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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
I'm looking to replace my ageing Panasonic FZ30 and am considering the
Canon SX1 IS and the Panasonic FZ38. Does anyone know whether or not either of these is likely to be replaced in the next couple of months? TIA -- F |
#2
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On Wed, 26 May 2010 23:19:01 +0100, F news@nowhere wrote:
I'm looking to replace my ageing Panasonic FZ30 and am considering the Canon SX1 IS and the Panasonic FZ38. Does anyone know whether or not either of these is likely to be replaced in the next couple of months? TIA Both are excellent cameras. Depending on your level of photography skills and level of creativity, you might want to consider too that the SX1 has had CHDK ported to it (nearing the end of its beta phase at the moment, just a few CHDK features are not enabled yet). See links below. Keep in mind though that most of the features of CHDK are for *very* advanced photographers (browse the online user's manual). It may be something that would be of no use to you. In that case the FZ38 would be just as good. Don't bother waiting on replacements, that's a fool's game. Unless you know for certain something is being released in a set amount of time with a feature that you've been waiting for your whole life. Even then, newer is not always better. I have found it is often better to buy the tried, true, and tested camera of this or last year at a lower price than the next model that has had features crippled or the manufacturer cut quality to cut costs. I still have one camera made in 2003 with an image quality that still can't be beat by today's models. Another point in the SX1's favor is that I found it is best to switch manufacturers every other camera. Features from one camera company will often compliment features on another manufacturer's cameras. For example, I bought a Sony for its infrared-capabilities, an excellent camera, but it lacked things like stereo video recording, almost essential to the nature documentary photographer. So my next camera included a CD quality stereo feature, but that had to be obtained from a different maker. I now have both capabilities at my disposal. Since you already have the FZ30, the SX1 might give you some features that are lacking in the Panasonic line. Then you'll have a choice of whichever features you need between the two. I found too that by becoming comfortable with any camera from any maker that I am then more spontaneous and creative in using any of them. The camera no longer becomes such an important part of the photography process. It becomes just something that exists between you and the photograph that you want to create. I also don't become stuck in a photographic rut by taking all my images the same way, constrained by that one maker's features or limitations. http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_User_Manual |
#3
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On 26/05/10 3:19 PM, F wrote:
I'm looking to replace my ageing Panasonic FZ30 and am considering the Canon SX1 IS and the Panasonic FZ38. Does anyone know whether or not either of these is likely to be replaced in the next couple of months? The SX2 IS is overdue but it won't necessarily be any better and could be worse. Not every new model is better than the previous model, especially on P&S cameras where the manufacturers get into megapixel wars and end up with ridiculously tiny pixels and high noise. Canon actually went backward from the G10 to the G11 in terms of pixels, which was move forward in terms of quality. The FZ38 is noisier than the SX1 IS, not surprising given Panasonic's long history of noise boxes. Don't get the FZ38 if you plan on doing anything in low light/higher than 100 ISO. Some reviews complain about noise even at 80 ISO! One advantage of most Canon P&S models is the availability of the free CHDK software which adds some extra capabilities that more sophisticated photographers may find useful. See "http://mighty-hoernsche.de/". There's a beta version available for the SX1 IS. I helped write some of the CHDK documentation and I'm a big fan (and user) of it. One advantage of the Panasonic is that it uses a Li-Ion battery, while Canon cut costs by using AA batteries. Bottom line, the FZ38 while it has impressive specs on paper, disappoints in actual use. |
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On Wed, 26 May 2010 20:48:48 -0700, SMS wrote:
One advantage of most Canon P&S models is the availability of the free CHDK software which adds some extra capabilities that more sophisticated photographers may find useful. See "http://mighty-hoernsche.de/". There's a beta version available for the SX1 IS. I helped write some of the CHDK documentation and I'm a big fan (and user) of it. You don't have it on any camera. You can't even tell someone how it works. We've already tested and proved that about you. And the WIKI history PROVES that you've NEVER contributed even ONE WORD to the documentation, you useless psychotic troll. LOL! |
