KenRothman
Takes really bad pictures
So, i've been mostly shooting film lately with my Bessa R3A or Nikon FE2. Went on vacation earlier this year with the FE2 and my trusty old Canon S400 for digital P&S (circa 2003).
Well, it's done. Could maybe be fixed, but I have decided it's not worth pursuing that.
Also, I am planning on buying a new high-end digital compact by the end of the year, waiting for micro 4/3 to mature a little and see what happens.
In the meantime, i need a new P&S for me to use, and also for my wife to use occasionally. (in "granny" mode)
So, usage concerns are -> incidental snapshots. occasional attempts at arty shots if no other camera is available. And the biggie is that i'd hope it to have some reasonably performance in low light w/o flash. For example, shooting pix of friend's rock bands playing in clubs. Don't have to be DSLR high-iso spectacular... but at least recognizable.
I have three choices, and am not sure what to do...
1. New Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15. It's tiny, gets decent reviews, etc. I like the IS, the 5x zoom, the size, etc. Concerns are tiny 12mp sensor noise, etc. And maybe not the best build quality. (The old S400 is a tank).
The other two are a little different... i have a friend who has GAS and has settled on a Digilux 4. So, he has a couple of older P&S' he's willing to sell to me inexpensively.
2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. circa 2007. i like the form factor of this one, still pretty small. really like the 10x zoom. only 7MP, but that may not nec. be a liability if it provides higher image quality. but that's my main concern... it's hard to tell from the reviews how it's going to perform. excellent build quality.
3. Nikon Coolpix P5000. also circa 2007. This is physically the biggest, but not by much. feels good in the hand. has a OVF. 10mp. only a 3.5x zoom. VR. this one is the most "photographer"-like camera, with nice controls and a fair amount of manual overrides and control. i kinda like that, but i already have it with my film cameras and whatever i end up buying later this year. Also, supposedly kinda slow to focus, etc.
So what to do? The TZ3 and P5000 will be significantly cheaper than the FS15... but which takes the best pix? Also concerned with usability, etc. Honestly, it'll be used as a P&S 90% of the time, probably.
Very inticed by the smallness of the FS15, but feeling like the P5000 may take better pix. And not sure how to feel about the TZ3.
I've actually got all of them in my grubby hands, so I will have to take them out this weekend and do some comparisons... but if anyone out there has any experience with any of these models, I'd be thrilled to hear about it.
Well, it's done. Could maybe be fixed, but I have decided it's not worth pursuing that.
Also, I am planning on buying a new high-end digital compact by the end of the year, waiting for micro 4/3 to mature a little and see what happens.
In the meantime, i need a new P&S for me to use, and also for my wife to use occasionally. (in "granny" mode)
So, usage concerns are -> incidental snapshots. occasional attempts at arty shots if no other camera is available. And the biggie is that i'd hope it to have some reasonably performance in low light w/o flash. For example, shooting pix of friend's rock bands playing in clubs. Don't have to be DSLR high-iso spectacular... but at least recognizable.
I have three choices, and am not sure what to do...
1. New Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15. It's tiny, gets decent reviews, etc. I like the IS, the 5x zoom, the size, etc. Concerns are tiny 12mp sensor noise, etc. And maybe not the best build quality. (The old S400 is a tank).
The other two are a little different... i have a friend who has GAS and has settled on a Digilux 4. So, he has a couple of older P&S' he's willing to sell to me inexpensively.
2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3. circa 2007. i like the form factor of this one, still pretty small. really like the 10x zoom. only 7MP, but that may not nec. be a liability if it provides higher image quality. but that's my main concern... it's hard to tell from the reviews how it's going to perform. excellent build quality.
3. Nikon Coolpix P5000. also circa 2007. This is physically the biggest, but not by much. feels good in the hand. has a OVF. 10mp. only a 3.5x zoom. VR. this one is the most "photographer"-like camera, with nice controls and a fair amount of manual overrides and control. i kinda like that, but i already have it with my film cameras and whatever i end up buying later this year. Also, supposedly kinda slow to focus, etc.
So what to do? The TZ3 and P5000 will be significantly cheaper than the FS15... but which takes the best pix? Also concerned with usability, etc. Honestly, it'll be used as a P&S 90% of the time, probably.
Very inticed by the smallness of the FS15, but feeling like the P5000 may take better pix. And not sure how to feel about the TZ3.
I've actually got all of them in my grubby hands, so I will have to take them out this weekend and do some comparisons... but if anyone out there has any experience with any of these models, I'd be thrilled to hear about it.