FZ30 review's up

Mr Sanchez · Sep 16, 2005

this is not a bash, it's a statement of what this camera's capabilites are, and it's still unimproved upon shortcomings. I don't want dslr quality, and the size would be comparable, since i would easily give up 200mm of the pany's zoom if it oozed it's quality equally over 200mm of them, in regards to low light performance. Panasonic's marketing division decided that low noise isn't as marketable as 8MP. This is a direct gripe to them. I'm with bill hicks on this one, the world should be purged of marketers. i've never had much of an issue with the resolution given by 5 mp, and i've yet to hear a complaint about it, or see the results of such a shortcoming, but panasonic sure jumped to rescue on that non-existant issue. Now we're left to wonder if a 5 mp version camera based on the same sensor could have proved to be alot more of the camera many were hoping for.
http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/Mr_Sanchez/

Mr Sanchez · Sep 16, 2005

not to say i don't want dslr quality, i just don't expect it to be equal to dslr as a compact.
--
http://photobucket.com/albums/a325/Mr_Sanchez/

Erik37 · Sep 16, 2005

Yes the Sony is losing low contrast detail, I saw that when I
compared it to the FZ5 on a Russian site. I may be wrong, but
I don't see much substance in the talk about Sony sensors
having less noise.

Just my two öre
Erik from Sweden
F Z 5, now with up to 16x zoom ;-)

Copusmaximus · Sep 16, 2005

Have you got your new cam yet? if yes how r u finding it compared with the S7000
--
Kind Rgds

Heath

(The Amateur amateur in training)
FZ30 80%-- S9000 20% both possible buys..
S7000
Tcon17
WLFX9
Raynox DCR 150 & DCR 250
Nikon SB24+omnibounce
Vivitar 2800D
Tripod
CamCane

AlanF · Sep 16, 2005

Admittedly that's worse than the FZ10/20's constant 2.8

But who else makes a 12x 35-420 with a wider aperture at around 400mm?

Canon S2 at F3.5 seems the closest in the super-zooms (but 5MP)
Fuji S5200 38-380 F2.8-3.5 (Not released yet, No IS)
Nikon 8800 35-300 F2.8-F5 (Shorter range)
Samsung Pro 816 28-420 F2.8-F4.6 (Not released yet,No IS)

And if you want better than 3.7 on a DSLR? (Allowing a 1.6 crop factor)

There's the Canon 70-200 F2.8 at $1699 (Adorama prices) --- which isn't as wide or as long on any Canon body.

Or the Olympus 50-200 F2.8-3.5 at $999

So it's hard to see why 'ONLY 3.7' is the best in its class (and the widest of ANY lens at 420mm) but is still a 'CON'.

Nit-Pick : EKE OUT, not EEK!!! OUT

[ I have an FZ10, but lose too many shots due to its ergonomics -- looks like the FZ30 solves them. Might upgrade when the price comes down.]

danroso · Sep 16, 2005

Why S2 has been given HRecommended? It still has the best movie mode on the planet for a digital camera at this moment. Maybe Simon can tell us more about it. Even if it hasn't got manual zoom the two speed ultrasonic zoom is excelent. Have you ever tried S1 or S2 slow&silent zoom? The stereo sound quality is unmached yet on S2. Also the manual zoom on FZ30 can produce shaky images when zooming. I have noticed that when you fast panning (or normal panning) with FZ30 in movie mode the image is tore.

For me the movie mode in a ultrazoom camera is equaly important as the photo quality.

Alfisti · Sep 16, 2005

Did they have to pack so many MP is there?????????????????

Use the G6 7mp sensor and bang ... bob's your uncle.

Tels · Sep 16, 2005

Moin,

I wonder how many weeks I have to wait until I can post pictures again or whether the buzz about the "new" panasonic will continue until the next camera is released.

(128 responses in this thread, but post a picture and you get 0..4 in 3 days and then no more).

Best wishes,

Tels
--
You will be offended by my photos*:

http://bloodgate.com/photos?c=black&m=themes

If not, I'll refund your money and try again.

Erik37 · Sep 16, 2005

danroso said:
Why S2 has been given HRecommended? It still has the best movie
mode on the planet for a digital camera at this moment.

Except it fills a 1 GB card in 7-8 minutes. That makes movies on a
still camera rather limited (or quite expensive).

Though I respect that others may see it differently.

