Did Panasonic make 35mm cameras before digital?

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for any help!

What you've heard is true to some degree but not anymore. The electronics is Panasonics and the lens is Leica. That pedigree and the affordable pricing is more than enough for a good decision.
gil

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

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And also realize that just because a company made/makes excellent film cameras doesn't mean that they can make a good digital. Look at the dSLR Contax brought to the market and had to 'put to sleep'.

Panasonic and Sony were never camera manufacturers but do have excellent electronics backgrounds. They've paired with companies that know how to produce extremely high quality glass. They're potentially much equipped than a company with an excellent record of glass and box manufacturing and little experience in electronics.

gil said:

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

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--
bob
Latest offering - 'Dusk on the Buriganga'
http://www.pbase.com/bobtrips
Shots from a bunch of places (esp. SEA and Nepal).
Pictures for friends, not necessarily my best.

http://www.trekearth.com/members/BobTrips/photos/
My better 'attempts'.

Right - Pentax's first effort at a digital SLR was a failure; they finally came out with the *ist D.

And as Gil pointed out, Panasonic is using Leica's experience with lenses, and Leica certainly has a 35mm history!
-Steve

BobTrips said:

Panasonic and Sony were never camera manufacturers but do have
excellent electronics backgrounds. They've paired with companies
that know how to produce extremely high quality glass. They're
potentially much equipped than a company with an excellent record
of glass and box manufacturing and little experience in electronics.

gil said:

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
bob
Latest offering - 'Dusk on the Buriganga'
http://www.pbase.com/bobtrips
Shots from a bunch of places (esp. SEA and Nepal).
Pictures for friends, not necessarily my best.

http://www.trekearth.com/members/BobTrips/photos/
My better 'attempts'.

Click to expand...

Absolutely correct.

I mean the biggest selling point in DMC FZ10 for me that it had the best of both worlds. Panasonic is a world renound company in electronics and Lieca lenses are known for there excellence.

Danyal

ssteppe said:

BobTrips said:

Panasonic and Sony were never camera manufacturers but do have
excellent electronics backgrounds. They've paired with companies
that know how to produce extremely high quality glass. They're
potentially much equipped than a company with an excellent record
of glass and box manufacturing and little experience in electronics.

gil said:

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
bob
Latest offering - 'Dusk on the Buriganga'
http://www.pbase.com/bobtrips
Shots from a bunch of places (esp. SEA and Nepal).
Pictures for friends, not necessarily my best.

http://www.trekearth.com/members/BobTrips/photos/
My better 'attempts'.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

PanFan said:

PanFan said:

PanFan said:

PanFan said:

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

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I agree with all the previous responses - presumably wary of this type of fear, Panasonic has teamed up with Leica for the lens (and similarly, the more ambitious Sonys have Carl Zeiss branded lenses, with Kodak and Samsung sporting Schneider Kreuznach etc. etc. - all respected optical names). Actually how much input each firm has into each part these days is open to debate - but the same applies to the well-known camera manufacturers too - Pentax seem to share a lot with Casio for example, and have had links with HP in the digital camera world too.

But actually, Panasonic did have a few 35mm and APS cameras in the past (I owned a Panasonic APS for a while). They were not in the area that would have any bearing on their more ambitious designs, though - just point and shooters. And whilst, these being modern times, it's even possible that they were themselves made, by some firm none of us have heard of, for Panasonic, it's worth noting that there were versions of these same cameras made, from time to time, for Minolta and even Leica! In fact, Minolta and Leica also historically have a partnership in the 35mm SLR and rangefinder area, dating back to the 1970's - for example, the Minolta XE-1/XE-7 and the Leica R3 SLRs were closely related and the Leitz/Minolta CLE, a 35mm coupled rangefinder camera [and the CL before it too, to some extent] was a true co-production). Minolta still thinks fondly of that camera, sampling its shutter sound for one of the sound effect choices in its Z1, Z2 etc.! However, the Leitz-Minolta partnership seems pretty much over nowadays (unless someone knows different?!).

startrekkindude said:

I've been looking around a bit and asking many people I know and
one of the tips i've heard repeatedly is "make sure to buy a digcam
from someone whos been making 35mm cameras, because of the
knowlegde of making lenses" basically, without a good lens, or good
knowledge on making them, the camera isn't that great. That is what
is stopping me from choosing between the Minolta Z3 and the
Panasonic DMC-FZ10 (or the FZ20 when that is released) Thanks for
any help!

Click to expand...

Or maybe digital cameras should only be purchased from electronics manufacturers? Without good electronics and programming, how can you have a good digital camera? After all, aren't they just computers with a specialized use?

Seriously, the current synergy of optics and electronics manufacturers is probably providing the best product for companies that don't have a lot of experience in one field or the other. But as photography marches on we'll see more and more emphasis on the electronics side. For example, as Kodak worked to raise the speed and reduce the grain of their film, companies like Panasonic are working to raise the speed and reduce the noise of their sensors.

Still, it's amusing to realize that most of the complaints/bugs in the FZ10 are electronics, i.e., firmware, related. Otimistically, I guess that means there's a potential of much improvement from Panasonic as they better direct their electronics expertise to an application that is rather new for them.

john

Actually Panasonic is not really new in image processing as a whole. Look at their video offering and also remember when they offered the 1st affordable 3 CCD video cam at less than a grand. Some will say still is different from motion capture but principle of image capturing is related. The only problem I have is that they just want to target a certain price range and thus can't give all the features that they are capable of. Of course we will see here brand segmentation like what Lexus did for Toyota, Infinity for Nissan or Acura for Honda.
gil

jmgiv said:

jmgiv said:

Panasonic as they better direct their electronics expertise to an

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application that is rather new for them.

john

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