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#1
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a95 vs fz5 vs z5
Hi all,
I am looking to find a camera to replace my powershot a300. Would like 5MP so from what I have read I was leaning towards the a95. But I see I can stretch my budget a bit to fit the Konica Minolta Z5 or the Panasonic FZ5 and I do like the extra zoom and IS. I know the rest of the differences, as the a95 is quite different than the other two, but in the end it all comes down to image quality. I cannot afford a DSLR, although I would need that quality. Now, I read and read and then read some more about the noise of the two 'zlr's. But since noise bothers some people more than others, I can only compare. So: If the a300 I just sold has enough noise to prevent me for using it at iso200 and iso400 (I shoot indoors, my little boy), how much more (or less, or equal?) will the a95 have? And then: is the Z5 for example more noisy than the a95 at iso320? Or the fz5 at iso400? And what about macro mode on the fz5: I read that it does not allow manual mode. Will that mean that I cannot use cminimum aperture for max DOF? Thanks for your time, any help appreciated. Kostas |
#2
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Belgos wrote:
Hi all, I am looking to find a camera to replace my powershot a300. Would like 5MP so from what I have read I was leaning towards the a95. But I see I can stretch my budget a bit to fit the Konica Minolta Z5 or the Panasonic FZ5 and I do like the extra zoom and IS. I know the rest of the differences, as the a95 is quite different than the other two, but in the end it all comes down to image quality. I cannot afford a DSLR, although I would need that quality. Now, I read and read and then read some more about the noise of the two 'zlr's. But since noise bothers some people more than others, I can only compare. So: If the a300 I just sold has enough noise to prevent me for using it at iso200 and iso400 (I shoot indoors, my little boy), how much more (or less, or equal?) will the a95 have? And then: is the Z5 for example more noisy than the a95 at iso320? Or the fz5 at iso400? That's very difficult to answer. All these cameras have similar basic noise (a function of the small sensor size) but the built-in noise reduction behaves differently, so the appearance of the noise differs. Perhaps you can compare on the dpreview.com site? I try and avoid ISO 400 if possible. And what about macro mode on the fz5: I read that it does not allow manual mode. Will that mean that I cannot use cminimum aperture for max DOF? In macro mode, the FZ5 pop-up menu allows control of exposure compensation, auto-bracket and flash. The DoF on these small sensor cameras is much greater than on a 35mm SLR, so it may not be a problem. The usual difficult is getting a small enough DoF to isolate your subject, fortunately the long lens and wide aperture of the FZ5 and FZ20 make this a little easier. Cheers, David |
#3
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"David J Taylor"
wrote in message . uk... That's very difficult to answer. All these cameras have similar basic noise (a function of the small sensor size) but the built-in noise reduction behaves differently, so the appearance of the noise differs. Perhaps you can compare on the dpreview.com site? I try and avoid ISO 400 if possible. I did the same on a300, I would stay away from 400 unless necessary and 200, well, I didn't think it made that much difference anyway. I know what you mean that in the end these cameras are not much different since they are all compact, but I was wondering if maybe the larger CCD of the (F)Z5 (2,5 inches according to DPR) would be better than the A95 (1,8 inches). But considering how highly regarded the Panasonic's lens is, I find it strange that the sample images show similar noise at high ISO. I guess I am looking for an excuse other than the stabilised 400mm+ for looking at the KM/Pana. Don't seem to find one though, pitty :-/ Thanks, Kostas |
#4
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On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 20:24:47 GMT, "Belgos" wrote:
"David J Taylor" wrote in message . uk... That's very difficult to answer. All these cameras have similar basic noise (a function of the small sensor size) but the built-in noise reduction behaves differently, so the appearance of the noise differs. Perhaps you can compare on the dpreview.com site? I try and avoid ISO 400 if possible. I did the same on a300, I would stay away from 400 unless necessary and 200, well, I didn't think it made that much difference anyway. I know what you mean that in the end these cameras are not much different since they are all compact, but I was wondering if maybe the larger CCD of the (F)Z5 (2,5 inches according to DPR) would be better than the A95 (1,8 inches). The FZ5 CCD is 0.4 inches according to http://tinyurl.com/d962m. But considering how highly regarded the Panasonic's lens is, I find it strange that the sample images show similar noise at high ISO. How would the lens affect noise?? I guess I am looking for an excuse other than the stabilised 400mm+ for looking at the KM/Pana. Don't seem to find one though, pitty :-/ Thanks, Kostas |
#6
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"David J Taylor" wrote in message . uk... wrote: On Sat, 25 Jun 2005 20:24:47 GMT, "Belgos" wrote: The FZ5 CCD is 0.4 inches according to http://tinyurl.com/d962m. Yes, the sizes are quoted in reciprocals, so likely that's 1/2.5 inch (10mm) and 1/1.8 inch (14mm). Yes, now that I thought about it, 2,5 inches would be even bigger than the Lcd :-) but whtever the actual numbers, the A95's is smaller one so I would expect more noise at the same ISO, especially since they say that 5MP out of such a small ccd is pushing it... similar cameras can show different noise characteristics. It really does come down to which "noise level" suits you best (and I accept that's an unsatisfactory way of trying to compare). It is, as always... I'm really running out of reasons to look at the FZ5, I think. Looks like I'll go for the a95 in the end. Thanks Kostas |
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