Camera Labs

After more pics I noticed more and more of the patchiness.. Really too bad, its a super fast camera with some useful modes! Hi Dynamic worked really well for indoor shots with windows and bright light. I returned it which I hate to do.

Time to wait and see what the Fuji F550exr does. Or maybe the sony hx9v. or even samsung wb2000.

Jon

Hi everyone, I just reviewed the Lumix TZ18 / ZS8, the 'budget' version of the TZ20 / ZS10 which shares the same lens and resolution, albeit with a CCD sensor instead of (C)MOS.

I tested it side by side with the TZ20 / ZS10, so you can see for yourself which has the best image quality!

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panas ... _TZ18_ZS8/

I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ7/ZS3.

Is it worthy to change for the new TZ20/ZS10?

The quality of the pictures in the TZ20 is better, equal or lower than in the TZ7?

Thank you very much!

Hi Gimleu, have a look at the results pages from each review and see what you think!

ZS10 is crap compared to zs7. I own a zs7, bought the ZS10 and returned it. It had a few things that were nice, like rapid fire shooting, but image qaulity was really bad.. Think your better off with the new canon or sony..

Agreed. I bought a TZ20/ZS10 after reading and getting caught up in all the hype and sadly the reviews over at Amazon. The only review that I ought to have read was the one here at Camera Labs that attested to the shockingly poor image quality of this camera. Even at ISO 100, the level of noise is simply unacceptable for a camera at this price point. No amount of enthusiast extras, bells and whistles can make up for the poor image quality at the very core of this camera. I had prayed that a firmware update may magically rectify the issue, but alas, it didn't, unsurprisingly. As the kids today say... "bad camera is bad".

I learnt my lesson - never pay attention to all the rave 5star reviewers at Amazon, 99% of whom clearly have very low standards of what passes for a premium point and shoot. Instead listen to the 1% who gave the camera it's deserved 1star rating, citing poor image quality as the reason. And of course, read the excellent reviews over here at Camera Labs!

I still think it's a good camera overall, but you need to go in with your eyes open to the downsides, and as I said in the review, image quality isn't it's strong point.

Hey I'm currently looking for a decent compact camera that will allow me to get good photos of the musicians in low light.

I've heard mixed things about the TZ20 and am having a hard time deciding whether to get it or not.

I am not planning to blow up the pictures (but may blow up to A4 or A3 if I get a stunning picture) so noise shouldn't be too much of a concern. I am primarily wanting to take images with high detail that I can enjoy looking back at in the future.

Or would the Fuji F550exr be better suited for concerts?

I am also considering the Sony Hx9v but that is getting a little costly.
I don't want to be spending too much money as this will be a minor hobby and nothing serious.

However, I would like a camera that is good all round and not just good for low-light/concerts. But concerts are top priority.

I'd be very careful with a decision to purchase the Fuji F550EXR. The review on imaging-resource really ripped that camera to shreds, it came in last among 6 travel zooms in their 2011 review (against Coolpix 9100, ZS8, SX230, HX9V, ZR100) and they suggested that Fuji just give up, as a long bad zoom makes such cameras "not worth considering".

The only way to truly get good pictures at a concert is with a micro-4/3rds camera. Too bad nobody makes an entry-level affordable one at the same pricepoint as these pocket cameras.

Ok thanks for that. I might stay away from the f550exr but I have also heard some very good things about it such as the pro focus mode which gives blurry backgrounds which most compacts just don't and the pro low-light mode which keeps image noise to a minimum which seems useful for concerts.

But I am definitely going to have to get a compact camera due to my budget (~$500-550) not to mention the fact that I have to get it passed gig security.

Do you know of any compact cameras that will do a reasonable job for taking pictures at concerts? Keeping in mind that I don't need a camera that gives perfect detail, just enough so that I can admire the pictures on my computer and other devices (with the chance of maybe a couple being blown up to A4 or A3 depending on quality).

Hi thomasfreid, I agree with system builder. If you want low noise in a small camera, then go for a mirrorless ILC, like an Olympus PEN, Panasonic G-series, Sony NEX or Nikon 1. If you live outside Europe, the Panasonic models are particularly attractive as they can keep recording video until you run out of memory. I recently recorded 2 hours of HD on a GX1 for example.

Trouble is, all of these cameras have relatively big lenses like a DSLR, so if you're a long way away, a super-zoom like the TZ20 / ZS10 might be better.

A great balance is the Nikon J1 with the 10-30 and 30-110mm lens. Very compact for the sensor size, but the 30-110mm zoom is equivalent to 81-297mm.

I discuss the J1 in detail in my review of the V1 here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_1_V1/

Cheers Gordon.

The one thing I'm concerned about (other than price) is the compactness of these cameras. Will the fit comfortably in my pocket? Seeing as the camera will be used for concerts I will more than likely need to sneak it pass the security.

How much extra space will the zoom lens take up as I need the camera and lens to be portable together.

Do any of the Compact ILCs have decent zoom without the use of an additional lens?

It may pay to mention that I am completely new to photography so I don't have much knowledge of how the lenses on these cameras work.

So I think I'm either going to go with the V1, J1 or the Nex 5n.

The 5n has got the majority of my attention but the lack of retractable lenses is a bit of a worry for portability reasons. But the great low-light image quality is extremely attractive, especially for concert photography.

The Nex is also slightly smaller which is an added bonus.

I understand that the Nex 5n has a 10x digital zoom with any lens but I'm curious as to how good the digital zoom is and how much it affects the image quality. Being a camera for concerts I do need the zoom in case I find my self a fair way back but I don't want to see a largely noticeable loss of image quality but being digital zoom I am guessing a fair bit of quality loss is inevitable.