H1 vs S2IS vs FZ30

Has anybody out there had the opportunity to use the H1 next to the Canon S2IS and the panasonic fz30? I would love to hear about your experiences and how the H1 stacks up in terms of image quality and ease of use (inc fun factor). Thanks

Charlene

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Old Bob Can't say with hands on against the other cams,but I have read reviews,users opinions 'till I'm cross eyed.I hate to use noise reduction so the pany is out for me..The lcd is not good enough for my (older)eyes on the Canon,in bright sun...The only kick I've heard on the H1 is awb under tungston light..I will handle an H1 mon.to make sure then order one from B&H same day,plus a bunch of toys for it...I have a dslr but the nice people here have sooo much fun with it I gotta go for it.Bob

Autumn said:

Has anybody out there had the opportunity to use the H1 next to the
Canon S2IS and the panasonic fz30? I would love to hear about your
experiences and how the H1 stacks up in terms of image quality and
ease of use (inc fun factor). Thanks

Charlene

Click to expand...

Hi Charlene

You won't likely find anyone who has compared all three cameras. Most of your information will come from users of one. I own the S2IS, so I can comment about it.

I bought my S2 in July, so I've had it a little over 3 months. I've had no problems, except with good focus in still shots. That has been solved now. The cure is not to use Continuous AutoFocus for still shots. The S2 has a lot of powerful, wonderful features and is easy to use and friendly. The menus are well organized. The S2 takes fabulous movies in 2 resolutions at 2 frame rates. It records movie sound in stereo. Of course the S2's major features are the long zoom lens and the Image Stabilization. Both work very well to produce hand held photos at full zoom with good clarity. The S2 has a lot of creative modes as well as programmed modes for new users. Gradually, you will move to creative modes. (Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual and Custom) The colors are bright in photos. It has a flip and twist LCD display, which works at two brightness levels. It does an excellent job with close up macro photography, having even a SuperMacro Setting that can focus to less than a inch from the lens. Now that's close up. It uses AA batteries, which you can find everywhere. You should get the 2300-2500 mAH rated ones, which you can find at WalMart and many other stores. It's lightweight; weighs just over a pound and is in the compact class. You can record sound clips with your still shots for audio captions. You can also use it as an audio recorder for up to 2 hours of recording. The S2 has amazing features for the price.

Best of luck on your choice.

Glenn

I don't think you will go wrong with any of these cameras. It comes down to personal preferences and what features are more important to you.

I wanted the FZ30 when I read about it. It is a very nice camera, but it is the largest and heaviest of the three. It has a manual zoom ring and focus ring, hot shoe, and 8MP that is sharp. It is about the same as the Sony H1 in shutter lag and autofocus times. It has more noise than either the H1 or S2, but many folks that have it say it's not a big deal and prints look fine. All the same, seeing visible noise at ISO 80, even on resized pics on the web gave me pause. I was very close to getting the FZ30.

The S2 is also a very nice camera. It has a faster burst rate (2.5 pics/second until the memory card fills) and is 5MP like the Sony H1. It has the most shutter lag of the three. A number of folks have mentioned random soft/out of focus problems with pics in the Canon forum. Perhaps continous autofocus is the cause, but not all the folks complaining were using that feature. The S2 has the best macro of the three.

The Sony H1 felt right, has a 2.5 inch screen that can be seen in sunlight (doesn't flip out or twist), very accurate autofocus, very good auto WB, and amazing color accuracy and midtones. The burst rate is the slowest of the bunch, and powerful flash but recycle time is the slowest.

I ended up getting the Sony H1, and don't regret it at all. The pictures posted by H1 users just amaze me with the wonderful colors, midtones, boken, and sharp focus. I urge you to look around and pics posted, hold each of the cameras, play with them and enjoy what ever one you get!

