Panasonic TZ3 vs. Canon SD1000 I'm looking to replace my several-years-old Canon S500, and am trying to decide between the SD1000 and the TZ3. While I'm aware that they're not completely in the same price-range, I am very interested in the TZ3 because of its wide-angle capabilities.One thing I was disappointed in with my S500 was the low-quality pictures from low-light environments.Does anyone have any comments on either of these two cameras?Much appreciated! Panasonic TZ3 vs. Canon SD1000 I'm looking to replace my several-years-old Canon S500, and am trying to decide between the SD1000 and the TZ3. While I'm aware that they're not... » Read More Panasonic TZ3 vs. Canon SD1000 I'm looking to replace my several-years-old Canon S500, and am trying to decide between the SD1000 and the TZ3. While I'm aware that they're not completely in the same price-range, I am very interested in the TZ3 because of its wide-angle capabilities.One thing I was disappointed in with my S500 was the low-quality pictures from low-light environments.Does anyone have any comments on either of these two cameras?Much appreciated! « Show Less
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well, the TZ3 is more for outdoor/good light photos.... its bad for low-light(because the flash is weak, and the anti-noise algorithm employed by the processor for high-ISO blurs out fine detail)..... consider your priorities.... zoom, type of surrounding for shooting, size, price...
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TZ stands for Travel Zoom. This means great for outdoor sene shots you can zoom in on. Canons are hard to beat in low light, but have limited zoom and are larger for same features.
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you may want to search the customer reviews on these cameras. I've seen comparisons of the 2 in the reviews and usually, the ZS3 wins out. one reviewer said the difference in the ois wasn't noticeable. hope that helps.
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I compared the Canon SX30is with the Nikon P100, and the Nikon CLEARLY won when I was comparing image quality. I returned the Canon, and when I found out the P500 was being released, I also returned the Nikon P100 and will patiently wait for the P500. Where did you get your Canon? Some places have a 90 day return policy (Sams).
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I am looking for a camera of this range. My short list is like this Panasonic FZ 100, FZ40, Fuji Film HS10, Kodak Easyshare Z 981 and Olympus SP 800 UZ. Basically I am looking for a camera useful for birdwatching - distant shots, high optical zoom, faster speed etc. can you pl help me in selection. e mail haridas53@gmail.com
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The Canon is a bit smaller, it can get a little closer in macro mode, and you can zoom (so-so focus) in movie mode. Those are the only advantages that I'm aware of for the Canon SD800/850. None of these issues were significant enough to stop me from switching. The TZ3 has a bunch of benefits above and beyond the Canon. I have owned 3 Canon SD's (110, 210, 400) and the next feature I wanted was zoom, but I didn't want to give up size. The Lumix is has a 10x zoom and is only a little bit larger. It is still small enough to carry in my pocket. (I carry it with me all the time.) The zoom is fantastic. The Optical Image Stabilization is excellent. The screen is big and has a super bright mode for bright daylight situations. The movie mode, macro mode, the wide angle, and the battery are all great. I can't say enough about this camera.
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Hi Technology Guy,I liked you responses to the questions asked by fellow buyers. You may find me moron asking this but I searched quite a bit on google but did not get any definite answer. Could you help me decide if it is wise to buy T3i (600D) with "Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens" and do not buy "EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens"? OR if I need to have both lenses to start with. Thanks in advance.
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I really like the Panasonic ZS30. I do not have the Fuji f900, although I've heard nice things about it. Google www.dpreview.com. I think they have professional reviews of both cameras. Might also try www.whatdigitalcamera.com. Another good place for professional reviews is www.cameralabs.com. If you go to www.whatdigitalcamera.com, it is a British magazine, and the ZS30 is known as the TZ40 in Europe - same camera. Both the Fuji and the Panasonic are highly rated. Another option to consider - Panasonic has announced that the ZS40 - next upgrade - will be coming out in March. It will have a 30X zoom, RAW shooting, and EVF, and several other new features. Might want to check that one out if you can wait a bit.
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I have upgraded my S90 to the new S120. I have used my S90 extensively as a second camera for traveling and decided to upgrade to the S120. I like the new camera size being smaller and the touch screen. Overall the S120 has a lot of new features which I haven't particularly used. The only gripe that I have is the image quality of the S120 is not as good as the S90. I taken alot of pictures with both and the S90"s pictures are sharper. It might not mean much to most people but I like my pictures razor sharp. My S90 is sharper than my 2 DSLR. Just my opinion.
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I have been wondering the same thing & still can't decide. I was wondering if you have decided yet & if so which way you went? I have a Pentax Optio A10 right now & I love everything about it except the shutter speed so I have been looking for a new one & can't decide between the Sony DSCW80 & the Canon SD1000.
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Michael, I own a Panasonic DMC-FZ30. If I had the money I would switch to this S100 for one main reason, that being low light capability. The 30 is limited to ISO 400, I see the 50 can go all the way up to 1600 so that may do the trick. Other than that I'm quite happy with the 30. I've had it three years, taken 1000's of photos of which I'm pretty happy. However the low light limits me quite often. The 30/50 have sensors much smaller than the s100. I think Fuji would have been better off with the large sensor they used but with 8 megapixels which would have improved photo quality, especially at the higher ISOs. The megapixel race is one of the biggest problems in the digital camera arena today. There again the 50 and S100 aren't that far apart in the megapixel race but look at the size of the Fjui sensor - wow! I would enjoy the 2 1/2 inch LCD over the 30/50's 2". I wouldn't miss the rotating feature on the Panasonic as I mostly use it in vertical modes and the Fuji provides that. Another thing I'd want is better video. Even though the three cameras have the same specs I'm disappointed with the Panasonic results. The video from my 30 aren't as good as my wife's Sony W50 point-and-shoot. I guess I'd have to hold them in my hand to compare the Fuji 100 vs the Panasonic 50. My conclusion for you? If I had the 50 in hand already I wouldn't be looking to upgrade. The Panasonic is bound to have more noise due to the smaller sensor. The Fuji looks like it has less noise but there are rampant complaints about purple fringing although most say it only shows up on hard contrast shots. The Panasonic is better at purple fringing but worse on noise - choose your weakness. Battery life is awesome on my 30 and it is indicated to be lower on the S100. Are these differences worth the difference in price (50=$579 S100=$655 9/19/08 on Amazon). If it was me purchasing today I'd go for the S100. What did you decide?
