Z1 vs SLR

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins ( conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.
• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10 as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,, Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for 12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

I tried the Z1 for a week and took it back. Yes the focus and shot-to-shot times are really good for a camera at this price but the long zoom is useless unless you can shoot in bright conditions due to camera shake. And if you increased the ISO to counter this then image noise gets too high. The Kodak would be worse for action shots as it is much slower than the Z1 especially between shots. The FZ-10 might be OK as it has image stabilisation and a great long zoom but its speed for focussing and shot-to-shot times are unknown at this stage but I would be surprised if they were as good as the Z1.

I would look closely at the A1 which has some really good features for your needs and also the Canon Digital Rebel/300D which I ended up buying although you will need to factor in a telephoto zoom lens for your sports shots. The A1 might be the cheaper route at this stage but I would try both out before buying.
nashi

nashi said:

I tried the Z1 for a week and took it back. Yes the focus and
shot-to-shot times are really good for a camera at this price but
the long zoom is useless unless you can shoot in bright conditions
due to camera shake. And if you increased the ISO to counter this
then image noise gets too high. The Kodak would be worse for action
shots as it is much slower than the Z1 especially between shots.
The FZ-10 might be OK as it has image stabilisation and a great
long zoom but its speed for focussing and shot-to-shot times are
unknown at this stage but I would be surprised if they were as good
as the Z1.
I would look closely at the A1 which has some really good features
for your needs and also the Canon Digital Rebel/300D which I ended
up buying although you will need to factor in a telephoto zoom lens
for your sports shots. The A1 might be the cheaper route at this
stage but I would try both out before buying.
nashi

Click to expand...

Dear nashi,

Thank you for your comments. It is very relevant. As you mentioned the A1 seems a good alternative. I need to look back closely at the others DC mentioned also.l I will chek the review on it. Best regards
GGER

Not to contradict Nashi, especially as I am a beginner, you might consider running a search within this forum for the DiMage Z1 and read some of the other posts. I have been reading everything on Z1 for 2 months now and Nashi is one of only two that have mentioned returning the z1 and unhappy with it (outside of a couple of faulty exchanges - as would be the case with any cam).

As a beginner, which it sounds like you are not, I love the Z1 because it is very easy to use out of the box, the menus are very intuitive, and all of the manual options (or combo of smei-manual) provide a wonderful opportunity for learning curve. It has action modes and burst modes, 30fps and 15fps movie modes (get a large and fast card), macro and super macro and of course the 10x optical zoom which is working wonderfully for me!. You might want to read up a bit on it: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/Z1/Z1A.HTM (review updated 10/24/03).

Granted, Z1 may not be a perfect camera, I suspect none are, but when you take into consideration bang for the buck, Z1 is hard to beat. I suggest you read more in the forums and camera reviews (of the cams you are considering), compare posted sample shots and then look at the money factor. If you do not care too much about the cost, you might consider this: get a Z! (or similar) to start learning digi and you can always pass it along to your kids. if you are really into it - you can always upgrade because the industry is in such a state of change that if you really want a cam to last a long time - you need to sort of wait for the indusrty to stabilize. These days, there is a new camera announced almost daily with more features and more megapixels, the digi-SLRs are just starting to come out and at this rate - what will be here by next Christmas???

Good luck!
~ Lou ~
{Lovin my Z1}

gger said:

nashi said:

I tried the Z1 for a week and took it back. Yes the focus and
shot-to-shot times are really good for a camera at this price but
the long zoom is useless unless you can shoot in bright conditions
due to camera shake. And if you increased the ISO to counter this
then image noise gets too high. The Kodak would be worse for action
shots as it is much slower than the Z1 especially between shots.
The FZ-10 might be OK as it has image stabilisation and a great
long zoom but its speed for focussing and shot-to-shot times are
unknown at this stage but I would be surprised if they were as good
as the Z1.
I would look closely at the A1 which has some really good features
for your needs and also the Canon Digital Rebel/300D which I ended
up buying although you will need to factor in a telephoto zoom lens
for your sports shots. The A1 might be the cheaper route at this
stage but I would try both out before buying.
nashi

Click to expand...

Dear nashi,
Thank you for your comments. It is very relevant. As you mentioned
the A1 seems a good alternative. I need to look back closely at the
others DC mentioned also.l I will chek the review on it. Best
regards
GGER

Click to expand...

When I picked up the Z1 after reading most of the posts here, I wasnt expecting too much. Then, I turned the camera on, and tried to focus. BAMM!!!

I was in a camera store with fairly decent lighting, but obviously no where near outdoor lighting. It focused in an instant. I thought to myself "this cant be, must have just been close to focused before I pressed shutter". So I played with it a little more.

I would focus at something 2 feet away, then try getting the back of the store. Its autofocus is lightyears ahead of my Dimage 7i whos autofocus is notoriously slow .

