TZ80/ZS60 upgrade anyone?

davesurrey said:

Mikedigi said:

Since DPR stopped reviewing fantastic market-leading travel zooms properly (Yawn - another bloody miracle!!!), hard facts are hard to come by.

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It's probably heresy to say it here but www.cameralabs.com do great reviews of such cameras.

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Maybe this sinner can add a guilty alternative - as well as comment etc, one of the VERY few who also provides a decent range of JPG and RAW samples...


Peter

Isola Verde said:

Maybe this sinner can add a guilty alternative - as well as comment etc, one of the VERY few who also provides a decent range of JPG and RAW samples...

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_lumix_dmc_tz70_review

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Thanks Peter, yes, I agree and I do go there.

Cameralabs was a surprise to me, I have sent Gordon a Buy Me A Coffee donation before he goes away.

And I look forward to his TZ80 review.

Mike

Hi Mike,

What do you mean when you say ...before Gordon goes away?

davesurrey said:

Hi Mike,

What do you mean when you say ...before Gordon goes away?

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Sorry, it was a tongue-in-cheek remark: I meant that if he is getting fed up with doing all this reviewing work for nothing, a Buy Me a Coffee donation might brighten his day and encourage him to carry on long enough to review the TZ80 when he gets it, as I need that review.

Mike

Ah, I see. No problem.

He seems extremely keen and does many reviews each year which seem to me to be quite detailed and also non-biased. Plus it's nice to see shots of Brighton rather than boring old Seattle all the time.

davesurrey said:

Ah, I see. No problem.

He seems extremely keen and does many reviews each year which seem to me to be quite detailed and also non-biased. Plus it's nice to see shots of Brighton rather than boring old Seattle all the time.

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Indeed!

But what with that one, PhotographyBLOG and Phil Askey's little baby, Britain's made quite an enduring contribution to camera reviews?

Peter

Isola Verde said:

But what with that one, PhotographyBLOG and Phil Askey's little baby, Britain's made quite an enduring contribution to camera reviews?

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Indeed, but not just with photography review sites but, considering our tiny island status, we've made a significant contribution to so many things in life.

davesurrey said:

Ah, I see. No problem.

He seems extremely keen and does many reviews each year which seem to me to be quite detailed and also non-biased. Plus it's nice to see shots of Brighton rather than boring old Seattle all the time.

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LOL!! Definitely.

Mike

Mikedigi said:

ANAYV - Great analysis , thanks. I have the ZS7/TZ10 and I am still kind of happy with it.

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Thanks , Mike.

Mikedigi said:

Just a quick shot, pro and con upgrade to ZS60/TZ80:

PRO:

Jump from 25-300 mm to 24-720, and probably still a great lens.

EVF!!!!

Erik Olsen will be getting happier all the time.

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He did want this in a camera like these, for many years, although these days, I think he prefers the add on Clear Viewer.

Mikedigi said:

Lovely to hear that Panasonic still has its world-leading Confusing Names Department. If that went, it would be like when David Bowie killed off Ziggy Stardust.

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Hahaha...good one!

Mikedigi said:

CON:

For me, who wanted the ZS/TZ to go plastic and lighter, adding weight from 218g to 282 g is a con. I accept that I may be lonely here.

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I hear ya. I enjoyed the slightly slimmer ZS30, over my previous ZS19 and ZS20. Still not a huge difference, though, IMHO.

Mikedigi said:

Decisions, stress, buyer remorse, having to start thinking again.

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I get a headache every time I do that

Mikedigi said:

Guilt, inability to look my ZS7/TZ10 in the eye.

DON'T KNOW:

Likeability.

Image quality, really. Since DPR stopped reviewing fantastic market-leading travel zooms properly (Yawn - another bloody miracle!!!), hard facts are hard to come by.

TIGHTWAD FACTOR:

Wait till there are Unwanted Present ads for the ZS60/TZ80 on Ebay UK (just after next C********s?) and then quickly read what ANAYV has said about it up to that point, and buy one if he is sufficiently ecstatic.

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Haha...and lets hope he didn't buy on impulse

ANAYV

ANAYV - Thanks for the thread, it will be interesting to see how the ZS60 (and the ZS100) are received by the Forum.

Mike

ANAYV said:

ANAYV said:

For relative long zoom compact camera I got the 12MP PowerShot SX130. ;-)

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...Too slow a camera, with slow AF.... Too frustrating to use, for 'me'.

The ZS/TZ AF doesn't slow you down , when one wants a few quick grab shots, and the 5FPS burst mode really helps, as does no screen freeze, or blackout during continuous fps bursts.

Hence why I would always choose a ZS over the Canon equivalent...Canon still can't get their camera's to AF quickly, and still freeze the display

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In good daylight conditions SX130 with the single/ center AF works quite well; not noticeably slower than the FZ150 or FZ200.

ANAYV said:

Battery life is another issue I have with their compacts.

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Unlike some of the other smaller Canon PowerShots with their small Li-on type batteries the SX130 IS uses two AA type batteries. With AA NiMH 2500mAh batteries, battery life has never been an issue. According to Canon when using two Canon NB-3AH NiMH rechargeables, the quoted CIPA battery life is 370 shots.

At the time for "my" hands, I like the size/ shape of the SX130, and the pop-up flash being centered above the lens. I mainly purchased the SX130 IS for the longer focal length to complement my G15 for traveling light/ pocketable option. Occasionally at venues that are limited to small P&S cameras I'll still use the little A710 IS for its 35-210mm equiv f/2.8-4.8 lens. ;-)


400 ISO -- Unfortunately not in the EXIF data.

ANAYV said:

Their I.Q. is fine, though.

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Over the years of downloading various full size Canon and Panasonic JPG images from online reviews, IMHO Canon's JPG NR, especially at higher ISO's, tends to be better than Pany's JPG NR -- as you yourself noted comparing FZ200 and SX50 HS images. Hence why with the FZ150, FZ200, and FZ1000 I shoot RAW.

Cheers,
Jon