Other cameras

[jrh312]

Okay, I'm a member of this forum because it's one of the most-used ones around that I can find. But it's a Canon forum. I'm trying to decide between two cameras and neither of them are Canons.... so if I post something asking for people's opinions, is everybody going to whine about it or is this an open photography forum where anything, not just Canon stuff, can be discussed?

[GyRob]

are you saying theres another make of camera out there ? well it carnt be any worse than my 20d even with L glass most shots need photoshoping very few look as good as they looked in the viewfinder ,i would try and test what ever camera you want before you buy it ,a few shots on a card then see if your happy .im waiteing for a 1DM3 to come out but i will test one first before i buy the 20d learnt me that.
Rob.

[jrh312]

are you saying theres another make of camera out there ?

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought....thanks.

[Big_B]

Ask away. Most people will help where they can, but you'll find there is limited knowledge about other brands of cameras. That said, I bought my Nikon D70 following advice given to me by someone on this forum.

If you don't have any luck here, you could have a look at somewhere like www.dpreview.com

[am_pitbull_terrier]

Yeah that's pretty much what I thought....thanks.

:confused: Attitude?:confused: I think your question was answered quite well. I think the beginning of the reply was meant to be a joke:rolleyes: I mean.... We all know there is NO other camera out there;) .... Is there?

[Belmondo]

It's fine to ask a question. Don't expect total objectivity, however.

This is a Canon forum, first and foremost, but it is also a good place to get opinions on other things (except religion and politics).

Ask away. If anyone has an opinion, you'll get it.

What are the two cameras you're wondering about, or are we supposed to guess?

[jrh312]

Being a novice, the reason I asked in the first place is because I was met with a holier-than-thou attitude from some members when I first registered on this forum last year because of a BEGINNER question that I asked about lenses.

Anyway, I want a camera with good zoom and macro capabilities for wildlife and other outdoor photography. I've had some pictures published by the Int'l Library of Photography, and only one of them was something other than wildlife, so I want to find something that can help me get better shots of stuff like that. I've narrowed it down to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 and the Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom. The two are very similar, the avg retail price is the same, but I'm paying attention to a few things in particular:

The Panasonic has:
12x optical zoom (35mm - 420mm) - (the Olympus has 10x)
Image Stabilizer
AF Assist Lamp

The Olympus has:
4mp resolution (rather than 3.1 of the panasonic)
F2.8 - F3.7 aperture (rather than a fixed 2.8 of the panasonic)
3mm macro mode (rather than 5mm of the panasonic)
manual focus option (the panasonic doesn't)


When I think of Panasonic, I think of TVs, not cameras... are they a reliable brand? That's really the only question where experience with a certain kind of camera matters I think. The other part of my question is just based on the features.

Is it worth buying the Panasonic just to get the extra zoom to sacrifice all the stuff that the Olympus has? Sure, the Olympus doesn't have the AF lamp, but it does have the option to focus manually. I don't know if the image stabilizer would be enough to make the panasonic worthwhile. I don't know how much a stabilizer would matter, sure it'd be nice, but at what cost by sacrificing the other stuff....

Where I keep running into problems is that I don't have any kind of reference for zoom photos (i.e. how much closer can that extra 2x bring me, or how much closer can the extra 2mm in the macro mode bring me).

So if anybody would like to give me their opinion and not flame me, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

[GyRob]

THE 2X BITor the macro wont make much diffrence in the real world of taking photos, the stabilizer will its well worth haveing, the panasonic ( i think ) has a lica lens that is a great lens .auto focus will be used most times i think, so does manual really matter yes it would be handy.
i would buy the panasonic myself,also if it has that lens it may well = the extra pixcels of the olympus i.e be sharper.
Rob.

[Ballen Photo]

Anyway, I want a camera with good zoom and macro capabilities for wildlife and other outdoor photography. I've had some pictures published by the Int'l Library of Photography, and only one of them was something other than wildlife, so I want to find something that can help me get better shots of stuff like that. I've narrowed it down to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 and the Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom. The two are very similar, the avg retail price is the same, but I'm paying attention to a few things in particular:

The Panasonic has:
12x optical zoom (35mm - 420mm) - (the Olympus has 10x)
Image Stabilizer
AF Assist Lamp

The Olympus has:
4mp resolution (rather than 3.1 of the panasonic)
F2.8 - F3.7 aperture (rather than a fixed 2.8 of the panasonic)
3mm macro mode (rather than 5mm of the panasonic)
manual focus option (the panasonic doesn't)


When I think of Panasonic, I think of TVs, not cameras... are they a reliable brand? That's really the only question where experience with a certain kind of camera matters I think. The other part of my question is just based on the features.