So, sorry for my narative, but the Z1's autofocus is darn fast, and the camera is real light so you wont be concerned about bringing it everywhere. Good luck with your purchase!
--
-D7i user
http://www.pbase.com/ph0t0man

Hi,

I too have recently given up my SLR a CANON 650. (75-300 zoom), Sad to see it go as when switched to auto you had to do something pretty stupid to get a bad photograph. Looked around in my price range for a long time before deciding on the Z1 and that was pre launch. The downside is the lens seems a little loose but causes no problems. The battery compartment is a little fragile, occasionally the viewfinder/LCD screen mech sticks, and under certain conditions you get CA . Well am I happy with the camera? a profound yes. Even given these niggles. The zoom range is really great, the focus is fast and accurate (I use it for sports photography) and to make it faster you can set the auto focus to be on all the time. On the auto setting the camera can set the ISO too high and introduce noise but with a little practice using the program settings and setting to ISO 50 you can get great pictures. The Shutter Priority setting is the same as an SLR and its 1/1000 sec exposure is well fast enough to stop action at 40 MPH. Of course it is not an SLR camera but for the price I think this is one of the best in its range. I am very happy with it and would not change it now unless I was going to move into the £800-£1000 range.

GGER, check out this recent message thread (in this forum), there are several sample galleries posted within this thread: Minolta Dimage Z1 Macros pictures.

Good luck,
~ Lou~

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

The only complaint I have about my Z1 thus far is the semi-good low light auto focusing. It focuses fast, but can get confused it seems if not entirely stable. Granted I'm shooting 8 sec shutter, on ISO 50, with a 3.5 aperture, so maybe I'm being a tad picky.

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.' - Plato

L.R. said:

As a beginner, which it sounds like you are not, I love the Z1
because it is very easy to use out of the box, the menus are very
intuitive, and all of the manual options (or combo of smei-manual)
provide a wonderful opportunity for learning curve. It has action
modes and burst modes, 30fps and 15fps movie modes (get a large and
fast card), macro and super macro and of course the 10x optical
zoom which is working wonderfully for me!. You might want to read
up a bit on it: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/Z1/Z1A.HTM
(review updated 10/24/03).

Granted, Z1 may not be a perfect camera, I suspect none are, but
when you take into consideration bang for the buck, Z1 is hard to
beat. I suggest you read more in the forums and camera reviews (of
the cams you are considering), compare posted sample shots and then
look at the money factor. If you do not care too much about the
cost, you might consider this: get a Z! (or similar) to start
learning digi and you can always pass it along to your kids. if
you are really into it - you can always upgrade because the
industry is in such a state of change that if you really want a cam
to last a long time - you need to sort of wait for the indusrty to
stabilize. These days, there is a new camera announced almost
daily with more features and more megapixels, the digi-SLRs are
just starting to come out and at this rate - what will be here by
next Christmas???

Good luck!
~ Lou ~
{Lovin my Z1}

gger said:

nashi said:

I tried the Z1 for a week and took it back. Yes the focus and
shot-to-shot times are really good for a camera at this price but
the long zoom is useless unless you can shoot in bright conditions
due to camera shake. And if you increased the ISO to counter this
then image noise gets too high. The Kodak would be worse for action
shots as it is much slower than the Z1 especially between shots.
The FZ-10 might be OK as it has image stabilisation and a great
long zoom but its speed for focussing and shot-to-shot times are
unknown at this stage but I would be surprised if they were as good
as the Z1.
I would look closely at the A1 which has some really good features
for your needs and also the Canon Digital Rebel/300D which I ended
up buying although you will need to factor in a telephoto zoom lens
for your sports shots. The A1 might be the cheaper route at this
stage but I would try both out before buying.
nashi

Click to expand...

Dear nashi,
Thank you for your comments. It is very relevant. As you mentioned
the A1 seems a good alternative. I need to look back closely at the
others DC mentioned also.l I will chek the review on it. Best
regards
GGER

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Dear L.R

Thank you for your reply. I will specially give a tough to the fact that the industry of the DC is "in a state of change, - you need to sort of wait for the indusrty to stabilize". I will try to be patient and will continue to read reviews and relevant coments as yours. I appreciate , it is helful.

GGER

matt davids said:

When I picked up the Z1 after reading most of the posts here, I
wasnt expecting too much. Then, I turned the camera on, and tried
to focus. BAMM!!!
I was in a camera store with fairly decent lighting, but obviously
no where near outdoor lighting. It focused in an instant. I
thought to myself "this cant be, must have just been close to
focused before I pressed shutter". So I played with it a little
more.
I would focus at something 2 feet away, then try getting the back
of the store. Its autofocus is lightyears ahead of my Dimage 7i
whos autofocus is notoriously slow .
So, sorry for my narative, but the Z1's autofocus is darn fast, and
the camera is real light so you wont be concerned about bringing it
everywhere. Good luck with your purchase!
--
-D7i user
http://www.pbase.com/ph0t0man

Click to expand...

Dera Matt, thank for your info. I didn't know the 7i has tyhat smow reputation.
GGER

I'm also a recent convert from a Canon SLR to digital. The Z1 is my pick considering its low price and full SLR features (and yes, much lighter too!)

