Aposatsk wrote:.
I'm in need of a camera which fulfills the following criteria:.
1) Good ergonomics. Feels heavy and gives confidence and stability. Idefinitely want a camera with an SLR-like body. Not compact..
2) Price < 500 Canadian. Therefore, something in the 300-400$ range.I have been looking at SLR-cameras, where I don't have to buy a lensas well. Therefore, this is the TOTAL price requirement..
3) I will be taking a lot of portraits as well as landscapes. Iabsolutely love taking pictures of bright, cloudy skies as well asdarker sunsets. This is probably the most important criteria..
4) Preferably takes videos. Not a necessity..
5) Good performance in lower light..
6) As much adjustment in controls as possible. I want to learn how tocontrol exposure and things..
I've looked and through my inexperienced eyes I've found the following:.
Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Zoompanasonic lumix dmc-fz8panasonic fz20sony dsc-h5sony dsc-h2sony dsc-h1canon powershot s2iscanon powershot s3 is.
Tell me which one is best. If there is another that is not on thelist, please tell me..
Thank you very much..
I'd take either the Sony H2/H5, or Canon S3. The FZ8 is pretty okay, but doesn't have the same "low light performance" as these two. WHile Fuji is reknowned for low-light, the S5200 is an older model that doesn't perform as well as current models like the S6500 - it's still better than Sony or Canon, but lacks IS, which I think sways low-light performance back in favor of Canon/Sony..
Between Canon and Sony, it's a matter of taste for low-light - do you want grainy but detailed, or noiseless but blurry. Take a look at this comparison:.
Http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyH5/page13.asp.
Which is pretty representative of the quality differences...
Well, I like the Fuji S6000, just look at the high ISO data in this review:http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms6000fd/page6.asp.
I'm a happy FZ30 owner but envy the S6000's high ISO performance..
Dave.
Nathan Yan wrote:.
Aposatsk wrote:.
I'm in need of a camera which fulfills the following criteria:.
1) Good ergonomics. Feels heavy and gives confidence and stability. Idefinitely want a camera with an SLR-like body. Not compact..
2) Price < 500 Canadian. Therefore, something in the 300-400$ range.I have been looking at SLR-cameras, where I don't have to buy a lensas well. Therefore, this is the TOTAL price requirement..
3) I will be taking a lot of portraits as well as landscapes. Iabsolutely love taking pictures of bright, cloudy skies as well asdarker sunsets. This is probably the most important criteria..
4) Preferably takes videos. Not a necessity..
5) Good performance in lower light..
6) As much adjustment in controls as possible. I want to learn how tocontrol exposure and things..
I've looked and through my inexperienced eyes I've found the following:.
Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Zoompanasonic lumix dmc-fz8panasonic fz20sony dsc-h5sony dsc-h2sony dsc-h1canon powershot s2iscanon powershot s3 is.
Tell me which one is best. If there is another that is not on thelist, please tell me..
Thank you very much..
I'd take either the Sony H2/H5, or Canon S3. The FZ8 is pretty okay,but doesn't have the same "low light performance" as these two.WHile Fuji is reknowned for low-light, the S5200 is an older modelthat doesn't perform as well as current models like the S6500 - it'sstill better than Sony or Canon, but lacks IS, which I think swayslow-light performance back in favor of Canon/Sony..
Between Canon and Sony, it's a matter of taste for low-light - do youwant grainy but detailed, or noiseless but blurry. Take a look atthis comparison:.
Http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyH5/page13.asp.
Which is pretty representative of the quality differences...
Given your criteria and choices I would suggest :.
Either the S6000/6500 or the S5200/5600 ( cheaper, not as good in low light ). Although the S5200 is an older camera it's quite a good camera and under-appreciated IMO. The S6500 is a lovely camera and, short of a DSLR, I think you'd be very happy with it..
As you want to do landscapes budget also for a basic tripod and a memory card. People tend to forget those things..
StephenG.
Pentax K100DFuji S5200Fuji E900PCLinuxOS..
Ive always thought the FZ20 was the best of the lot at Panasonic. F2.8 all the way to 12X and a hot shoe are features I like. I didnt know you could still find them new. Im torn between looking for a good used FZ20 or ordering a new FZ8..
The FZ8 has some nice features. Raw mode lets you bypass any in-camera noise reduction. If you arent interested in post processing that isnt much of a feature. But I can do better with a noise plug-in than what cameras do perhaps with the exception of the Fuji F series with the great 1/1.7 6Mp sensor. And the FZ8 cycles fast enough in raw to make it useable. Ive had cameras that raw was useable only in static situations..
The FZ8 also has the nicest EVF of the group much better than previous FZs and somewhat better than the others listed. That can be significant when you are trying to focus or make adjustments in the EVF. If you look at Simons resolution chart you will see the FZ8 also has higher resolution than the others listed. I really wish they had put a sync connector socket on it though. I dont need a hot shoe as Im willing to use a bracket. Why they wont hide a flash connector socket somewhere on digital cameras is a mystery to me..
Ive always liked the articulated LCD on the Canon S series. I wish all larger cameras had that. The stereo sound in movies is nice too. They finally put a hot shoe on the S5, but that isnt much help in your choice I assume it is over your price limit. An external flash unit makes a BIG difference in the quality of your flash shots. Especially if you get or make a diffuser for it.
You can get a decent auto bounce flash unit for $30..
Simon in every H series Sony review has commented that the stabilization isnt as effective as Canon and Panasonic. Owners tend to disagree, but Simon has them there side by side doing tests and I would lean toward his opinion..
If you take a lot of available light photos of things that are moving I think the Fuji S6000 is probably the best choice. I find you dont have to crank up the ISO that often with stabilization unless you are capturing action. I tend to prefer stabilization to high ISO, but that is very dependent on what you tend to shoot. Using burst mode I find I usually capture a sharp image after the first shot at 1/4 second at a fairly wide angle. That usually suffices if nothing is moving..
With stabilization I dont find I need a tripod for scenery unless the lighting is very poor. Sunsets are usually fine even without stabilization...
Aposatsk, as you may already know, you can probably still find brand new FZ7s and S3 ISs for 400 Cdn but they become rarer by the day..
It might be a good idea to look at the photos posted in the Canon, Fugi, Sony and Panasonic Talk forums here at dpreview. The pics will tell you a lot of what you want to know...
I think this is your best bet for perusing photos. Most have EXIF and that usually tells you if it has been through an editor: http://www.pbase.com/cameras Click on a brand and then find the camera. There are often thousands of photos available from that camera...
Pity you can't stretch the budget to the Fuji S6000/6500. It takes awsome sky shots and has advantage over Sony/Canon of less chromatic abberation in such high contrast situations..
It doesn't have IS but has superior low-light performance and has real compact SLR feel and relatively light weight. And something that the Canon/Sony do not have which may sound trivial to someone who hasn't used one - a manual zoom ring on the lens (just like an SLR) - easier and quicker to use than rocker swithces..
Cheers..