Comparative Results - Canon S2 vs Pan FZ5

measekite wrote:
[]
If you had no digital camera and was going to choose between these two
today, what would you choose and why?

They are pretty close, so I would go down to the shop and see which
handled best (which is exactly what we did between the Canon S1 IS and the
Panasonic FZ20).

Cheers,
David

"measekite" wrote in
...
This is, as I have poited out recently, an example of the difference
between taking pictures of posters and real objects:
http://img2.dpreview.com/gallery/pan...19-1100-10.jpg
Look at the skin tones of the posters and the real guy.
Try to find other samples of portraits from these cameras, for skin color
comparison.
I believe the Canon has much nicer skin tones than the Panasonic, and if
it was not for that, I would go for the Panny

/per


Why?

I would prefer the Panasonic FZ5, because it is so much smaller, lighter and
more portable, has a faster autofocus with better tracking mode, and less
purple fringe.
But, I rate the nicer skin color on portraits higher than some purple edges.
Foldable LCD viewer and much better movie mode on the Canon are just bonuses
for me.
But, anyone who can show me a bunch of very nice portraits with good skin
tones from a FZ5, and a practical tutorial how to get there, could easily
make me change my mind towards the FZ5 again, since the S2 IS is not
available here right now.
/per

per wrote:
[]
I would prefer the Panasonic FZ5, because it is so much smaller,
lighter and more portable, has a faster autofocus with better
tracking mode, and less purple fringe.
But, I rate the nicer skin color on portraits higher than some purple
edges. Foldable LCD viewer and much better movie mode on the Canon
are just bonuses for me.
But, anyone who can show me a bunch of very nice portraits with good
skin tones from a FZ5, and a practical tutorial how to get there,
could easily make me change my mind towards the FZ5 again, since the
S2 IS is not available here right now.

Can you visit a photo shop and try the cameras out with you own memory
card (you're going to need SD memory whichever you choose)? It must be
almost impossible to judge colour rendering unless you have access to the
original scence. Skin tones are so varied, simply from published images
how can you judge accuracy from Web images of unknown subjects? When
testing the FZ5, try changing the "Pict Adj." from standard to natural in
case that suits you better.

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:

per wrote:
[]


I would prefer the Panasonic FZ5, because it is so much smaller,
lighter and more portable, has a faster autofocus with better
tracking mode, and less purple fringe.
But, I rate the nicer skin color on portraits higher than some purple
edges. Foldable LCD viewer and much better movie mode on the Canon
are just bonuses for me.
But, anyone who can show me a bunch of very nice portraits with good
skin tones from a FZ5, and a practical tutorial how to get there,
could easily make me change my mind towards the FZ5 again, since the
S2 IS is not available here right now.



Can you visit a photo shop and try the cameras out with you own memory
card (you're going to need SD memory whichever you choose)? It must be
almost impossible to judge colour rendering unless you have access to the
original scence. Skin tones are so varied, simply from published images
how can you judge accuracy from Web images of unknown subjects? When
testing the FZ5, try changing the "Pict Adj." from standard to natural in
case that suits you better.

Cheers,
David



How do you rate the skin tones on the FZ5? I did see the S2 but it was
in an electronics store with those anti theft alarms on them so it is
impossible to tell how the camera feels. I do like the Swivel LCD and
would miss that if I opted for the FZ5.

measekite wrote:
[]
How do you rate the skin tones on the FZ5? I did see the S2 but it
was in an electronics store with those anti theft alarms on them so
it is impossible to tell how the camera feels. I do like the Swivel
LCD and would miss that if I opted for the FZ5.

I am completely happy with the colour rendering on the FZ5. I agree with
you that a swivel LCD would be useful.

I would also find a choice very difficult right now, so I appreciate a
little the problems you are having!

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:

measekite wrote:
[]


How do you rate the skin tones on the FZ5? I did see the S2 but it
was in an electronics store with those anti theft alarms on them so
it is impossible to tell how the camera feels. I do like the Swivel
LCD and would miss that if I opted for the FZ5.



I am completely happy with the colour rendering on the FZ5. I agree with
you that a swivel LCD would be useful.

I would also find a choice very difficult right now, so I appreciate a
little the problems you are having!

Cheeers





From handling the FZ5 and shooting a working model in the store I
noticed that it handled very fast and responded quickly. I did read in
some reviews that the FZr out performed the S2 in those areas, most
notably auto focus.