Just my two öre
Erik from Sweden
F Z 5, now with up to 16x zoom ;-)

linuxworks · Sep 16, 2005

how is the s2 movie mode any better?

vga at 30fps is what both have.

they're the same, yes?

except the fz30 CONTINUES past 1gig - the s2 stops at 1gig. that alone makes the s2is worse not better or the same!

Erik37 said:
danroso said:

Why S2 has been given HRecommended? It still has the best movie
mode on the planet for a digital camera at this moment.

Click to expand...

Except it fills a 1 GB card in 7-8 minutes. That makes movies on a
still camera rather limited (or quite expensive).

Though I respect that others may see it differently.

Just my two öre
Erik from Sweden
F Z 5, now with up to 16x zoom ;-)

--
bryan, http://www.grateful.net , http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works
~~just one man beneath the sky, just two ears, just two eyes~~ -PF

Erik37 · Sep 16, 2005

Alfisti said:
Use the G6 7mp sensor and bang ... bob's your uncle.

I'd like to hear your comments on my post with the
subject: "The Sony chip doesn't impress me":

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=14683375

Still I agree with you that 6-7 MP could have been a better
choice (though I doubt the difference would be dramatical).

Just my two öre
Erik from Sweden
F Z 5, now with up to 16x zoom ;-)

Simon Joinson · Sep 16, 2005

linuxworks said:
how is the s2 movie mode any better?

vga at 30fps is what both have.

they're the same, yes?

except the fz30 CONTINUES past 1gig - the s2 stops at 1gig. that
alone makes the s2is worse not better or the same!

I have to disagree here. VGA 30fps is no more a measure of quality than 8 megapixels is. The S2 IS movies are huge, yes, but they are much, much better quality than the FZ30's - take a look at them. I'd buy an FZ30 over an S2 for serious photography, but the S2 wins hands down on movie quality and is a better all-round choice for the more casual snapper.
S
--
Simon Joinson, dpreview.com

Guido Aijkens · Sep 16, 2005

Nice review thanks,

But nothing about the extra optical zoom?
It has some advantages above cropping later
at home, like the accurate exposure in the
field (metering and focus will be better)
Hope to get my fz 30 in a day or so.
Ordered it today, not dissapointed about
the noise.
G.
Holland

linuxworks · Sep 16, 2005

ok, I will look at the samples. I did assume that 640x480@30 was what most people cared about. the lenses shouldn't be a limit. is there an issue in the codecs? quicktime on the fz vs avi (mjpeg) on the canon?

I'm not a fan of quicktime, but maybe the codecs are a variable in this equation?

I can't think of anything else that would make one vga movie that much better than another.

Simon Joinson said:
linuxworks said:

how is the s2 movie mode any better?

vga at 30fps is what both have.

they're the same, yes?

except the fz30 CONTINUES past 1gig - the s2 stops at 1gig. that
alone makes the s2is worse not better or the same!

Click to expand...

I have to disagree here. VGA 30fps is no more a measure of quality
than 8 megapixels is. The S2 IS movies are huge, yes, but they are
much, much better quality than the FZ30's - take a look at them.
I'd buy an FZ30 over an S2 for serious photography, but the S2 wins
hands down on movie quality and is a better all-round choice for
the more casual snapper.
S
--
Simon Joinson, dpreview.com

--
bryan, http://www.grateful.net , http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works
~~just one man beneath the sky, just two ears, just two eyes~~ -PF

danroso · Sep 16, 2005

For this moment as I said, when most people have 512 Mb and 1 Gb cards S2 is the best for movie mode. It's not a big deal for me if I had a 2+ Gb card to press a button again when I riched the 1 Gb limit. There are VGA resolution in most cameras now but good movie mode needs more than that. Panasonic claims its 9 pixels readout in movie mode do better (in low light and reduced moire) but I didn't see much improvements compared with S2, actually I saw more moire and image tearing in movie mode on FZ30.

John_Reed · Sep 16, 2005

It's a GREAT feature, but I guess the reviewers only review a camera in its "pixel class," and 5MP and 3MP derivatives don't even raise any interest, even IF those features take advantage of the 8MP sensor. Go figure. You'll love your new camera!
--
Just let a smile be your umbrella!

John Reed

EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeFifteen; EffZeeThirty

Kirwin · Sep 16, 2005

The new Panny 4/3 Dslr is due around February... should hear rumors increase around New Years.

