Canon Z135

[Harlee]

I picked up a Canon Z135 recently in mint condition - I'm impressed with its specs. However, I notice when looking through the viewfinder the image isn't sharp, even when it's in focus via AF. Anyone out there have a Z135, and if so is your viewfinder a bit "unsharp?" I'd like to pick up another one but afraid that it may be the same. I've had this problems with a couple of other Canon P&S AF cameras, but the majority of my Canon P&S AFs have a very sharp viewfinder. 🙁

 

[Greyscale]

I have one, and the one thing that I don't like about it is the viewfinder. It might be OK for users who don't wear glasses, but it really would have been much better with a diopter adjustment. Like you, I find it a little lacking in sharpness when I use it while wearing my bifocals. Plus, the VF is a little on the small side.

It is a wonderful picture taker, and very quiet for a point & shoot. And it has very nice macro for a compact camera:


Grasshopper by Greyscale3, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/sets/72157625302786573/detail/

Mine is currently listed on that popular auction site. But not due to any deficiency in the photos that it produces.

If you want to try a similarly featured camera with a nicer viewfinder that does have diopter adjustment, I really like my Samsung Maxima 1350Ti, which often goes ignored at auction. Here is a set that I took with mine:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/sets/72157625302727265/detail/

 

[Harlee]

I agree. I'm not sure why Canon didn't place a diopter adjustment on this model. How do the specs on the Samsung compare with the Z135? I do have a Samsung 105mm which produces great pictures, but for traveling, the 135mm is nice to have as long as the min. F-stop is somewhere around F8 or thereabouts. The Canon 105 is good and
the Z135 is approximately the same, but with a larger max F-stop. I'll check out the Samsung.

 

[Greyscale]

The aperture range on the 1350Ti is 4.7-12.7, so it is not as fast as the z135. My shots taken at max zoom in daylight turned out well nonetheless, but I probably wouldn't use film slower than 400 ASA when using the zoom.

I haven't found a manual for it yet, but the controls and features are rather intuitive, and I like that it has a jog wheel to cycle through modes so you don't have to push any buttons.

It lacks the exposure compensation and spot metering available on the Z135, but the exposure comp controls on the Z135 are a bit of a pain to set anyway.