Camera Labs

Hi there, after 2 years good service im looking to replace my trusty Panasonic TZ5. Ive set aside £350 at the most. After looking at the reviews on the internet ive managed to narrow it down to either the HS10 or the FZ100.

I mainly take landscape and wildlife style shots and also use the movie function a lot so it must realy be a great all rounder.

Ive been into my local camera shop to see both cameras and they both feel great in my hands and there are sum things that I like on the HS10 (Manual zoom ring on lense barrel, short-cut buttons on back plate) and there are on things on the FZ100 that i like (360 flip screen, easy menus).

From looking round at mulitpull reviews both cameras seam to be equal to each other tho i am a bit uneasy with the amount of negitave comments on the FZ100 picture quality.

I would love to hear from people who have any of these cameras or if anyone can sudgest one that i have missed. Cheers.

T88 - This depends very much on what your priorities are. The HS10 - I have one - is capable of very good results, but you have to "learn the camera", then tell it what to do. It isn't so good as a "snaps" camera in Auto or Program.

Far better in Aperture or Shutter Priority - and I'm tending to use full Manual a lot. My usual "carry" mode is Shutter Priority.

It's good in low-light situations (for a small-sensor P&S) - and you can treat ISO 800 as a normal shooting mode. ISO 1600 is still good, and if you use RAW, the 'cleanup' is minimal. You can get "usable" - for onscreen or sharing, not printing - images at ISOs 3200 and 6400.

While it does have 4 levels of Stabilisation - images at long zoom are better from a tripod. And use the Timer. At 30x even the small 'vibes' make the difference between a snap and a sharp image. The 2x integrated digital is quite usable - subject to using a rest or tripod to keep the camera steady.

Manual Focus works in all modes including Auto - and if used properly, is fast and accurate.

The claimed 10-7-5-3fps actually tests out as a fastest of 12fps+. That's in JPEG - RAW and RAW + JPEG top out at 5fps - or 3fps.

It does do Full and Std HD Video - the Std, 1280 x 720 - gives a better result. It also does several levels of slow-motion, including 1280 x 720 at 60fps.

The FZ100 also has RAW and up to 11fps Continuous, and several levels of Video. The Reviews are saying good things about it, so it's well worth a close look. If you need long zoom, though, it's 24x, while the HS10 is 30x.

If your priority is Video, though, the new Canon SX30 gives excellent results, though stills IQ and low light functions are a bit wanting. It doesn't have RAW, oddly - and fastest Continuous speed is 1.3fps.

Also - if you like the convenience of AAs - the SX30 has gone to a single power-pack, so you'd need some spares if going on a trip.

Gordon has done an excellent Review of the SX30 - access that via "Reviews" on the black bar above.

Dave.

Cheers for that Dave, im going towards the Fuji now as i seam to be finding a few to many negitave comments about the Panasonic, plus after having another look in the shop i realy like the manual zoom and focus rings, they just feel more natural.

T88 - Once you learn the camera and see that, if you "tell it what to do", it works very well, you'll be very pleased with it. But it isn't at its best in Auto or Program. If I turned mine on now, it'd be in Shutter Priority - I use that as "Carry" mode. That "gives you a shot", particularly with moving targets, if in a hurry, then you can change to whichever mode suits the situation best.

The separate Command Dial idea is very nifty - you can run your right thumb across the back of it, to change Shutter or Aperture very quickly. That also makes Manual mode easy to use, including hand-held.

MF works in all modes, inluding Auto. Ignore the "Reviews" that say the MF ring on the barrel is "useless, just goes roundy-roundy and does nothing..."

Zoom to where you need, then right-thumb press the AE/AF-Lock button (on back below the Video button) - that uses the AF function to get an approximate focus. It's often pretty accurate. Then just "rock" the MF ring a few mm either way to "centre" the focus. You can turn the magnified centre Focus Check off, in menus, if you prefer.

If you are holding the camera DSLR style (which the shape invites, anyway) - with left palm base supporting the camera, and fingers at the zoom ring - the left thumb naturally "parks" on or beside the focus ring.

Zoom with fingers, hit AE/AF button with right thumb - that gives you a "near-enough" focus to correct the Zoom for frame-filling, or shift aim for better composition, and when "image-on" - rock left thumb to centre the focus, and shoot.

In MF, while doing that - move the shutter button to half-down - which doesn't do anything about focusing - but does give the same "shoot-delay" - as when using AF. Doing the "2-steps" shutter movement as 1-move, in MF, is noticeably slower.

Also - going from "half-down" is applying less movement to the camera. You can also avoid that entirely, by hitting the "v" Arrow on the 4-way pad 3-times - very quick - and that gives the 2-second Timer delay.

The much-maligned MF on the HS10 is actually very fast and accurate to use, once you get the technique right.

The manual zoom will be a bit stiff when the camera is new - that smoothes out a lot with a short time of use. The high gearing that is so fast in zooming for stills, works against it in video, though. If you need to zoom while video-ing, a tripod makes that much more controllable.

Note that with the 5 x buttons to the left of the LCD - ISO - Metering - Focus, etc - it can be easier not to use the Command Dial to change settings - the Left-Right Arrows on the 4-way pad will also change those.

Dave.