The new Panny FZ6? is due around February... should hear rumors increase around New Years.

Rumors are already on the board for the FZ25.

No pictures 'til after February. Woops forgot the rumors for the new FZ40 should be going strong during this period.

To hell with capturing pics... time to find a new hobby! ;^}

--

Regards,
Kirwin
http://timebandit.smugmug.com

Medic1210 · Sep 16, 2005

linuxworks said:
simon,

your rating seems a bit harsh to me. I've owned the s2is and if
that is HR and this is 1 step below, something is VERY wrong here -
very wrong. there is nothing the s2is does that the fz30 doesn't
do better. I just can't think of a thing! yet the s2 gets a
better grade. boggle.

Linux, this isn't just aimed at you so don't take it personally. That being said, why does it really matter what rating it got? Are you worried that Panasonic's sales are going to take a hit by a less-than-stellar rating? Maybe it needs to take a hit and wake up the R/D team at Pana to what really matters. Is Simon's "Recommended" rating going to make your FZ30 any less good of a camera for you (assuming you own one... remember this is to all the folks that are shocked). Are you worried that others will think you made a poor choice to get the camera because it wasn't highly recommended? I guess what I'm thinking is that the camera could get a "Not Recommended" rating, and it isn't going to change anything about the camera. In other words, if you have the camera and like it, then don't worry about what the rating is. After all, it's only one person's opinion of the camera. If it works for you, then be happy with it and enjoy using it. Personally I think the rating was fair because of the noise alone, but that's just my opinion, and like Simon's opinion, it isn't gonna change your opinion if you like the camera. Ratings don't mean jack unless you have stock in how well the FZ30 sales go.

Regards,

--
Mike
http://www.pbase.com/mike_curtis

I'm not resourceful enough to insert a witty quip or intelligent quote here....

Harlan Saperstein · Sep 16, 2005

Your entire argument is fallacious.
I would give the FZ-20 a substantial edge in final resolution.

From the beginning although the FZ-20 had more noise than it's predecessor there was a vast improvement in resolution when an good exposure was executed properly.

So far I have not seen this level of resolution in the FZ-30. There is a softness caused by more aggressive NR even with the camera NR setting on low.
If anything on this respect Simon went easy on the FZ-30.
Harlan

linuxworks said:
simon,

your rating seems a bit harsh to me. I've owned the s2is and if
that is HR and this is 1 step below, something is VERY wrong here -
very wrong. there is nothing the s2is does that the fz30 doesn't
do better. I just can't think of a thing! yet the s2 gets a
better grade. boggle.

think back at film bodies. each product cycle, did the 'image'
improve any? hardly! cameras were still mostly lightboxes to hold
lenses and film. the quality of the film and the lens was mostly
your picture quality, NOT the camera. so by your thinking, each
new generation of film camera should be worsely rated since the pic
quality 'didn't improve'. most of the changes in each generation
were feature improvements! my old f3hp could take pics just as
well as a modern f5 or better. so since the image quality isn't
better, maybe the latest nikon bodies should get 'dinged' in
comparison to the old ones?

I have to say I disagree with your logic, simon. I respect your
views but on this, I think you're wrong. to expect picture quality
to ALWAYS increase is to ask too much. every so often, its fine to
bump up the usability or features and keep the PQ roughly the same.
that's exactly what happend this iteration - the fz30 fixes most of
the usability flaws of the 20 and built on the good tech of the
fz5. I see the fz30 as only a step up in features and a step
sideways (same leve) in PQ. but this should not have gotton it a
lower rating than its previous model.

I know you expected more - we all did - but its not realistic to
keep expecting PQ to improve in EVERY generation. lets see what
you do on canon - if the follow-on to the s2is isn't BETTER than
the s2is, I expect the same treatment for the canon camp - lower
its rating if they don't fix the image flaws in the s2is AND also
improve its usability. (if there ever IS an s2is follow-on).

--
bryan, http://www.grateful.net ,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works
~~just one man beneath the sky, just two ears, just two eyes~~ -PF

--
http://www.pbase.com/harlanjs

AlanF · Sep 16, 2005

This Canon beats the FZ30 with a bit of a crop factor (on a 1D MkII):

Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM Image Stabilizer AutoFocus Super Telephoto Lens with Case & Hood - USA $6,599.95

FZ30 review's up

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