LZ8 for $89

toomanycanons said:

How about IQ you ask. I'll get back to
you on that one after I do a mini-shootout of my own with the LZ8 and
my Canon SD cameras.

Click to expand...

Yes, I ask lol! My girlfriend's sister is debating taking back her TZ5 before the 10 day window and getting the LZ8 which my girlfriend got for 1/3 the price. The sister was asking me "what should I do". She doesn't care about the VF, or even the extra zoom. The flash recycling was definitely faster on the TZ5, but she didn't seem to concerned about that either. The lens on the TZ5 is a lot larger, so I'm guessing that the LZ5's IQ should be better (MP's being close to the same), but if the IQ is comparable, that might sway her to simply get the LZ8.

So the results of your mini-shootout will be looked for!

Thanks!

Wayne
http://www.pbase.com/wayne_n

Wayne N. said:

Wayne N. said:

How about IQ you ask. I'll get back to
you on that one after I do a mini-shootout of my own with the LZ8 and
my Canon SD cameras.

Click to expand...

Yes, I ask lol! My girlfriend's sister is debating taking back her
TZ5 before the 10 day window and getting the LZ8 which my girlfriend
got for 1/3 the price. The sister was asking me "what should I do".
She doesn't care about the VF, or even the extra zoom. The flash
recycling was definitely faster on the TZ5, but she didn't seem to
concerned about that either. The lens on the TZ5 is a lot larger, so
I'm guessing that the LZ5's IQ should be better (MP's being close to
the same), but if the IQ is comparable, that might sway her to simply
get the LZ8.

So the results of your mini-shootout will be looked for!

Thanks!

Wayne
http://www.pbase.com/wayne_n

Click to expand...

--

Still no mini-shootout but I will say this: I paid $196 plus shipping for my TZ5 on ebay and really like it. Yes, the LZ8 is a pretty cool little camera, especially at $89 but you'll probably pay a little more than that. Right above the LZ8 in the store I was in was a TZ5 "Special!" for $250. I'm just saying $196 vs $90, I'd go with the TZ5. All I've said so far is it kinda looks like the TZ5, the menu looks the same but I need to do a bunch of testing to tell you it really IS a mini-TZ5. Check ebay for a $196 TZ5, might still be some available.

I'll be looking for start-up time, shot to shot time, continuous shooting times, focus times under adverse conditions, IQ, flash to flash times, quality of the LCD---there's a whole lot to compare with my Canons and my TZ5 besides just price. Slow flash recycling times don't mean much to me, they might mean everything to the next guy.

On the other hand, if you DO see an LZ8 for $89.99 you might just want to snag it and keep it during the "you can take it back with no penalties" period, you know, just to have it. Hey, I've now got 10 cameras...something's gotta give, it's a sickness!

If I hadn't read the budget camera shootout here, and if people hadn't reported back Yeah, it's a steal at $89, I never would have given that camera a second thought. I've always thought, though, there there were cameras flying under our radar that were uber-worthy but didn't sell, causing the manufacturer to begin tearing their hair out screaming "The consumers ask us for (fill in the blank) we give it to them and nobody buys it? Sheeesh!"

What blew me away about the DPReview shootout is that the LZ8 beat out the Canon A590. I have the A570 and love it. Either the 590 must not be the camera my 570 is, or the LZ8 is that good. We'll see.

Yes toomany, you're a sick sick person lol! Btw, you "mini-shootout" sounds pretty major to me!

Fwiw, here in Vancouver BC Canada:

• Panasonic LZ8 $159 @ costco
• Panasonic TZ5 $350 @ somewhere (not sure)
• Canon A590 $129 @ best buy

toomanycanons said:

What blew me away about the DPReview shootout is that the LZ8 beat out the
Canon A590. I have the A570 and love it. Either the 590 must not be the
camera my 570 is, or the LZ8 is that good. We'll see.

Click to expand...

I saw the A590 for that price today and almost bought it, thinking that my girlfriend could compare it and the LZ8. Will you be testing the A590? The thing that mainly stopped my interest in the A590 were the flash recycling time complaints that I have read about (my girlfriend will be using the camera at parties quite a bit, so that is somewhat relevant for her). Also, the 32mm wider angle of the LZ8 is pretty cool (and 5x zoom).

Again, I'll be interested in your findings!

