Panasonic Lumix Series (FZ3, FZ10, FZ20)

"Jessie Miletop" wrote in message
...
Greetings. I've been using film SLR's for over 20 year, and the time is
right for me to take the digital jump. I have decided to NOT go in the
DSLR
direction for a few years. I's like to buy an SLR type digital camera as
my
first digital capture source. I'm particularly interested in the Panasonic
Lumix ZLR series, largely because of the convenient all in one lens, IS,
and image quality that I've seen in sample photos.

I can't make up my mind. The FZ3, FZ10, and FZ20 have all gotten amazing
reviews compared to other models in their classes. I know the FZ3 has the
least MegaPixels of the three, and some of the features on the FZ10 and
FZ20 are more advanced. I like the small size of the FZ3, but I've only
seen it in silver. Does this model also come in black like the others?

Sorry for all the questions. This will be my first digital camera and I
don't want to make a rushed purchase.

Thanks in advance for any advice that comes my way.

If it's your first digicam, consider all other cams with the same basic
features. I was looking at the lumix cams, the olympus 765, and 770, and the
dimage z3.

I opted for the z3 because it had many of the lumix features, but not the
large size. I also wanted a cam that used normal type batteries, just in
case my rechargebles ran out, and I needed a quick emergency set, and I also
wanted the more popular sd card format, because of price, speed, and size.

So far (after just a few weeks) I'm very happy with the Z3, and about the
only thing I would have liked would have been the lens hood the lumix's
have.

The Z3 is larger then my old Oly d-550 zoom, and I'm really glad I didn't
get a even larger cam like the lumix, because I take mine on hiking trips,
and like to have it with me as much as possible.

Best tip someone gave me: Get the best cam you can afford.. because after
you are used to it, you'll want more. With my first digital cam, I took 4400
pics my first year. 44 HUNDRED pics! I took very few with older standard
cams because of film and developement cost.

Last year, I slowed down, and only took about 1700 pics! LOL!!

If you do decided to stick with the lumix cams.. get either the 10 or the
20.. otherwise you'll always wish you had...


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On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 15:02:04 +0000 (UTC), Panasonic Lumix Series
(FZ3, FZ10, FZ20) "Jessie Miletop"
wrote:

Sorry for all the questions. This will be my first digital camera and I
don't want to make a rushed purchase.

The specs on the FZ20 are very impressive indeed. That a lot of camera
for the money.

BTW I made the switch from 35mm Pentax SLRs to a Olympus 2100Uz about
two years ago. I'll never go back to film, and the 2100Uz is not
nearly as nice as the FZ20.

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"Tony Gartshore" wrote in message
t...
In article ,
says...

The specs on the FZ20 are very impressive indeed. That a lot of camera
for the money.

BTW I made the switch from 35mm Pentax SLRs to a Olympus 2100Uz about
two years ago. I'll never go back to film, and the 2100Uz is not
nearly as nice as the FZ20.

I moved from the Uzi to an FZ10 about a year ago. Loved the Uzi but wanted
to be able to go
to bigger print sizes.

I thought an Uzi was a one-handed machine gun.

On Sat, 30 Oct 2004 15:02:04 +0000 (UTC), "Jessie Miletop"
wrote:

I can't make up my mind. The FZ3, FZ10, and FZ20 have all gotten amazing
reviews compared to other models in their classes. I know the FZ3 has the
least MegaPixels of the three, and some of the features on the FZ10 and
FZ20 are more advanced. I like the small size of the FZ3, but I've only
seen it in silver. Does this model also come in black like the others?

Jessie,

yes, I believe the FZ3 is also available in black. But you'll
find that out quickly.

I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1-2 and have read lots of reviews
on the other ones.

These cameras have lots of very strong points, let me
concentrate on the shortcomings.

One thing I like is the tilt and swivel viewfinder of the Canon
Powershot S1 IS, which these Panasonic cameras lack (not sure
about all of them though---check again).

Not all of them have an autofocus assist light, neither does the
Canon. Without it these cameras can't be used very well for
candle-lit scenes, but note that autofocus assist lights and
flashes only have a rather short range anyway.

There seem to be some problems with the brightness of the
viewfinder, or it is too dark. Check this carefully.

One final hint of an unusual approach. You could buy a used FZ1
for not much more than $100, upgrade it to FZ2 firmware (just
what I did) and use it for a while to get some experience. After
this you'd be able to make a much more educated decision, and
you've gained a small spare digital camera on top.

Hans-Georg

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