Buying my first ZLR (entry level)

"Patrick Mansfield" wrote in message
news

I have a C-750.

My biggest complaint is the poor low light focus, and the lack of any AF
assist. You can work around this somewhat by saving one of the "my modes"
to have a manual focus (about 6 feet) and force flash on.

I don't know how the other cameras compare in this area, some reviews have
low-light focus tests others don't.

That is about the same problem as my new S1IS has with low light. But manual
focus and the possibility to save a custom setting helps a lot.

The FZ3 has a focus assist light so it's propably a bit better in low light,
but I don't think it has manual focus so that might also be a problem.

I think all ZLR cameras in the $3-400 range have quite a few compromises.
You just have to read reviews and figure what is important to you. There is
no perfect ZLR camera available.

After trying the S1IS for a few shots I would just like to repeat that image
stablizer a valuable feature if you take handheld pictures at full zoom. I
would not buy a ZLR camera without stabilizer.

I sure would like better low light focusing, higher resolution and bigger
LCD than the S1IS offers, but I think it was the right camera for me
considering wnat is available today.

--
Jan Otto

Woodchuck Bill wrote:
"Jan Otto Ruud" wrote in
:

After trying the camera I wouldn't buy a ZLR without image
stabilizer. It really helps!

My suggestion is to get the Canon or the Panasonic.

The Minolta Z3 also has IS (AS), and an extra megapixel of resolution.

But the image quality from the 4MP Panasonic FZ20 beats the image quality
from the 8MP Minolta A2 (to quote two off-original-list cameras!). [I
took the same picture with both cameras, I'm not quoting from reviews].

David

Patrick Mansfield wrote:
[]
Otherwise it is very nice, and I do not see the lack of IS as a major
drawback, though it is hard to compare without actually having used a
camera with IS, and I'm sure there are better pictures I could have
captured if I had it.

I try to take extra shots and hold the camera as still as possible.

Once you have used IS you really don't want to go back. My wife has a
Panasonic FZ20 (with IS), and really miss it on my Nikon 8400 - having
those extra two - three stops exposure in less than ideal lighting is
invaluable!

Cheers,
David

(Lukas Varossieau) wrote in message . com...
Susan McGee wrote in message . ..
Hi everyone!! Glad to see the group up and running.

My first digital camera (a Canon S230 point & shoot) is great, but I'm
ready to buy something with a bigger zoom range than my current 2X,
more user control settings, and a camera that is easier to hold on to.
I've narrowed it down to five models--

Minolta Z3
Canon S1 IS
Olympus C-765
Lumix FZ3
Fuji S5100



We've had the Canon since it hit the market and we're tickled to death
with it. Unless you do enlargements bigger than 8x10 or a lot of
cropping, you'll never miss a couple megapixels with the advantage of
IS. I almost never print anything since I have several programs to
create slide show CD's that I hand out to all the relatives who either
have computers or DVD players that display them. I just got an 8x10
back from Wal Mart that looks as good as anything I ever shot with my
Nikon FG and that came from a 2 megapixel Kodak with no IS.

The main reasons we chose the Canon were IS, AA batteries and CF
memory. We had a Kodak 3600 which used both so we had no need to buy
memory cards or batteries if we stayed with the same format. That's
no longer as big a consideration with memory being much cheaper in the
last several months. I just got a 512 meg SD card for under fifty
dollars. I think the first 64 meg CF card we bought for the Kodak was
$65 and we thought we got a great buy at the time. ;o) As someone
else said in this thread, it will depend a lot on your needs and
preferences. If you want poster sized prints, get all the megapixels
you can and use a tripod. If you're like me and want the best shot
you can get from the hip, get IS. Other factors will decide which
one. Another point with the Canon, I see it's now under $400 most
places, so it's getting more reasonable. Don't doubt for a moment
that three weeks after you buy it, Canon will come out with a six
megapixel version of it or Panasonic will cut prices by $150. Do what
I've done. Start a collection.

I just bought a Panasonic FZ3, having chosen from much the same list you
post. I'm happy with my choice, so far, but then I didn't buy any of the
others, so I can't make a proper comparison, can I? ;-) For me, what
sold me on the FZ3 was apparently better resolution (and lower low-light
noise) than the 4Mp KM Dimage Z3, much lighter and smaller than the
Panasonic FZ20, cheaper than the Canon S1, and the others don't have IS.

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

I didn't hear about the Panasonics till after I'd purchased the Canon
or I might have gone that way. Regardless, we have a *lot* of good
pictures from the last five or six years since we went digital. Our
collection consists of a little Gateway 2mp pocket video/still camera
that I carry everywhere, a Fuji 2mp, the Kodak 2mp and lastly, the
Canon S1. They are all now history. I gave them to my wife. ;o) I
got my D70 for Christmas and I'm in heaven. What a machine!

Anyway, my point is this. To the OP I'd say, just buy something and
start shooting. You won't regret the pictures you get, even if you do
wish you'd done this or that differently. If you wait for the perfect
choice in cameras, you'll never get any pictures. This thread should
certainly give you some great ideas or confuse you completely. Good
luck!