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On 5/26/2010 6:19 PM, F wrote:
I'm looking to replace my ageing Panasonic FZ30 and am considering the Canon SX1 IS and the Panasonic FZ38. Does anyone know whether or not either of these is likely to be replaced in the next couple of months? TIA According to the Canon site, the SX1 IS is replaced by SX20 IS. This seems to be essentially the same except for HD video and more pixels which it didn't need anyway. There may also be an update to the processor. Although Canon dosen't list the SX1 IS, reviews state it's still available. My A95 went kaput and I'm back to using the old A40, a 2mp camera that takes excellent shots withing it's limitations. It's that 2mp that convinces me that ever more pixels are just a marketing gimmick plus the reinforcement of comments in this group from people who are more dedicated photographers than myself. If I do upgrade again, I would get the SX20 unless the SX1 IS were available at worthwhile cost saving. I don't find the AA batteries to be a disadvantage except for a little more size and weight and I insist on having some form of viewfinder, something that seems to be omitted from more and more p&s's. |
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On 27/05/10 8:07 AM, Dave Cohen wrote:
On 5/26/2010 6:19 PM, F wrote: I'm looking to replace my ageing Panasonic FZ30 and am considering the Canon SX1 IS and the Panasonic FZ38. Does anyone know whether or not either of these is likely to be replaced in the next couple of months? TIA According to the Canon site, the SX1 IS is replaced by SX20 IS. This seems to be essentially the same except for HD video and more pixels which it didn't need anyway. The SX1 IS does higher resolution HD video than the SX20 IS. There may also be an update to the processor. Although Canon dosen't list the SX1 IS, reviews state it's still available. My A95 went kaput and I'm back to using the old A40, a 2mp camera that takes excellent shots withing it's limitations. Yeah, I have an old A60 that I got my son many years ago. Great camera, but I upgraded the kids to two of the A570 IS because of the IS and the video capability. There's also no CHDK available for the A60, and since I helped write the documentation for CHDK I wanted cameras that it supported. It's that 2mp that convinces me that ever more pixels are just a marketing gimmick plus the reinforcement of comments in this group from people who are more dedicated photographers than myself. There's definitely some negatives as the pixel count goes up and the pixel size goes down, but it wasn't reached at 2MP for the P&S cameras. I really like the Canon models with the 7.1MP sensor, a sweet spot in P&S for Canon. I also have an SD800 IS which was the only pocket camera with a wide angle lens AND an optical viewfinder. It was also the only P&S I ever saw go UP in price during its lifteime, because it was in very high demand. There is no replacement for it--there are pocket models with wide angle-lens but no viewfinder, and models with a viewfinder but no wide-angle lens. If I do upgrade again, I would get the SX20 unless the SX1 IS were available at worthwhile cost saving. I don't find the AA batteries to be a disadvantage except for a little more size and weight and I insist on having some form of viewfinder, something that seems to be omitted from more and more p&s's. Good points, though I find a Li-Ion battery preferable because a) it lasts much longer, b) it's more reliable in terms of the physical design of the contacts and battery holder, and c) you get a much better indication of the remaining energy in the battery because the Li-Ion battery has a linear voltage/capacity curve. If there are after-market Li-Ion packs for the camera they're also generally cheaper than buying the same capacity in Sanyo Eneloops or other low-discharge AA NiMH cells. Even with the CHDK battery feature on AA powered Canon cameras, which gives you more information about the state of the battery, it still can't fix the inherent flat discharge curve of an NiMH battery (if you use disposable Lithium AA batteries then you don't have the problem). I'd be very wary of the SX20 IS in terms of noise. It uses a higher resolution sensor, and it's CCD not CMOS. The SX1 IS is pretty good in terms of noise because of the CMOS sensor and because they didn't go crazy in terms of megapixels. In any case, the original poster should just get the SX1 IS. The battery type is a minor issue. Even if Panasonic comes out with an FZ-38 replacement it will