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dmc-fz15 or fz3? Who's tried both?

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julia tom

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Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15 and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me biking also. thanks again, julie

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Hi julia !

Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15 (Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty (got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
 
thanks! Did you get a chance to print some 8x10 photos on the z3 vs the z15? How was the quality? The z15 is only $75 more, so that's much of an issue, but if the photo quality is noticabley improved, I certainly will go for the fz15! Thanks and I will stay posted on your reports on the fz15. cheers-julie
Manie_de said:
Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro
fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and
by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15
(Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns
bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can
choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will
fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather
cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty
(got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two
separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene
modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program
shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to
record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the
smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel
free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
 
Sorry, but no prints (neither FZ3 nor FZ15) so far.

But here are some (only cropped; not postprocessed otherwise) pictures from the FZ3.

http://www.bayern-surf.de/manie/

They were shot in the first month withe my FZ3 and therefore the pictures could be better; but for point an shoot in P-Mode in the hand of a newbie they aren't that bad.

Bye,

Martin
julia tom said:
Manie_de said:
Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro
fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and
by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15
(Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns
bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can
choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will
fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather
cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty
(got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two
separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene
modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program
shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to
record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the
smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel
free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
 
Ooops, forgot to mention that the weather was overcast when taking these photos !

And another difference between FZ3 and FZ15 is, that the FZ3 has ISO 80 and FZ15 has ISO 64.

It's up to you, what ISO you consider an advantage or disadvantage !

Martin
Manie_de said:
But here are some (only cropped; not postprocessed otherwise)
pictures from the FZ3.

http://www.bayern-surf.de/manie/

They were shot in the first month withe my FZ3 and therefore the
pictures could be better; but for point an shoot in P-Mode in the
hand of a newbie they aren't that bad.

Bye,

Martin
julia tom said:
Manie_de said:
Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro
fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and
by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15
(Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns
bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can
choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will
fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather
cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty
(got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two
separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene
modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program
shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to
record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the
smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel
free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
martin, thanks for this info. I did not notice the iso64/80 difference until now. Do you notice any resolution diff. between the two when you mag it up on the computer?

julie
Manie_de said:
And another difference between FZ3 and FZ15 is, that the FZ3 has
ISO 80 and FZ15 has ISO 64.

It's up to you, what ISO you consider an advantage or disadvantage !

Martin
Manie_de said:
But here are some (only cropped; not postprocessed otherwise)
pictures from the FZ3.

http://www.bayern-surf.de/manie/

They were shot in the first month withe my FZ3 and therefore the
pictures could be better; but for point an shoot in P-Mode in the
hand of a newbie they aren't that bad.

Bye,

Martin
julia tom said:
Manie_de said:
Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro
fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and
by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15
(Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns
bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can
choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will
fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather
cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty
(got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two
separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene
modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program
shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to
record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the
smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel
free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
 
Hi julia.

Til now I've had no opportunity to make comparison shots with both cameras; and with the shots made so far with both cams a comparison won't tell you much, because of the different lighting, day of time, etc.

But yesterday I noticed another difference between the FZ3 and FZ15:

the FZ3 recordes up to max. 7 pictures in high and low burst mode, while the FZ15 only recordes up to max. 5 !

And the FZ3 has an extra "dummy" or "heart" mode, where the beginners just have to point and shoot and have very few options (just flash and the backlight feature [which lighten up the dark areas a little bit if you are shooting against the sun]).

Also the FZ15 is better suited for taking conversion lenses or filters because the FZ3 has only a plastic lens hood adapter with bayonet connection !

Oh, BTW, the FZ3 has a hood lens with strap attached, while the FZ15 hood lens is without strap.

That's all for now and if the weather will improve some day (maybe next year) then I'll be able do do some shots wit both FZ's.

Bye,

Martin
julia tom said:
julie
Manie_de said:
And another difference between FZ3 and FZ15 is, that the FZ3 has
ISO 80 and FZ15 has ISO 64.

It's up to you, what ISO you consider an advantage or disadvantage !

Martin
Manie_de said:
But here are some (only cropped; not postprocessed otherwise)
pictures from the FZ3.

http://www.bayern-surf.de/manie/

They were shot in the first month withe my FZ3 and therefore the
pictures could be better; but for point an shoot in P-Mode in the
hand of a newbie they aren't that bad.

Bye,

Martin
julia tom said:
Manie_de said:
Got my FZ15 last week and have my FZ3 for nearly three months now.

First of all, both are brilliant cameras (IMHO), but I'm no pro
fotographer; just a newbie who learns every day from this forum and
by shooting around ! :-)

I haven't had much opportunity to shoot many pictures with the FZ15
(Murphy's law: everytime you get a new camera, the weather turns
bad), but picture quality so fa is very satisfying.

But also the FZ with 1 MP less makes great pictures and so you can
choose the FZ3, if one of your priorities is weight and size !

I take my FZ3 for backpacking and such occasions, but the FZ15 will
fit for visiting the zoo, museums, parks, festivals, etc.

The FZ15 is bigger and heavier than the FZ3, but compared to ather
cameras of the same size, the FZ15 is a really lightweight beauty
(got mine in black an and it looks very professional).

But so much for my subjective opinion; here are some facts:

The FZ15 has a manual focus ring, 1 MP more, a bigger CCD, two
separate scene modes (for quicker changing your favorite scene
modes), a bette flash, incamera noise reduction option and program
shift in P-Mode !

The FZ3 has sound while recording movies and the possibility to
record audio comments with your pictures, and the advantage of the
smaller size and lesser weight.

For the moment that's all what comes to my mind, but please feel
free to post specific questions.

Don't know if I can answer them, but I'll try :-)

Bye,

Martin

PS: If I can get some good pictures, I'll post them.
julia tom said:
Is there anyone who has tried both and has a solid opinion as to
whether I should lean towards one or the other? I have been
looking closely at both of these. Is the picture quality close or
does the fz fall short? I see there are improvements on the fz15
and fz20, (ccd, ed lens and extra megapix) is it worth the extra
money and extra weight over the fz3? I also llike the manual focus
option, but the size/weight issue concerns me. Whadda think? Mostly
for surf shot and nature shots, but would like to carry with me
biking also. thanks again, julie

--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
insert something clever here
Click to expand...
 
Martin,

I'm waitng your comparison shots too. Seems like you will get VERY similar result in picture quality. I don't think jump from 3 to 4 MGPix will make any noticeble differerents. I already have FZ3 but some how I want FZ15 (don't know why). So, I'm waiting your result to take my last concerns off.
Thanks. Mikhail
 
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