Camera Labs

Ruben, Thanks to you too!!! I bleieve you helped me out when I was deciding between the Canon and Panasonic and shutter speed, etc. Sorry, did not mean to leave you out of the kudos!!!! Have a great one!!! Cheers.....

You mean with kudos kids, I think?
Saturday Ill be 16 year old, no I dont have children

Cheers!

P.S. let you see some of your photos here on the fora?

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Thanks for your support mi3grls! Let us know what you think of your new camera and don't forget to enter our monthly assignment section!

Just a quickie has anybody that has bought or tried the FZ100 got any opinions on it???. Thankfully the retailer has agreed to take my one back. Next time I buy a camera I won't rely on online reviews I will got to a shop & test it for myself!!!!!!!!!! However because of my experience with the Lumix range I won't be looking at Panasonic again.

Hi padraigr, which online reviews of the FZ100? Have any of the reputable sites done a decent test yet? I wouldn't buy anything until the sites you trust have done some reviews.

I had my Canon SX10 stolen last weekend. For the most part I was happy with my SX10 except for the frames per second continuous shooting.

I shoot mostly pictures of my dogs (so I want the fast fps), macro, night shots, and moon shots (I need a super zoom).

I was looking at the Canon SX1, SX30, Fuji HS10, Nikon P100 and the Panasonic FZ100. Then I really started leaning towards the FZ100.

Looking for a faster continuous frames per second knocked the Canons off the list... for now.

I know you have to give up certain features for others sometimes. I was just really disappointed to read that the quality of the pictures weren't that great for the FZ100. I really do want good quality pictures, but I do want a fast frame per second feature. Is it really that bad? Can you have both without jumping into a DSLR or something?

Of the few cameras listed above, which in your opinion would best suit me? Should I still be excited about the FZ100?

By the way, is there a review or video review of this camera on your site yet?

Night shots, high quality photos, many frames per second and much zoom doesnt sound like a compactcamera, Im sorry. dSLRs give far better quality, and if youre talking about speed, the Sony A550 or A500 are classleading (for the price). Theyre very cheap for the frame rate.
I think you have to read more about what you may want. Did the SX10 IS give you the quality youre after? Or do you want (much) better quality?

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Yes, I was quite happy with the quality of pictures from my SX10. I am really an amateur, and can't tell a huge difference of quality... too much at least. Only thing was the fps issue really, but want a super zoom. Wasn't that big of a deal, just thought I'd try and get something a little better.

I'm just not ready to go into DSLR's yet. My understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that DSLR's start at $500 without lenses. I also don't want to have to purchase a $500 camera without lenses, then need to have a different lense to shoot macros then change to something to shoot landscapes. Also, want it fairly portable and ready to go.

Again, yes I was happy with the quality of photos with the SX10 for what I do and expect.

If you were happy with the SX10 IS, I think you should look at the FZ100 indeed.

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

I can't speak for the FZ100 until I've tested it, but if you're happy with the quality of a compact and want fast shooting, then I'd also consider the Sony HX5 - see http://cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Cyber-shot_DSC_HX5/

The Canon 1000 HS / SD4500 does look interesting - and you can see a preview of its quality and shooting speed in my IXUS 300 HS / SD4000 review, but it is lacking wide angle coverage.

Thanks Ruben! I just purchased the FZ100 last night. I pick it up Friday. Can't wait.

Ya know, I played with the FZ100 demo last night and I've got to say, it sure looks and felt good. If fact, it seemed fairly easy to operate. I'm sure some of the "picture is not as good as" that I read has to do with the camera operator and if one actually reads the manual. Not all, but some.

BelleMeansBeautiful, I think the CMOS chip has been a component that's supposed to have boosted image quality since it was put into the Sony F828 sometime around 2003.

That said, I went with an FZ35 because it was available; I don't think the FZ100 was out yet when I needed to make a purchase and I had an event to shoot and would have missed the shots had I waited. (It was also about $100 less expensive even with the deluxe kit.)

*That* said, I agree rather emphatically with something I saw in an article today, which is that in all this image/pixel/spec wrangling we sometimes forget to ask a simple question -- well, two, actually:

1) Will this camera do well what I want to use it for?
2) Am I a good enough photographer to make the camera do those things?

I like the idea of manual focus, just not sure about doing it with the jog dial. Wouldn't a focus ring around the lens give a better feel and faster response?

If you want this camera for MF capabilities, youre on the wrong way.
Focussing with a compact is like ****, thanks to the large DoF you wont be able to see if the photo is nice focussed, and with the MF help display, you will get a noisy magnification. dSLRs in that way are far better, and cost almost roughtly the same.

If you have the FZ100's budget, youre looking at the (for instance) used 450D/1000D from Canon with a cheap Tamron/Sigma superzoom.

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Hi Gordon,

I have a suggestion for your upcoming FZ100 review. I currently own the FZ100 and found that at it's default JPG settings, the noise reduction just kills the fine details. To compensate for this, I've had to lower the noise reduction in the camera to -2 (or shoot RAW). Now I feel its on more of an even playing field compared to the SX30/FZ40. Sure it adds more noise, but at ISO 100 I think it's OK.

As I believe it was stated in your SX30 review that the FZ40 seems to apply alot of processing (sharpness) to it's jpg's by default (i also currently own that cam too). So when I shoot with the FZ100 I change the settings to -2 noise, +1 sharpness.

Please address this in your upcoming FZ100 review, even including pics that show this, as I think you will do your audience a big favor.

Thanks again!