Is it worth buying the Panasonic just to get the extra zoom to sacrifice all the stuff that the Olympus has? Sure, the Olympus doesn't have the AF lamp, but it does have the option to focus manually. I don't know if the image stabilizer would be enough to make the panasonic worthwhile. I don't know how much a stabilizer would matter, sure it'd be nice, but at what cost by sacrificing the other stuff....


Hi JRH, I'm not familiar with either of these cameras specifically, but I DO know that Olympus has been making their own optics (lenses) for decades, and has built a good reputation by having good optics. My first prosumer digital was an Olympus E10. I still have a lot of respect for what can be done with that camera. ;)
Now the Panasonic is probably using a lens built by somebody else for their camera, and as I have already mentioned, I have zero experience with them. If I were you, I'd research who makes their lenses and go from there.
Good luck with your quest. :D
-Bruce

[jrh312]

THE 2X BITor the macro wont make much diffrence in the real world of taking photos, the stabilizer will its well worth haveing, the panasonic ( i think ) has a lica lens that is a great lens .auto focus will be used most times i think, so does manual really matter yes it would be handy.
i would buy the panasonic myself,also if it has that lens it may well = the extra pixcels of the olympus i.e be sharper.
Rob.

The lens is something I hadn't really thought much about, but you both mentioned it, so it looks like I should do some more digging.

As far as the auto focus goes, I've read that it can be a little bit jumpy with macro shots and not always reliable (in general, not with this camera in particular necessarily). Any truth to that? That's what makes me wonder if the manual focus option would be a worthwhile feature.

Thanks for the help!

[Ballen Photo]

As far as the auto focus goes, I've read that it can be a little bit jumpy with macro shots and not always reliable (in general, not with this camera in particular necessarily). Any truth to that? That's what makes me wonder if the manual focus option would be a worthwhile feature.


I think that since it's so close, you need to find a brick and mortar store that carries them both and try them side by side for yourself. You never know, there might even be something about the ergonomics of one or the other that might be a deal breaker for you. Also, since you shoot wildlife, possible noise made by the zoom could make a difference as well. ;)
-Bruce

[jrh312]

http://www.livingroom.org.au/photolog/news/panasonic_lumix_digital_camera_announced.php
It looks like you were right gyrob, Panasonic uses the Leica lenses....

[GyRob]

about the best lens maker in the world ,better keep digging but your getting closer im sure :)
Regards
Rob

[am_pitbull_terrier]

My first digital camera was a Olympus. I loved it.... I really dont know much about them now but I can only imagine that they are still just as good if not better.

[Andy_T]

As the other posters, I don't know the cameras in question, but...

... a hyperzoom (10x optical zoom) has constructional difficulties as opposed to a normal (e.g. 3x) zoom lens. It is harder to construct a 10x zoom that provides sharp images across the whole zoom range than a 3x zoom.

... a 'Leica' lens on a fixed-lens digicam is not necessarily the same as a Leica lens on a Leica camera. (similar to the Pro1's 'L' lens)

I have seen some of Panasonic's Lumix cameras, but they did not especially strike me as perfect. They had relatively low megapixel numbers and the plastic did not convey the feeling of robustness and quality.

I assume you have handled the cameras in the shop and compared them to each other, maybe with the opportunity to take a test shot and look at it on the computer?

So my suggestion would be to rather look at the Olympus ... but also to have a look at the Canon G6 as well :wink:

Also - and this is very important - check out which creative modes (Tv, Av, P, M) they support and how they are operated. I once had a Kodak 6430 camera that supported these modes, but they were totally unusable because of their handling. It also had pretty bad high ISO noise compared to my G2.

Best regards,
Andy

[Andy_T]

Ooops ... something new (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042201canons2is.asp) just came in :shock:

Best regards,
Andy

[jrh312]

Ooops ... something new (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0504/05042201canons2is.asp) just came in :shock:

Best regards,
Andy

Just when I thought I had it somewhat narrowed down you had to go throw that in...lol. I'm looking at samples from the G6 right now on dpreview and they're a lot more impressive than ones I've seen from other cameras. For example, leaves look like leaves, and not like green mush.... however it's out of my price range :( . Time to keep looking....

Edit: The S1 IS looks good though

[Andy_T]

For example, leaves look like leaves, and not like green mush....

Now that sounds like a good thing in a digital camera.

Being a Canon user, I never thought it should be much different :D

Best regards,
Andy