Here are links to pictures I've posted on this forum:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=15733114

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=15744240

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'If you find yourself on the side of the majority, its time to pause and reflect.' - Mark Twain

I've been comparing these cameras myself, (but not the Canon) it has been a great dilemma for me. I went to my local camera store and held the FZ30, nice camera, nice EVF, nice overall feel, but a bit beefy, might as well stick with my Nikon D70. The FZ30 is lighter of course, but still bulky, and I wanted something more compact to easily tote around.

I held the FZ5, but felt a bit too plasticky for me. Like it was more toyish. Feel is important to me, so this camera was ruled out immediately.

I also played with the H1. Made of plastic also, but felt a bit sturdier. Surprised by the very low shutter lag, especially when you turned the auto preview off, nearly felt as quick as my D70 (nearly, but not as quick of course, but the best of any non DSLR I've tried so far, with the exception of the Canon SD300 oddly enough). Very small EVF which kind of bugged me, but had a lovely LCD, but I still like using the EVF. Uses two AA batteries, which I really am in favor of.

I told the salesman, "I'll take it". Then he said, "This is our only one", and I really didn't want the display model, and he was honest enough to tell me it's been handled quite a bit..... So,....I will probably run over the Circuit City tomorrow, that is, if I still feel the camera lust burn inside me.

I found the H1 to have a better autofocus. More keepers. Get to say "amazing" a lot. Returned the S2 with no regrets.

The FZ30 was not out at the time....but noise at low ISOs would be a problem for me. Very happy with the H1 even after trying 3 dSLRs as well.

Dave

Unfortunately I only have one camera store where I live, and trying out all the different cameras (out of the store) I'm interested in is not an option. I've been leaning towards the H1 but the sales assistant in the shop said "it is basically made of all Konica Minolta parts, just look at the similarities in shape and design between the H1 and the Konica Minolta Dimage Z6 camera." He then asked "would you buy a Konica? If so then go ahead and buy the H1" He then recommended I look at the panasonic fz30 as you can't beat 8MP. On my questioning about noise, he replied that in all the prints he has run off a fz30 so far, he hasn't seen any. What does everybody think of this???????

Well, don't know about the H1 being made with Konica parts. First time I've heard of it. Initially, I had the S2 IS and H1 in mind until I heard of FZ30. Besides the much publicised noise, the FZ30 is just great. Depending on what size of print you are talking about, noise might and might not be an issue. 4R is definitely not an issue for all current cameras. A4? Not a problem if you shoot at ISO80 or 100.

Autumn said:

Unfortunately I only have one camera store where I live, and trying
out all the different cameras (out of the store) I'm interested in
is not an option. I've been leaning towards the H1 but the sales
assistant in the shop said "it is basically made of all Konica
Minolta parts, just look at the similarities in shape and design
between the H1 and the Konica Minolta Dimage Z6 camera

Click to expand...

looks like the KM-Sony partnership has gotten into some people's heads .. as for the similar looks .. gosh there are a lot of "similar looking" cams out there, have a peek at the Hasselblad H1, now that one looks also "similar" to the Sony H1 .. I think that sales guy wanted to sell you an FZ30, period
& BTW .. the H1 was conceived well before the KM-Sony marriage was on .. FWIW

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Another salesperson who doesn't know squat about what really matters in Photography. What's gonna mean more to you as you trip the shutter - the brand label on the top, or the image that comes out?
R2

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Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

Hi,

Ive not tried the S2, but I do own and use both and FZ5 (which is allegedly quite similar to the FZ30) and a H1.

Why both you may ask?

I knew I was looking for a super zoom camera but didnt know which one, so I bought them both so that I could see which one I wanted to keep and e-bay the other. I ruled out the Canaon as I've owned a few over the last year and overal I havent really liked the type of image they gave.

Both the FZ5 and H1 take good shots, and operate about the same in terms of speed etc. I cant comment on video modes etc as I dont really use them that much.

In overall terms I prefer the image quality from the H1 over the FZ5 for varoius reasons. The most overwhelming one for me though is that I get far more shots straight out of the H1 that have the WOW factor.

I dont know if Sony have the contrast/satuartion/sharpness defaults tweeked or something, but the shots always seem to be punchy and appealing as opposed to the FZ5 where they can sometimes seem a bit flat and grainy.

