slightly better fine detail capture, less 'processed' looking results, suffers less from fringing (of any type), is a lot, lot smaller and has a the biggest, brightest electronic viewfinder of the three. It is also the fastest focusing of the trio (in 'High Speed' AF mode). But the FZ5 has an unimpressive movie mode, slightly fiddly manual exposure control and very destructive noise reduction at ISO 400." -dms |
#3
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The FZ5 and S2IS have the small 1/2.5" sensors. I don't think there would be
a very good idea to cram in more pixels on those. 1/1.8" sensors seem fine with 7 Mpixels, but the cameras will grow if we want the 420 mm zoom. Konica-Minolta Z6 is the first I saw with a the small 6Mpixel sensor, it has limited it's ISO range to max 320, which should speak for something... We will see when that one gets into the test labs. /per "measekite" skrev i meddelandet ... Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) offering with a larger swivel LCD, a 480x640 improved EVF, a movie mode as good as the Canon S2, better noise processing at ISO200 and ISO400, at the same size and weight as the FZ5 at a price that competes with the S2. If the image quality and performance are at least as good as the FZ5 then I should have not trouble making up my mind. I think that Panasonic will have this but I just cannot speculate as to when. Any guesses out there? |
#4
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I have seen nothing written that shows Panasonic is interested in a movie
mode competitive with the likes of Canon or Sony. C "measekite" wrote in message ... Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) offering with a larger swivel LCD, a 480x640 improved EVF, a movie mode as good as the Canon S2, better noise processing at ISO200 and ISO400, at the same size and weight as the FZ5 at a price that competes with the S2. If the image quality and performance are at least as good as the FZ5 then I should have not trouble making up my mind. I think that Panasonic will have this but I just cannot speculate as to when. Any guesses out there? |
#5
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I share your dilemma, but with a couple of twists:
1) I couldn't care less about the movie mode. I have thousands of pictures from my Panasonic FZ1, but fewer than a dozen movie clips. 2) Kodak's newly announced 8 mp cameras -- particularly the P880, which starts with a 24mm (equiv.) wide-angle -- have the specs that make me think twice. The P850 has a 12x zoom, like the S2 and FZ5. Both have hot shoes, 2.5-inch LCDs, and 1/1.8 sensors. I need to see the reviews before I plunk down dollars for either, but on paper they are impressive. 3) Canon should have made the S2 in a black-body version, like my old G2. The silver-bodied one just looks garish in my hand. -Cardamon Dave measekite wrote: Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) |
#6
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"per" writes:
The FZ5 and S2IS have the small 1/2.5" sensors. I don't think there would be a very good idea to cram in more pixels on those. 1/1.8" sensors seem fine with 7 Mpixels, but the cameras will grow if we want the 420 mm zoom. What I want to know is who is responsible for the abomination of specifying sensors as fractions with decimal fraction denominators. Argh! 1/2.5 = 0.40 1/1.8 = 0.56 -Dave |
#7
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On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:40:14 -0400, Dave Sill
wrote: "per" writes: The FZ5 and S2IS have the small 1/2.5" sensors. I don't think there would be a very good idea to cram in more pixels on those. 1/1.8" sensors seem fine with 7 Mpixels, but the cameras will grow if we want the 420 mm zoom. What I want to know is who is responsible for the abomination of specifying sensors as fractions with decimal fraction denominators. Argh! http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glos...r_Sizes_01.htm 1/2.5 = 0.40 1/1.8 = 0.56 Now you see there was no point in doing the math ;-) -- Regards John Bean |
#8
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Cordovero wrote:
I have seen nothing written that shows Panasonic is interested in a movie mode competitive with the likes of Canon or Sony. The Panasonic FZ30 has 30fps 640 x 480 movies. Isn't that the same as the Canon and Sony? David |
#9
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I stand corrected! I hadn't read that. Must have missed that part of the
review, C "David J Taylor" wrote in message k... Cordovero wrote: I have seen nothing written that shows Panasonic is interested in a movie mode competitive with the likes of Canon or Sony. The Panasonic FZ30 has 30fps 640 x 480 movies. Isn't that the same as the Canon and Sony? David |
#10
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"measekite" wrote in message ... Since I find that deciding between the Pan Fz5 and the Canon S2 very close and I have until the end of the year until I need to choose I am wondering if Panasonic will release a Black FZ6 or FZ7 (6mp or 7mp) offering with a larger swivel LCD, a 480x640 improved EVF, a movie mode as good as the Canon S2, better noise processing at ISO200 and ISO400, at the same size and weight as the FZ5 at a price that competes with the S2. If the image quality and performance are at least as good as the FZ5 then I should have not trouble making up my mind. I think that Panasonic will have this but I just cannot speculate as to when. Any guesses out there? You have to ask yourself what pictures you're missing out on by waiting. I've got an FZ20 and could've waited for the FZ5 or FZ30 but have shot thousands of pictures in the meantime. It will be a while before I upgrade and the camera has to be special like the FZ20 is. But to directly answer your question, Panasonic will roll out a new ZLR every year with a lower cost version 6 months after. Just do some research on dpreview for past announcement dates. This will happen until the market no longer accepts them but Panasonic has a good thing going with this niche of the market. This product cycle will continue as long as its profitable. I can't wait for the FZ50. |
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