Have a Z2 - Going to get the Z3 or Z5, but which one?

Hey all, I bought my Z2 over a year ago and would like to get the Z3 or Z5. The main reason I want to upgrade is to get the Anti-Shake Image Stabilizer. I can get either camera for about the same price of $380, but I need some suggestions as which one to get.

I read a lot of comments (about a month ago) on this forum about both camera's but would like to hear some honest pro's and con's about each camera.

I read that some of the Z5 capabilities are actually a downgrade compared to the Z3. I know that the Z5 has some upgrade features like the larger LCD and 5mp.

I'm looking to get the camera in the next few days, so please post your comments.

pressenter

Bought the Z3 about 3 months ago. Thought it was great for about a month until I realized I should have gone more upscale (dSLR maybe?).

Can't offer much advice about which one is better (Z3 vs Z5) but I'll sell you mine ("gently used") if someone can figure out how to make a MI to NJ transaction work.

What about an FZ5?

http://www.pbase.com/clyde_frog

Hi

I love my Z3, not going to say they are the best cameras out there. I think both cameras are going to be brilliant in full sun, but in any darker setting noise eats up details.

In my research here and elsewhere, I have found that the noise of a camera is due to the sensor denseity. A dSLR with 6 megapix can have less noise than ours as the sensor is so much larger. The Z3 and 5 have become the poster boys for bad noise in this regard.

I find I use the long exposure setting of the Z3 quite often. I have taken many great aurora pictures. The 5 is limited to 3 second exposures, I was using 20 seconds.

For photos only (no video) I would consider the Panasonic FZ20, or the FZ5. They are not as good as the KM cameras in full light--unless perhaps for rich colour.

I would like the larger LCD a lot, frankly.

Aside for the LCD i think the extra Megapixel is a liability--a picture will look worse when printed rather than better because if it.

Anyway, all just my 2c worth
--

Hi Presenter,

I would not updgrade! I was a happy Z1 user and I 'upgraded' to a Z3 a few months ago because I dropped the Z1 and the lens mechanism broke.

Having extensive experience with the Z1 I do not feel the Z3 is an upgrade. Although it is definitely not a bad camera, my major disappointments are:

1) The pictures are definitely noisier that from the Z1/Z2 such that the Z3 pictures are probably less sharp than the Z1 pictures.

2) It is harder to get a good picture out of the camera! What do I mean....very often I get pictures that are overexposed, out of focus with oversaturated colors etc. This is no gripe, I take thousands of pictures and the pictures from the Z1/Z2 are mostly just better than from the Z3. My suspicion is that the sensor in the Z3 is worse than in the Z1 because of the smaller pixel size.

3) The IS works but it will take much time to focus. To such an extent that I often switch of the IS as it will prevent me from shooting at the right moment. What use is IS if you still cannot take the right picture?

I take a lot of pictures of wildlife and then the IS is an annoyance, although for indoor pictures it defintely is a plus.

I could list more complaints, but these are the major ones. I think your would be disappointed if you think that you would 'upgrade' if you get a Z3.

I would rather spend my money on either a TCON-07 extension lens, saving some more money to get an A200 or save even more to get a Revel XT, that would definitely feel like an upgrade!

Good luck with your decision!

Steven

pressenter said:

Hey all, I bought my Z2 over a year ago and would like to get the
Z3 or Z5. The main reason I want to upgrade is to get the
Anti-Shake Image Stabilizer. I can get either camera for about the
same price of $380, but I need some suggestions as which one to get.

I read a lot of comments (about a month ago) on this forum about
both camera's but would like to hear some honest pro's and con's
about each camera.

I read that some of the Z5 capabilities are actually a downgrade
compared to the Z3. I know that the Z5 has some upgrade features
like the larger LCD and 5mp.

I'm looking to get the camera in the next few days, so please post
your comments.

pressenter

Click to expand...

Please keep the comments coming...I'm taking it all in especially the last post...pressenter

I had a Z1, too and I gave it to my daughter and bought the Z3. The Z3 does not take movies near as good as my Z1 did and I suspect your Z2 takes much better movies than my Z3. The indoor movies are just to dark.

I have the same problem with some shots being overexposed, as Steven does, but I'm getting better at getting better exposure with more and more practice. I find the colors in the Z3 to be very good and natural. I don't use the increased sharpness, contrast and color settings too often. As for noise, I had noise with my Z1 too, but I find that when I resize the pictures the noise is not much of a problem. I have been experimenting with 2x digital zoom and found out I can get some pretty decent pictures after resizing.

As for the focus, mine seems to focus almost as fast as the button goes down, so I don't have a problem with that.

The feature on the Z3 that I really, really like is the Anti-Shake. I can get some pretty decent pictures that I couldn't get with my Z1. To me, that is an upgrade feature.

