Canon S2 IS or Panasonic FZ20

Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.

At the moment I am leaning towards the Canon as it is more compact and
somewhat lighter. My current old Olympus is somewhat heavy and bulky which
is what I want to get away from.

The Panasonic has extra 2x zoom (Canon 10x and Panasonic 12x) but I don't
think that makes any real difference in my view.
Both have optical image stabilisers
Both are 5MP
The Panasonic apparently has a better lens - anyone care to comment?
The Panasonic by my pricing is about $80 to $90 AUD more, except have found
one shop today which has the Panasonic $50 AUD cheaper - what the?
From samples I have seen image quality appears very close - but want your
opinions
Panasonic has the facility to add external flash but I can't see me getting
that far into Photography. If I do I think I'd be looking at getting a
replacement camera (SLR) in the future.

Have read dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/) comments and also info on
livingroom (http://www.livingroom.org.au/photolog/) and both appear to be
said to be good cameras for price (not perfect of course), however user
reviews and overall reviews from online price guides and other similar
websites seem to put the Canon at around 4.5 stars (out of 5) and the
Panasonic at around 4 stars.

Any thoughts anyone?

Cheers

Greg

mehere wrote:
Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.

At the moment I am leaning towards the Canon as it is more compact and
somewhat lighter. My current old Olympus is somewhat heavy and bulky
which is what I want to get away from.

The Panasonic has extra 2x zoom (Canon 10x and Panasonic 12x) but I
don't think that makes any real difference in my view.
Both have optical image stabilisers
Both are 5MP
The Panasonic apparently has a better lens - anyone care to comment?
The Panasonic by my pricing is about $80 to $90 AUD more, except have
found one shop today which has the Panasonic $50 AUD cheaper - what
the? From samples I have seen image quality appears very close - but want
your opinions
Panasonic has the facility to add external flash but I can't see me
getting that far into Photography. If I do I think I'd be looking at
getting a replacement camera (SLR) in the future.

Have read dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/) comments and also info
on livingroom (http://www.livingroom.org.au/photolog/) and both
appear to be said to be good cameras for price (not perfect of
course), however user reviews and overall reviews from online price
guides and other similar websites seem to put the Canon at around 4.5
stars (out of 5) and the Panasonic at around 4 stars.

Any thoughts anyone?

Cheers

Greg

Corection... S2 has 12X zoom...old S1 did have only 10 x one...

regarding lens i wouldn't comment too much, except that Canon lens can't be
that bad...at last, this is not some cheap camera.
Overall i can't compare with Panasonic, but i did have S1 and now S2 and i
think that it's just what you can get for this money. If you want more, you
must buy SLR at twice price or more. S2 has overall great improvements over
old S1.
I think what it will decide is which one you like better, then maybe what
kind of batteries use -- S1 has AA NiMH cells, while FZ20 has LiIon, then
you'll notice that S2 has way better movie mode ---640x480 at 30 fps and
stereo sound. Both have motion JPEG mode, so here is no space saving one.
This means about 8 minutes of movie on 1G card using Canon. Sure, FZ20 has
possibility of connecting extra flash, but, as you said...here is when SLR
comes in... when really needed, slave flash can be used on S2 (tried this
with great success). S2 has macro from 0 cm, and from i quickly read on
dpreview, S2 is quicker - power on..4 secs vs 1.3 as an example...

In short, are you sure that you didn't compare FZ20 and S1 instead of S2?

mehere wrote:
Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.
[]

Greg,

The Panasonic FZ20 has the edge on image quality and has manual focussing,
the Canon has better movies. My wife has the Panasonic FZ20 and is
delighted with it. I have the more compact (and cheaper) Panasonic FZ5,
which drops the manual focussing and flash hot-shoe, but that hasn't
worried me as I don't want to drag round a bag full of accessories. Don't
be put off by the brand names - some people think that /only/ Canon make
good cameras, but that simply isn't so.

All three are excellent cameras, to be honest, and perhaps if you can get
into a photo shops and compare which feels better - which suits your hands
better - that might help make the choice. If size and weight are
important, perhaps look at the FZ5 as well as the FZ20.

By the way: there has been past discussion comparing these cameras on the
newsgroup:

rec.photo.digital.zlr

David

"SleeperMan" wrote in message
...


In short, are you sure that you didn't compare FZ20 and S1 instead of S2?


Yep did compare to S2 - your right I got the 12x mixed up with the S1 10x -
thanks for clarifying.

Actually I had the comparison discussion at a local camera store and the (so
called) professional was trying to tell me the FZ20 is better than the S2 -
I was not convinced though from samples seen.

Your comments aid my leaning towards the S2 - cheers

Greg

mehere wrote:
[]
Actually I had the comparison discussion at a local camera store and
the (so called) professional was trying to tell me the FZ20 is better
than the S2 - I was not convinced though from samples seen.
[]

That sort of thing annoys me a little - the cameras are /different/ rather
than one being "better" than the other. Given a specific set of
photographic aims or needs, then perhaps "better suited" or "worse suited"
might be applicable.

David

"David J Taylor"
wrote in
message ...
mehere wrote:
Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.
[]

Greg,

The Panasonic FZ20 has the edge on image quality and has manual focussing,
the Canon has better movies. My wife has the Panasonic FZ20 and is
delighted with it. I have the more compact (and cheaper) Panasonic FZ5,
which drops the manual focussing and flash hot-shoe, but that hasn't
worried me as I don't want to drag round a bag full of accessories. Don't
be put off by the brand names - some people think that /only/ Canon make
good cameras, but that simply isn't so.

