Canon S1 IS or Panasonic FZ3?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

js - 13 Dec 2004 21:53 GMT

I've narrowed my choice down to these 2. I wanted a long, stabilized lens. I
know they are both only 3 megapixels. They are both the same price.
Any opinions on which to get?
Thanks

Reply to this Message

David J Taylor - 14 Dec 2004 07:52 GMT

> I've narrowed my choice down to these 2. I wanted a long, stabilized
> lens. I know they are both only 3 megapixels. They are both the same
> price. Any opinions on which to get?
> Thanks

Cameras which are ZLRs - SLR-like - have their own newsgroup:

rec.photo.digital.zlr

which you might like to visit.

When choosing between those cameras we went for the Panasonic FZ20 with
its excellent f/2.8 Leica lens and 5MP resolution. If only 3MP had been
acceptable, likely we would have chosen the Canon becuase it uses CF cards
and AA batteries.

Cheers,
David

Reply to this Message

phoneguy - 14 Dec 2004 16:16 GMT

I'm looking seriously at the Cannon S1 because of its image stabilizer
function. Don't know if I'm making more of this feature than I should. No
other cameras in this bracket seem to have that feature. I tried it out at
the camera counter and it definitely makes a difference. I don't think I'm
as steady as I used to be, either :-).

I like the idea of AA batteries. More available, etc. Just hope I don't have
to constantly keep charging the spare set and always carry extras.

Finally, the long zoom seems nice to me, a photo amateur. The things I've
read seem to indicate that a photo taken zoomed in will require less
cropping and enlarging, thus the 3.2 mp will give good results, because
others would loose some quality after enlarging the cropped area to
compensate for less zoom.

Jim

>> I've narrowed my choice down to these 2. I wanted a long, stabilized
>> lens. I know they are both only 3 megapixels. They are both the same
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Cheers,
> David

Reply to this Message

David J Taylor - 14 Dec 2004 16:41 GMT

> I'm looking seriously at the Cannon S1 because of its image stabilizer
> function. Don't know if I'm making more of this feature than I
> should. No other cameras in this bracket seem to have that feature. I
> tried it out at the camera counter and it definitely makes a
> difference. I don't think I'm as steady as I used to be, either :-).

If you need the long zoom, and are slightly shaky, the stabiliser will
help. In fact, it helps in many shots. For example, my wife recently
went to a St Lucia event (Swedish), and did a hand-held candle-lit 1/4s
shot with her FZ20.....

> I like the idea of AA batteries. More available, etc. Just hope I
> don't have to constantly keep charging the spare set and always carry
> extras.

I would /always/ carry a spare set. Having to change one battery rather
than a set of four cells is a lot more convenient in the field. Otherwise
you can end up with eight cells rolling all over the floor!

> Finally, the long zoom seems nice to me, a photo amateur. The things
> I've read seem to indicate that a photo taken zoomed in will require
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Jim

Difficult trade off - you're comparing 3.2MP with a long zoom and, say,
5MP with a normal zoom? The 5MP only gives you a 1.25X gain in
"resolution", so only an extra 1.25X in cropping. So a 3.2MP with the
"380mm" of the Canon S1 could be matched by a 5MP camera with a "304mm"
lens.

I would rather ask: "What are your photographic needs?". Do you need the
long zoom or not? Do you want to take lower-light pictures of static
subjects?

Cheers,
David

Reply to this Message

phoneguy - 15 Dec 2004 14:58 GMT

My photographic needs are really simple. I just want a simple camera to take
on vacation, get shots of the kids, indoor/outdoor, etc. I thought the long
zoom would be nice for those times, especially on vacation, where you just
can't get close to the subject and need a little more zoom.

If I go with a 4 or 5 mp, then the resolution will be comparable to "zoomed
in" 3.2mp?

Jim

>> Finally, the long zoom seems nice to me, a photo amateur. The things
>> I've read seem to indicate that a photo taken zoomed in will require
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> Cheers,
> David

Reply to this Message

David J Taylor - 15 Dec 2004 16:44 GMT

> My photographic needs are really simple. I just want a simple camera
> to take on vacation, get shots of the kids, indoor/outdoor, etc. I
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Jim

The 5MP will give you a linear gain of 1.25X over the 3.2MP for the same
quality, meaning that (taking the FZ3) its maximum zoom is 420mm (in 35mm
euqivalent terms), so you would need 420/1.25 i.e. a 336mm zoom on a 5MP
camera to get the same number of pixels on the subject (i.e. "same
quality"). I don't know if any 5MP cameras offer this (with image
stabilisation).

I would suggest you compare the size and handling of both the S1 IS and
the FZ3 in a shop and see which prefer, Even see which instruction manual
you prefer. Tha Canon may be the "simpler" camera, and it does have the
swivel LCD finder, which migh er. swing it for me!

Cheers,
David

Reply to this Message

Bryan Lee - 15 Mar 2005 05:55 GMT

The FZ15 is a 4 mp and the FZ20 is a 5 mp and the both have image stablizer.
I found the FZ3 for $289, the FZ15 for $369, and the FZ20 for $419 at
amphotoworld.com . The FZ15 and FZ20 have f2.8 thur the whole 12x optical
zoom. I friend has the FZ20 and it's great, it easy to use and take great
pictures. All the FZ can take about 4 picture a sec. I look at the cannon
(which are going for $399 at most place) and the FZ3. After using the FZ20,
The FZ3 and the cannon seemed like toy. I ordered the FZ15. It have
everything the FZ20 less the hotshoe, mic, and 1 megapixel. I think I will
be happy with my choice. Hope this helps

>> My photographic needs are really simple. I just want a simple camera
>> to take on vacation, get shots of the kids, indoor/outdoor, etc. I
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> Cheers,
> David

Reply to this Message