To answer the question whether the Z1 can produce the exact same good quality as film SLR - my verdict is No. I am happy and satisfied with the results but definitely no wedding or important shoots with a Z1...!

Thks

Fury340 said:

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

T2Ryoku said:

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Dear T2Ryoku, Thank you sharring your experience. The Z1 looks interesting. How about these comments regarding the "fragility" of the System wich switch from EVF to LCD, the difficulty of focusong in low light.

Click to expand...

Best regards
GGER

Well, some people are having trouble with the switching. It's known to get stuck, but I haven't had this problem. Personally I don't know why you wouldn't just use the LCD, if there is a small perecentage of error with using the screen the picture can be cropped.

The low-focusing, is really low-light focusing, though I'm using it in my house, with only one light at the room, attempting to take pictures of corners (3 different shades of one color, kinda cool), otherwise I haven't had any issues. I'd recommend it.

gger said:

T2Ryoku said:

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Dear T2Ryoku, Thank you sharring your experience. The Z1 looks interesting. How about these comments regarding the "fragility" of the System wich switch from EVF to LCD, the difficulty of focusong in low light.

Click to expand...

Best regards
GGER

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.' - Plato

T2Ryoku said:

The low-focusing, is really low-light focusing, though I'm using it
in my house, with only one light at the room, attempting to take
pictures of corners (3 different shades of one color, kinda cool),
otherwise I haven't had any issues. I'd recommend it.

gger said:

T2Ryoku said:

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Dear T2Ryoku, Thank you sharring your experience. The Z1 looks interesting. How about these comments regarding the "fragility" of the System wich switch from EVF to LCD, the difficulty of focusong in low light.

Click to expand...

Best regards
GGER

Click to expand...

Thank you for the info.

Click to expand...

I am still a bit concern by few thing regarding DC. I had the A1 in hand yesterday at a store. I was very desapointing by LCD and the EVF. I seeems kind foggy , absolutly ot as clear as it is in a reflex like my Minolta 3001. So,how make nice pictures if you do not see very clearly the sublect. Next concern , the AF speed and the actual time necessary to shoot after you have pressedhe button. Des it make shooting objecet in movement complicated. I am thinking about picture of sports as mentionned earlier(ski rugby etc. )

The answers to these concernswould help to select the right DC. Thankyou

GGER

Fury340 said:

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Click to expand...

When it comes to autofocusing the Z1 has one of the quickest reflexes there is. There is also very little lag between the time you hit the shutter, and when it takes the picture (unless your in darkness, but granted it takes longer for the AF to focus). I haven't had the chance to use mine on a fast-moving subject yet, so I can't truely comment. But check out the reviews, I believe they cover some of that. Good luck.

gger said:

T2Ryoku said:

The low-focusing, is really low-light focusing, though I'm using it
in my house, with only one light at the room, attempting to take
pictures of corners (3 different shades of one color, kinda cool),
otherwise I haven't had any issues. I'd recommend it.

gger said:

T2Ryoku said:

gger said:

Hi, I have a Minolta 3001(zoom 75-300). It is on the heavy side.I
intend to switch to digital Camera for some reasoins (
conviaviality, lighter, PC transfer etc).Even if I take mostly
hollidays's pictures (sports picture, like ski and my son's rugby
games etc.) I am pretty serious about the quality of the picture.

• Does a camera like Z1 can n do the job better then my old

Minolta. How about the quality of the images? How about the speed
of the Auto focus compare to my old Minolta 3000i?.

• Shouls we consider the Minolta Z1, Kodak 6490? Panasonic FZ 10

as serious DC or kind of toys full of nice features?

• For good quality should I have to go for the more expensive and

more sofisticated camera like Minolta A1, Nikon cool Pix 5700,,
Sony DSC-F717? By the way are they faster in term of Auto focus?.

It is not easy to select a new camera, I own the Minolta 3000i for
12 years, I just hope my next buy would make happy for few years.

Thank you very much for your explanation and advises,

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Dear T2Ryoku, Thank you sharring your experience. The Z1 looks interesting. How about these comments regarding the "fragility" of the System wich switch from EVF to LCD, the difficulty of focusong in low light.

Click to expand...

Best regards
GGER

Click to expand...

Thank you for the info.

Click to expand...

I am still a bit concern by few thing regarding DC. I had the A1 in
hand yesterday at a store. I was very desapointing by LCD and the
EVF. I seeems kind foggy , absolutly ot as clear as it is in a
reflex like my Minolta 3001. So,how make nice pictures if you do
not see very clearly the sublect. Next concern , the AF speed and
the actual time necessary to shoot after you have pressedhe button.
Des it make shooting objecet in movement complicated. I am thinking
about picture of sports as mentionned earlier(ski rugby etc. )

The answers to these concernswould help to select the right DC.
Thankyou

GGER

gger said:

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no
matter how slow.' - Plato

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
. : Minolta Z1 Owner : .

'Never discourage anyone...who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.' - Plato