likely suffer the same noise problems as the FZ-38 unless Panasonic does some radical shift in their designs. It's a shame about Panasonic because if you look just at the specifications they have some compelling models that seem like just the perfect camera with combinations of features that you often can't get from other manufacturers. But they just have never been able to get a handle on their noise problems. The most amusing review I read of the FZ-38 was the faint praise that 'the noise is not much higher than the FZ-28'! Yeah, I guess that's a good thing, LOL. One problem with these super-zooms is that their often unfairly compared to D-SLRs rather than to P&Ss. Of course they'll never be able to be as good as D-SLR with a much larger, much lower noise sensor, and the AF/lag will never be as good with contrast detection AF as it is with phase detect AF. Guess one should "never say never" but it's hard to get around the basic physics. |
#7
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On Thu, 27 May 2010 09:47:28 -0700, SMS wrote:
Yeah, I have an old A60 that I got my son many years ago. Great camera, but I upgraded the kids to two of the A570 IS because of the IS and the video capability. There's also no CHDK available for the A60, and since I helped write the documentation for CHDK I wanted cameras that it supported. You don't have it on any camera. You can't even tell someone how it works. We've already tested and proved that about you. And the WIKI history PROVES that you've NEVER contributed even ONE WORD to the documentation, you useless psychotic pretend-photographer troll. LOL! |
#8
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On Thu, 27 May 2010 09:47:28 -0700, SMS wrote:
I'd be very wary of the SX20 IS in terms of noise. It uses a higher resolution sensor, and it's CCD not CMOS. The SX1 IS is pretty good in terms of noise because of the CMOS sensor and because they didn't go crazy in terms of megapixels. Proving yet again that you just make up all these things out of your delusional pea-brain. CMOS are slightly more noisy than CCD, due to the smaller photosite sizes caused by the extra circuitry required between photosites. |
#9
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On 27/05/2010 16:07 Dave Cohen wrote:
If I do upgrade again, I would get the SX20 unless the SX1 IS were available at worthwhile cost saving. I don't find the AA batteries to be a disadvantage except for a little more size and weight and I insist on having some form of viewfinder, something that seems to be omitted from more and more p&s's. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and pointers. I now have an SX1 IS on order. I was more than pleased with my FZ30, it did all that I wanted of it, and it did it well. My main reasons for seeking a replacement were not because I was disappointed with it but because the flash release button had come away and was going to cost too much to repair, some images were starting to be corrupted when they were saved and I wanted a longer zoom. The possibility of HD video was also a temptation. The temptation to wait for the next new iteration, however, was never very strong. I was just concerned that if I bought today and a new one was announced tomorrow I might just have missed something that was 'better'. Note the *might*! As for the SX1, as well as good reviews, it's very 'controllable', it has a fast burst mode, it has a viewfinder (which I consider vital), the LCD can be rotated (again, very useful and missing on the later Panasonics) and it uses AA batteries. Oh, and there's currently a £50 cashback offer on it from Canon. The only downside I can see is that, like the later Panasonics, it doesn't have the manual zoom ring of the FZ30. Time will tell on whether or not I made the right decision... -- F |
#10
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Canon and Panasonic: updated models
On 28/05/10 3:41 AM, F wrote:
snip As for the SX1, as well as good reviews, it's very 'controllable', it has a fast burst mode, it has a viewfinder (which I consider vital), the LCD can be rotated (again, very useful and missing on the later Panasonics) and it uses AA batteries. Oh, and there's currently a £50 cashback offer on it from Canon. The only downside I can see is that, like the later Panasonics, it doesn't have the manual zoom ring of the FZ30. Yeah, manual zoom rings are great, but unfortunately that's a feature that's been decontented out of most ZLRs. Good choice. Consider trying CHDK on it. The SX1 already has many of the features that CHDK provides to the lower end Canon models, but there's still some useful stuff in there. If you have any questions on CHDK let me know. I wrote a lot of documentation for it and I'm very familiar with it. |
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