I dont want to open a can of worms (Ive already done that on the Panasonic forum!) but I'm starting to feel the two cameras are aimed at different types of photographer. The H1 give great results staright out of the box, which some may say have been overprocessed - whereas the FZ5 may be more suited to the 'post processor' who like to tweek photos afterwards. Both are valid, and neither right or wrong.

Ive heard some arguments that the FZ5 shots are more akin to images from traditional 35mm cameras, whereas the H1 images have a more 'consumer' look. I dont know if this is true or not - I just know which type of image appeals to me personally.

Take a look at a selection of images from the cameras you are intesested in on http://www.pbase.com - Ive always found the images to be quite representative of the results Ive got with the different cameras Ive owned. Let your eyes be the judge!

Either way you would be happy with your choice, but thats just my opinion. Hope it helps!

Ian Grant wrote:
snip

Ian Grant said:

.... The H1 give great results
staright out of the box, which some may say have been overprocessed

• whereas the FZ5 may be more suited to the 'post processor' who

like to tweek photos afterwards. Both are valid, and neither right
or wrong.

Click to expand...

I've read this type of comment about everywhere ... overprocessed .. but maybe I have a different H1 my pictures always seem a tad too soft to my taste, in fact if I compare them to the ones taken with the G6, those from the G6 may seem a bit "overprocessed" so I very much wonder who sets and what are the criteria to define "overprocessed"

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...is clearly superior to the other two. Actually, it's not even a contest. The FZ-30 has a manual zoom-ring, like real SLR lenses, while with the H1 and S2-IS you have to get by with awkward electronic levers. This alone puts the FZ-30 in a different league.

Never mind noise, never mind any other aspect of image processing, never mind AF and a few other incidentals.

Yes, I'm a fan of manual zoom too, but you sound like you'd have a ball with it even if someone put a bullet through the glass, dead centre. Long as it didn't disable that fantastic zoom ring.

For someone who drops the term "moron" here and there with such abandon, you're kinda taking a risky line, aren't you? ;-)

talent28 said:

...is clearly superior to the other two. Actually, it's not even a
contest. The FZ-30 has a manual zoom-ring, like real SLR lenses,
while with the H1 and S2-IS you have to get by with awkward
electronic levers. This alone puts the FZ-30 in a different league.

Click to expand...

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Mike
Melbourne

I understand your point, but the H1 and FZ5 auto focussing work fine.

At the end of the day, you need to go for the one whos images appeal to you the most. I wouldnt personally choose one camera over another because it had a specific feature unless the image quality was better as well.

One obviously needs to take into account the ergonimics and functions of the different units on offer, and I suppose how much of an enthusiast you are will detrimine what level of control and functionality you require.

To me its the quality of the image that will capture those memories, but I have learnt that different things appeal to different people - it would be a dull world if we were all the same!

talent28 said:

...is clearly superior to the other two. Actually, it's not even a
contest. The FZ-30 has a manual zoom-ring, like real SLR lenses,
while with the H1 and S2-IS you have to get by with awkward
electronic levers. This alone puts the FZ-30 in a different league.

Click to expand...

.. sure and for the price of an FZ30 I can buy 1.5x H1's ? and then it remains to be seen what will be most appreciated when putting the end results of the cams next to one another ... leaving alone the amount of PP the cams may_neet/may_not_need to produce a pleasing result ... maybe "noise" is an issue at that moment ?

.. and I have no reason to doubt the end conclusions of the FZ30 review on this very forum so I'd rather buy an FZ5 if there wasn't the H1 ..
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfz30/page17.asp

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Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

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...the H1 has remarkable contrast/color curves for a digicam. The midtones are accentuated, which is not only esthetic, but also helps retain detail at the high and low ends.

There is nothing "consumer" about this. This is just excellent in-camera photo processing. In the Nikon DSLR worlds, most users download custom curves to try to achieve what the h1 does right out of the camera.

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