Cheers,

Wayne
http://www.pbase.com/wayne_n

Wayne, in your earlier post you mentioned vf (I assumed view finder) but in the report on tz5 does not list viewfinder. Have they changed this or does it actually have a viewfinder. That would be worth quite a bit to me. As far as the extra zoom, I have enough trouble holding the thing still out at arms length with the 5x zoom. Acutally, I keep my lz8 set where it has a 6.8x zoom. Set it as 5 mp and you get up to 205mm equivalent. The flash recycling is pretty slow on the LZ8. I just got my grandson a FS3 and for indoor flash stuff it is considerably better from the point and shoot mode for indoor shooting. It recycles much faster and ups the iso more than the LZ8 in auto making the flash reach much greater. I picked the FS3 up for $88.

Where do you buy your Egrips? In addition to my LZ8, I have several other digicams that could use a better finger grip.

Thank you,

Jerry D.
Littleton, CO
[email protected]

I sure wish the Virginia Office Depot was $89.

toomanycanons said:

So I went into the Office Depot I usually go to...and there was an
LZ8 on display. "$89.99" said the big yellow card. Now you know and
I know that none of us needs more cameras but I bought it anyway.
It's a sickness. They had two new in the back and I got one of them.

It's like a mini-TZ5. Venus 4, 32 wide 5x optical. Manual control
if you so desire! It's freaky holding the thing in my hand, it's
like my TZ5. You go into the menus and it's pretty near the same.
It weighs 198 grams including SD card and two AA batteries. It's
going to need some Egrips on it because it's black and slickery. It
sez "Leica DC Vario-Elmar 3.3-5.9" which sounds like a pretty slow
lens on both ends. Is it really a Leica lens or did Panasonic just
borrow the name and specs? How about IQ you ask. I'll get back to
you on that one after I do a mini-shootout of my own with the LZ8 and
my Canon SD cameras.
--

Click to expand...

Here is the Denver-Metro area, I purchased an LZ 8 at a Big Lots store for $99. I was told that Big Lots has acquired some of the camera inventory of Circuit City stores that are closing.

jfdirishguy said:

Here is the Denver-Metro area, I purchased an LZ 8 at a Big Lots
store for $99. I was told that Big Lots has acquired some of the
camera inventory of Circuit City stores that are closing.

Click to expand...

I went into a Big Lots yesterday and the manager said they sold out of "that little camera" on Black Friday. That's ok, I got one at Office Depot for $89 a few days before that (in the Denver area). I'd never been in a Big Lots and lo and behold they had a rack of Lowepro camera cases. So I didn't walk out empty handed.

As we all know here in the Denver area the weather has gone south since I got my FZ8. I've tried to carry it around and take a bunch of pics but it's not like I've been able to go mountain bike riding and taking scenery shots like I usually do. It's 0 degrees (no wind) right now so I don't think that's going to happen today either! Maybe I'll just take pics inside my house and check flash recycling times, something I've never done with any of my cameras.

I tried BL here, no luck.

The LZ8 just isn't worth more than $89 to me, so I will wait it out.

toomanycanons said:

jfdirishguy said:

Here is the Denver-Metro area, I purchased an LZ 8 at a Big Lots
store for $99. I was told that Big Lots has acquired some of the
camera inventory of Circuit City stores that are closing.

Click to expand...

I went into a Big Lots yesterday and the manager said they sold out
of "that little camera" on Black Friday. That's ok, I got one at
Office Depot for $89 a few days before that (in the Denver area).
I'd never been in a Big Lots and lo and behold they had a rack of
Lowepro camera cases. So I didn't walk out empty handed.

As we all know here in the Denver area the weather has gone south
since I got my FZ8. I've tried to carry it around and take a bunch
of pics but it's not like I've been able to go mountain bike riding
and taking scenery shots like I usually do. It's 0 degrees (no wind)
right now so I don't think that's going to happen today either!
Maybe I'll just take pics inside my house and check flash recycling
times, something I've never done with any of my cameras.

--

Click to expand...

YAY!!! I just ordered from J&R yesterday and it shipped this morning at 4 am! I ended up paying $109 but the shipping was free and no tax so I figure that isn't so bad. I am really looking forward to my new LZ8 because I've been puttering along with my ancient 1.3 mp Fuji finepix 1300 for years now! I figured it was about time to upgrade a tad.

(BTW, this is my first post)
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digitally challenged