One problem I had with the Z1 is oversaturation of the color red. I'd take a picture of my grandson and it would look like he had lipstick on and I wasn't using vivid color, either. It was so bad that I'd have to cut the red down in Photoshop about 15%. My daughter has never complained about that, though. Anyway, my Z3 doesn't have that problem and I'm sure that other Z1 owners didn't have it, either.

I mention the red problem with my Z1, because each camera might have it's own quirks, or problems. It's kinda hard to judge a camera by the testimony of other owners of the same camera....it's the same way with cars, computers, marrige mates and a host of other things. I see in this forum that some people have problems with A series, Z series and even some of the othersand other folks rave about their's. And, I've seen a lot of outstanding pictures from these cameras, on this very forum.

I have a lot of Z3 pictures on my image site, but take note that I am just a novice at taking pictures.

http://imageevent.com/jecar

Jerry
..

Jerry - Thanks for your comments and the pictures...

pressenter

pressenter said:

Jerry - Thanks for your comments and the pictures...

pressenter

Click to expand...

You're welcome.

Jerry
..

Hi Jerry,

I'm happy you posted some rebuttals to my claims, that is why we have these forums!

Jerry Cargile said:

I have the same problem with some shots being overexposed, as
Steven does, but I'm getting better at getting better exposure
with more and more practice. I find the colors in the Z3 to be
very good and natural. I don't use the increased sharpness,
contrast and color settings too often. As for noise, I had noise
with my Z1 too, but I find that when I resize the pictures the
noise is not much of a problem. I have been experimenting with 2x
digital zoom and found out I can get some pretty decent pictures
after resizing.

Click to expand...

I think practice makes perfect here, I just think the Z1 has the exposure more often correct than the Z3.

Jerry Cargile said:

As for the focus, mine seems to focus almost as fast as the button
goes down, so I don't have a problem with that.

Click to expand...

I have tested this. With AS on focusing takes about 0.3-0.4 sec, while it takes only 0.1 with AS off. 0.4 sec is too long if you are trying to take
action shots.

Jerry Cargile said:

The feature on the Z3 that I really, really like is the Anti-Shake.
I can get some pretty decent pictures that I couldn't get with my
Z1. To me, that is an upgrade feature.

Click to expand...

I agree, just not for action shots. Indoors the Z3 is better, if it would not be that it just has more noise. I could take ISO100 pictures indoors with the Z1 that were OK. With the Z3 they have too much noise. I have to use ISO50 (and they still have noise), which kind of cancels the AS effect.

I'm not trying to say the Z3 is a bad camera, I just think it is not always better as the Z1.

Jerry Cargile said:

One problem I had with the Z1 is oversaturation of the color red.
I'd take a picture of my grandson and it would look like he had
lipstick on and I wasn't using vivid color, either. It was so bad
that I'd have to cut the red down in Photoshop about 15%. My
daughter has never complained about that, though. Anyway, my Z3
doesn't have that problem and I'm sure that other Z1 owners didn't
have it, either.

Click to expand...

I exactly have that problem with the Z3, more than with the Z1. Here is a picture to prove it:

Jerry Cargile said:

I mention the red problem with my Z1, because each camera might
have it's own quirks, or problems. It's kinda hard to judge a
camera by the testimony of other owners of the same camera....it's
the same way with cars, computers, marrige mates and a host of
other things. I see in this forum that some people have problems
with A series, Z series and even some of the othersand other folks
rave about their's. And, I've seen a lot of outstanding pictures
from these cameras, on this very forum.

Click to expand...

I have taken nice pictures with both camera's although the noise on the Z3 really bothers me. I have a feeling that there might be differences between sensors, even of the same type, that make some individual camera's better than others.

Jerry Cargile said:

I have a lot of Z3 pictures on my image site, but take note that I
am just a novice at taking pictures.

http://imageevent.com/jecar

Click to expand...

I loved your albums! Here are some aviation pictures I tried:







I have to confess a friend of mine was there too with his Canon DSLR and his pictures were of immeasurable better quality

Steven

--
Roses64068

Well, I just bought a Z5 and am learning to use it. I think it is pretty good at this point - especially the zoom. I am quite inexperienced but so far like the pictures I am getting.

--
Roses64068
I have posted a few of my pictures, taken with the
Z5 - - http://photobucket.com/albums/y191/trmosley/

comments welcome

Steven,

I don't think our opinions differ that much. I think that the Z1 if it had AS would be a much better camera than the Z3.

As for the red over saturation in my Z1, I now see that it can happen with any camera, as you have proved.

I was thinking about you today, when I tried to get a good focus without over-exposure. I just couldn't seem to get one in the woods I was in. Turns out the over exposure was not on the actual image, but on the camera's view of the picture. I just can't figure some of these things out. ;-))

I also had a hard time getting a good focus on a bell tower I was taking today. I had to do some sharpening on every photo.