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Hello Amy. I see that you've not gotten a reply yet for a few days. I own the Canon SX130is camera that is nearly identical to that of the next version, the SX150is. I even owned the previous model of mine now, SX120is. THe only reason for the upgrade was to get HD video and stereo sound. Other than that, I loved that camera too. I've not studied the others you are deciding on but just looked them over. THere's not a "night & day" major difference between them. Differences of 2x zoom power is not major IMHO. Frames per second in burst mode shooting is. Size may be a factor too. But I can tell you why I like my camera. A manual flip up flash allows unmistakeable control over the flash and keeps the camera from waisting power charging for a flash that you didn't need for that shot. The option of complete manual settings is a must. And the advantage of using AA batteries gives you limitless flexibility of power. Don't let the negative reviews tell you that you cannot take lots of photos with this camera. If you get some high capacity rechargable batteries and enough for an extra set, you'll be good. Several here have recommended Sanyo Eneloop brand cells. That they come precharged and hold that charge for extended periods of storage time. A friend of mine used them and swears by them. I use Ansmann 2850 mAh batteries (which are higher capacity) and they give me nearly 200 more shots in my Canon SX20is than what is rated in the camera manual.
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Hi, I was wondering if you could elaborate more on your response? I am trying to decide between these two cameras. I love the look of the Lumix photos taken in good lighting, but I have read many reviews commenting on the weakness of the Lumix in low-light situations. I read one person's comment that they returned their Lumix ZR3 for a Canon SD940 to have better overall quality of photos regardless of the lighting situation. Can you tell me what your experience has been with this?
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By the way, Panasonic.com doesn't have much info on the ZS3. But Panasonic.net has an entire minisite for it! If you haven't checked it out, here's the link below. Very impressive that they spent so much time providing detailed info. Says a lot about their commitment to the product and consumer segment.http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/zs3_tz7/index.html
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I don't think the T300 is in the same class as the G10 and LX3, in terms of features and image quality. I'm a Canon guy and I really wanted to get the G10. But it was a marginal improvement over the G9. And the low light performance is still lacking. I tend to shoot a lot of indoor and night time pics, so the LX3 was a better choice for me. But if you're more of an outdoor daylight shooter, the G10 blows the LX3 away. And I have to say that Canon has a better menu system and user interface. The Panasonic UI takes some getting used to. I would highly recommend browsing through Flickr to get an idea of the image quality that comes from each of the cameras. It should help you decide on the best camera for your needs. And Amazon uses automated scripts to adjust pricing. If a Marketplace reseller offers it for a lower/higher price, the Amazon price will drop/increase by X dollars. So if you're looking for the best price from Amazon, it helps to be a little obsessive and check every half hour or so. :-)
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I'm between the same two models, and was also considering the Canon SX30IS. I recommend you read the in-depth reviews on www.imaging-resource.com. Unfortunately, despite all the great features of the Panasonic FZ100 and the Leica lens, it's image quality doesn't compare to the Nikon. Compare the noise and detail of the sample images in both of these reviews. It's too bad, I was about to get the FZ100 until I saw how poor the image detail was up close. But that website ended up giving the Nikon P500 a high recomendation, while they could not in good conscience give the FZ100 any sort of recomendation at all.
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I can't give you a comparison of them. I can tell you the S1000 is an awesom bridge camera. You can have full manual control or just use auto. The zoom is great both optical and digital. I highly recommend the S1000. Other revues I've read say shooting video you can hear the lens motor when zooming and ths is true. However you can remove the sound when editing the project.
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I'm between the same two models, and was also considering the Canon SX30IS. I recommend you read the in-depth reviews on www.imaging-resource.com. Unfortunately, despite all the great features of the Panasonic FZ100 and the Leica lens, it's image quality doesn't compare to the Nikon. Compare the noise and detail of the sample images in both of these reviews. It's too bad, I was about to get the FZ100 until I saw how poor the image detail was up close. But that website ended up giving the Nikon P500 a high recomendation, while they could not in good conscience give the FZ100 any sort of recomendation at all. I'm between the same two models, and was also considering the Canon SX30IS. I recommend you read the in-depth reviews on www.imaging-resource.com. Unfortunately, despite all the great features of the Panasonic FZ100 and the Leica lens, it's image quality doesn't compare to the Nikon. Compare the noise and detail of the sample images in both of these reviews. It's too bad, I was about to get the FZ100 until I saw how poor the image detail was up close. But that website ended up giving the Nikon P500 a high recomendation, while they could not in good conscience give the FZ100 any sort of... » Read More I'm between the same two models, and was also considering the Canon SX30IS. I recommend you read the in-depth reviews on www.imaging-resource.com. Unfortunately, despite all the great features of the Panasonic FZ100 and the Leica lens, it's image quality doesn't compare to the Nikon. Compare the noise and detail of the sample images in both of these reviews. It's too bad, I was about to get the FZ100 until I saw how poor the image detail was up close. But that website ended up giving the Nikon P500 a high recomendation, while they could not in good conscience give the FZ100 any sort of recomendation at all. « Show Less