I just do not understand that Panasonic cannot hear people when they say
they would like a swiveling LCD and a few other features and that Canon
cannot hear people when they say they would like a choice between black
and silver.

It seems that if you had to make a decision today you would be on the
fence. I know you would like a swiveling lcd so is that desire so
useful that it would outweigh any reason why you would choose the FZ5.

As a matter of fact,other than size, weight, and a black body what would
be your reason to go for the FZ5.

Do you think that an FZ6 with a swiveling LCD will be here by Christmas?

measekite wrote:
[]
From handling the FZ5 and shooting a working model in the store I
noticed that it handled very fast and responded quickly. I did read
in some reviews that the FZr out performed the S2 in those areas, most
notably auto focus.

I just do not understand that Panasonic cannot hear people when they
say they would like a swiveling LCD and a few other features and that
Canon cannot hear people when they say they would like a choice
between black and silver.

There was an opportunity to take part in a Panasonic survey recently, but
I don't know what they did with the results. I made the comment about a
swivel LCD.

It seems that if you had to make a decision today you would be on the
fence. I know you would like a swiveling lcd so is that desire so
useful that it would outweigh any reason why you would choose the FZ5.

As a matter of fact,other than size, weight, and a black body what
would be your reason to go for the FZ5.

Having looked again at the comparison at:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

the macro capability of the FZ5 appears to be much superior to the S2 IS.
If that is the case, it would be an important reason.

Do you think that an FZ6 with a swiveling LCD will be here by
Christmas?

I have no idea, but Panasonic will need to do something like that to
compete better with the Canon.

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:
measekite wrote:
[]
As a matter of fact,other than size, weight, and a black body what
would be your reason to go for the FZ5.

Having looked again at the comparison at:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

the macro capability of the FZ5 appears to be much superior to the S2
IS. If that is the case, it would be an important reason.

Almost forgot - the single package battery rather than multiple AA cells.
And the better image quality. And the better JPEG compression showing
fewer artefacts together with a small file size (e.g. 2,405KB versus
2,725KB on the "House" shot), allowing more images per card.

David

I took the Sony to a park yesterday and shot some snapshots during the
afternoon. I did discover something. I needed to use fill flash on a
number of photos because of the strong lighting in certain areas and
heavy shadows in others. This was especially true under peoples faces.

When children (who do not stay still for a pose) were involved in this
situations I found that I missed opportunities because the flash cycle
time was so slow that the camera would not fire.

So, one of the criteria is a faster flash cycle time.

I also noticed that while the Sony was sharp, it was too sharp for
portraits.

It seems that some NG readers have stated that the Canon S2 is better
for people while the FZ5 is better for scenes. I do not know if this is
true but I would like a good balance of both.

David J Taylor wrote:

measekite wrote:
[]


From handling the FZ5 and shooting a working model in the store I
noticed that it handled very fast and responded quickly. I did read
in some reviews that the FZr out performed the S2 in those areas, most
notably auto focus.

I just do not understand that Panasonic cannot hear people when they
say they would like a swiveling LCD and a few other features and that
Canon cannot hear people when they say they would like a choice
between black and silver.



There was an opportunity to take part in a Panasonic survey recently, but
I don't know what they did with the results. I made the comment about a
swivel LCD.



It seems that if you had to make a decision today you would be on the
fence. I know you would like a swiveling lcd so is that desire so
useful that it would outweigh any reason why you would choose the FZ5.

As a matter of fact,other than size, weight, and a black body what
would be your reason to go for the FZ5.



Having looked again at the comparison at:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

the macro capability of the FZ5 appears to be much superior to the S2 IS.
If that is the case, it would be an important reason.



Do you think that an FZ6 with a swiveling LCD will be here by
Christmas?



I have no idea, but Panasonic will need to do something like that to
compete better with the Canon.

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:

Having looked again at the comparison at:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM

the macro capability of the FZ5 appears to be much superior to the S2 IS.

Careful. The Canon has a "super macro" mode that lets it focus on dirt
on the front of the lens. The Panasonic's Leica optics produce less CA
at wider apertures, but the Canon sure does have a neat package of
features. And it uses simple AA batteries. If Canon would just package
better glass with the rest of those features, I'd have no decision.
:-)

Do you think that an FZ6 with a swiveling LCD will be here by
Christmas?

I have no idea, but Panasonic will need to do something like that to
compete better with the Canon.

It sure is nice for us to have all this fierce competition, no?

Paul Allen