All three are excellent cameras, to be honest, and perhaps if you can get
into a photo shops and compare which feels better - which suits your hands
better - that might help make the choice. If size and weight are
important, perhaps look at the FZ5 as well as the FZ20.

By the way: there has been past discussion comparing these cameras on the
newsgroup:

rec.photo.digital.zlr

David

Thanks David

I had a look in a local photo shop and that was the FZ20 and the S2 and I
preferred the compactness and feel of the S2. Did not see the FZ5 so could
not compare that which is a shame, is there much od a size and weight
difference between the FZ20 and FZ5? I'll see if I can find a local shop
that has one so I can check it out.

Also I did not find any info on the zlr group - maybe my local ISP does not
have past news availabel - might try google groups later

Cheers

Greg

On Sat, 3 Dec 2005 20:01:58 +0800, "mehere"
wrote:

Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.

At the moment I am leaning towards the Canon as it is more compact and
somewhat lighter. My current old Olympus is somewhat heavy and bulky which
is what I want to get away from.

The Panasonic has extra 2x zoom (Canon 10x and Panasonic 12x) but I don't
think that makes any real difference in my view.
Both have optical image stabilisers
Both are 5MP
The Panasonic apparently has a better lens - anyone care to comment?
The Panasonic by my pricing is about $80 to $90 AUD more, except have found
one shop today which has the Panasonic $50 AUD cheaper - what the?
From samples I have seen image quality appears very close - but want your
opinions
Panasonic has the facility to add external flash but I can't see me getting
that far into Photography. If I do I think I'd be looking at getting a
replacement camera (SLR) in the future.

Have read dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/) comments and also info on
livingroom (http://www.livingroom.org.au/photolog/) and both appear to be
said to be good cameras for price (not perfect of course), however user
reviews and overall reviews from online price guides and other similar
websites seem to put the Canon at around 4.5 stars (out of 5) and the
Panasonic at around 4 stars.

Any thoughts anyone?

Cheers

Greg


Having just gone through the same selection process (to
replace an Olympus C211UZ) I settled on the Canon primarily because of
the superior movie mode. So far I have been quite happy with it. BTW
the zoom specs are the other way around with the Canon being 12X. I
gather that the optics of the Panasonic are somewhat better but if I
were really looking for superior optics I think I would consider a
dSLR.

Here are some sample landscape pictures from the S2
http://members.accesswave.ca/~parklane/thumbnails.html

David J Taylor wrote:
mehere wrote:
Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.
[]

Greg,

The Panasonic FZ20 has the edge on image quality and has manual
focussing, the Canon has better movies. My wife has the Panasonic
FZ20 and is delighted with it. I have the more compact (and cheaper)
Panasonic FZ5, which drops the manual focussing and flash hot-shoe,
but that hasn't worried me as I don't want to drag round a bag full
of accessories. Don't be put off by the brand names - some people
think that /only/ Canon make good cameras, but that simply isn't so.


agreed. I think so, too. But, i still have Canon. Not because think it's
the best, but it's good enough for me. Before my S1 i considered a few
models, including Oly /$= UZ...which went out of my selection because it
didn't have Stabilizer, which is a must when having so big zoom.

BTW...canon too has manual focusing, maybe panasonic one has easier to set,
that i can't tell.

It's just...when deciding, i think he should choose which he prefer most,
and i mean by the look, too. If you have "ugly" camera, then it's jsut not
ok for you... right? no matter what good it is...

"mehere" wrote in message
...
Hi all

Looking at choosing either the Canon S2 IS or the Panasonic FZ20.

At the moment I am leaning towards the Canon as it is more compact and
somewhat lighter. My current old Olympus is somewhat heavy and bulky
which is what I want to get away from.

The Panasonic has extra 2x zoom (Canon 10x and Panasonic 12x) but I don't
think that makes any real difference in my view.
Both have optical image stabilisers
Both are 5MP
The Panasonic apparently has a better lens - anyone care to comment?
The Panasonic by my pricing is about $80 to $90 AUD more, except have
found one shop today which has the Panasonic $50 AUD cheaper - what the?
From samples I have seen image quality appears very close - but want your
opinions
Panasonic has the facility to add external flash but I can't see me
getting that far into Photography. If I do I think I'd be looking at
getting a replacement camera (SLR) in the future.

Have read dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/) comments and also info on
livingroom (http://www.livingroom.org.au/photolog/) and both appear to be
said to be good cameras for price (not perfect of course), however user
reviews and overall reviews from online price guides and other similar
websites seem to put the Canon at around 4.5 stars (out of 5) and the
Panasonic at around 4 stars.

Any thoughts anyone?

Cheers

Greg


I am in the process of making the same decision. I am leaning toward the
Canon S2 also, mainly because of the movie mode. It will allow the zoom
feature while in the movie mode while some of the super zoom cameras don't.
I forgot if the Panasonic does and looked on Dpreview and couldn't find out
one way or the other. I am waiting for the prices to come down a bit, but
that may be a waste of time. It looks as if the price will stay above $400
for a while.

Don

"Pinehollow" wrote in message
...


I am in the process of making the same decision. I am leaning toward the
Canon S2 also, mainly because of the movie mode. It will allow the zoom
feature while in the movie mode while some of the super zoom cameras
don't. I forgot if the Panasonic does and looked on Dpreview and couldn't
find out one way or the other. I am waiting for the prices to come down a
bit, but that may be a waste of time. It looks as if the price will stay
above $400 for a while.

Don


Above $400?

Best price I can get is $642 plus postage - it will be a while before it
comes down that far. Do you know a place to get the S2 cheaper?

Greg