Thanks for your comment on my albums.

Steven, you're gonna have to quit standing on that runway when a plane is taking off. ;-) Good photos and what a colorful plane!

Jerry
..

Pressenter,

here's my 2c.

1. Are you sure you want to limit the choice to one of these two? Why not wait for the first reviews of the Canon S2 IS and the SONY H1. The Cannon seems good competition with SD-card & AA-batteries, AF-assist, non-proprietary flash etc.. If the picture quality of them is higher they may be a viable alternative.

2. My previous camera was a SONY Cybershot (3.2 megapixel, pure point and shoot). I am still stunned at how good the pictures of it were, as compared to the Z5 I have now. Some of the Sony-pictures are clearer, sharper and have more detail. (mind you, not all of them, and the Z5 does allow zooming in & AS). The image Quality of the Z5 is ok, but not very good.

In general I think that the longer you wait the better the quality will be.

Fuji has just released the first 1600-ISO point and shoot with an acceptable quality. In 2 years you will probably be able to buy one zoom-camera that has a much higher picture quality and 1600 ISo or higher. For an acceptable price.

Good luck with your choice & let us know.

Yost

pressenter said:

Hey all, I bought my Z2 over a year ago and would like to get the
Z3 or Z5. The main reason I want to upgrade is to get the
Anti-Shake Image Stabilizer. I can get either camera for about the
same price of $380, but I need some suggestions as which one to get.

I read a lot of comments (about a month ago) on this forum about
both camera's but would like to hear some honest pro's and con's
about each camera.

I read that some of the Z5 capabilities are actually a downgrade
compared to the Z3. I know that the Z5 has some upgrade features
like the larger LCD and 5mp.

I'm looking to get the camera in the next few days, so please post
your comments.

pressenter

Click to expand...

I like the composition of the pictures. My comments are around the technical abilities of the camera. Do you have the "sharpness" set on hard? These look soft to me.

Lem7

The pictures from Z3/Z5 are definitely noisier than from the Z2 and with
noise-reduction-software they are less sharp than the Z2 pictures.

The night shoot performance of the Z5 is horrible(Time,ISO) and also the Z3 is not so good as the Z2 by this way.The image stabilization system has
only an advantage in night-shoot-tele and therefore I think it
is not worth to upgrade,because a fast shutter time for example 1/1000
is enough for good movie images.Noise is visible at
ISO100-Z3 and ISO50-Z5 or ISO200-Z2 and only with the Z2 you have
the chance of making pictures which are not overcontrasted with
detail loss.The only advantage of the Z5 is the greater monitor otherwise
there are too much ristrictions compared to the Z3 and more than ever
the Z2.

Thank you everyone for their comments.

After taking everything in, I've decided to stick with my Z2 for the time being. Unfortunately, I will have to carry around my tripod for taking long distance pictures on my Z2.

pressenter

I have a Z2 and love it, but if i were in the market for an upgrade i think i'd go for the panasonic Fz5 or the Canon S2IS first, especially the canon which looks like a damn near perfect ultrazoom, i cant wait to see some reviews
--
KM Dimage Z2
http://www.pbase.com/diamond2a

Hi Pressenter,

I purchased my Z3 last September. I have to agree with the majority here and just say NO to the Z5.

Although the camera is a fun little bugger the noise and softness is not acceptable to me. My biggest disappointment is its performance in low light!

I want to upgrade too but I will be going the route of a dSLR. I took shots at a concert in April from the 3rd row with my Z3 and then my friend's 6MP Canon Rebel. Both cameras were on auto and I used their built in flashes. All I know about her lens is that it was a 100-200mm.

Well there is NO compairison! Talk about clean, ya baby! Oh and did I mention the Z3's shutter lag issue? It takes forever to focus in low light, so I always miss the shot, GRRR! Not to mention that the guys in the band crack on me all the time. I will try it this weekend with the IS off and see if it helps but the pictures will still be too noisy and too dark!

I read here that a good photographer can shoot excellent pictures with any camera but I think that is truer with film. I have proof from that night the equipment really matters too. The Z3's 50 shots are just trash (noisy, dark and out of frame, ucky) but the Canon's 143 shots (one was trash) will make the band proud! Heck the shots she took from the 15th row were better than the Z3! I wish her friend with the Nikon D100 would have flipped her camera my way too.

I will keep my Z3 when a get my dSLR but I have a feeling it will be joining my Nikon N8008s film outfit in the closet.

BTW, has any one bought the wide angle lens for their Z? So far I am not thrilled with the performance. The pictures are very soft but the adapter is way cool. I can now use a filter to protect the lens and a polarizer.

Good luck with your decision and let us know what you decide.