Reason for Lumix DMC-FZ5/FZ4 ...

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:06:47 -0800, ThomasH wrote:

> I just saw the announcement on dpreview and some technical data.
> Personally i think that these models look like the FZ15 and FZ20.
> Same rendering engine (venus II), same resolution, no improvement
> in sensitivity, almost identical controls.
>
> Hm.... what is this new release about??
>
> Actually, the Leica Elmarit 6-72mm lens seems to be... less than
> the lens on the older models FZ10 through FZ20! The older lens
> has a constant f/2.8, while the new has f/2.8-3.3! So what
> possible motivation could someone have to chose FZ5 over the FZ20?

These are followups to the FZ1/2... not the FZ10/15... so they are *much*
smaller. The sensor is a little bigger physically and I assume there has
been a slight compromise on lens design to cover the bigger image circle.

--
John Bean

I tried to wrestle my inner demons once... but they used to many illegal
holds (Amanda McAllister)

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

ThomasH <henrymot@coco.net> wrote:
> I just saw the announcement on dpreview and some technical data.
> Personally i think that these models look like the FZ15 and FZ20.
> Same rendering engine (venus II), same resolution, no improvement
> in sensitivity, almost identical controls.
>
> Hm.... what is this new release about??

Cheaper lens, for a start. These are aimed at people who'd otherwise
probably be buying Minolta Z's rather than Minolta A's like the
FZ10/15/20. The 3/4/5 are aimed at replacing the bottom end of the
FZ range.

> has a constant f/2.8, while the new has f/2.8-3.3! So what
> possible motivation could someone have to chose FZ5 over the FZ20?

Price, primarily. The FZ20 is aimed at a higher market sector. For some
people, size/weight might be an issue too. The 10/15/20 are quite large
cameras.

--
pete@fenelon.com "there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas"

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Pete Fenelon" <pete@stratos.fenelon.com> wrote in message
news:tc9fuc.4ck.ln@fenelon.com...
> ThomasH <henrymot@coco.net> wrote:

> The FZ20 is aimed at a higher market sector. For some
> people, size/weight might be an issue too. The 10/15/20 are quite large
> cameras.

The first review is up for the FZ5. I dunno. I see lots of jaggies in the
sample pics.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz5-rev...

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

True211 <true211@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "Pete Fenelon" <pete@stratos.fenelon.com> wrote in message
> news:tc9fuc.4ck.ln@fenelon.com...
>> ThomasH <henrymot@coco.net> wrote:
>
>> The FZ20 is aimed at a higher market sector. For some
>> people, size/weight might be an issue too. The 10/15/20 are quite large
>> cameras.
>
> The first review is up for the FZ5. I dunno. I see lots of jaggies in the
> sample pics.
>
> http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz5-rev...
>

Bloody hell - it sharpens *way* too much. Could it be the first digital
camera where the last item in your usual workflow is a blur rather than
a sharpen?  

pete
--
pete@fenelon.com "there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas"

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 04:31:27 -0500, "True211"
<true211@gmail.com> wrote:

>The first review is up for the FZ5. ...

>http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fz5-rev...

Just read it. Interesting!

I own a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1-2 (see photo samples at
http://www.michna.com/kenya2004/ and related pages, if you
like).

Test photos show that these ultra-zoom lenses are unable to
produce a sharp 2 Megapixel picture over the entire area of the
photo. They are able to produce a sharp center of the photo, but
near the edges and near the corners you get enough chroma errors
that you would have to reduce the resolution to 0.2 Megapixels
to eliminate them.

In this respect, raising the resolution to 3, 4, and even 5
Megapixels with the same lens looks partly like a marketing
gimmick.

I would love to swap my camera for a better one, but so far I
fail to see the reason.

One other thing that would convince me is an articulated
(swivelling) viewfinder, which all of these cameras still lack.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

John Bean wrote:
>
> On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:06:47 -0800, ThomasH wrote:
>
> > I just saw the announcement on dpreview and some technical data.
> > Personally i think that these models look like the FZ15 and FZ20.
> > Same rendering engine (venus II), same resolution, no improvement
> > in sensitivity, almost identical controls.
> >
> > Hm.... what is this new release about??
> >
> > Actually, the Leica Elmarit 6-72mm lens seems to be... less than
> > the lens on the older models FZ10 through FZ20! The older lens
> > has a constant f/2.8, while the new has f/2.8-3.3! So what
> > possible motivation could someone have to chose FZ5 over the FZ20?
>
> These are followups to the FZ1/2... not the FZ10/15... so they are *much*
> smaller. The sensor is a little bigger physically and I assume there has
> been a slight compromise on lens design to cover the bigger image circle.

But of course! I have not noticed the remark on the top,
its a successor to the FZ3! They are smaller indeed and
this explains that the zoom if f/2.8-3.3.

I am curious if the sensor is less noisy than the FZ3.
Personally I consider the sensor in FZ10 as 'noisy' at
ISO200, outright unusable with ISO400. Other than that
this Leica zoom and the image stabilization puts the
FZ20 atop of the 5Mpix pack.

Thomas

>
> --
> John Bean
>
> I tried to wrestle my inner demons once... but they used to many illegal
> holds (Amanda McAllister)

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 10:56:24 -0800, ThomasH wrote:

> John Bean wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:06:47 -0800, ThomasH wrote:
>>
>>> I just saw the announcement on dpreview and some technical data.
>>> Personally i think that these models look like the FZ15 and FZ20.
>>> Same rendering engine (venus II), same resolution, no improvement
>>> in sensitivity, almost identical controls.
>>>
>>> Hm.... what is this new release about??
>>>
>>> Actually, the Leica Elmarit 6-72mm lens seems to be... less than
>>> the lens on the older models FZ10 through FZ20! The older lens
>>> has a constant f/2.8, while the new has f/2.8-3.3! So what
>>> possible motivation could someone have to chose FZ5 over the FZ20?
>>
>> These are followups to the FZ1/2... not the FZ10/15... so they are *much*
>> smaller. The sensor is a little bigger physically and I assume there has
>> been a slight compromise on lens design to cover the bigger image circle.
>
> But of course! I have not noticed the remark on the top,
> its a successor to the FZ3! They are smaller indeed and
> this explains that the zoom if f/2.8-3.3.
>
> I am curious if the sensor is less noisy than the FZ3.
> Personally I consider the sensor in FZ10 as 'noisy' at
> ISO200, outright unusable with ISO400. Other than that
> this Leica zoom and the image stabilization puts the
> FZ20 atop of the 5Mpix pack.

I never liked the FZ10, far too big for what it is. I have a FZ1 (with
updated firmware) which is still too large to be pocketable but it's a handy
camera despite being only 2MP and lacking a few features. With the firmware
changed I can use aperture or shutter priority on the FZ1, but no manual
operation.

As long as this new pair are no more noisy than the FZ1 I'd be interested in
one of these as a replacement, offering useful extra features like manual
operation as well as more resolution. If you want low noise you need a
DSLR... like my Pentax *istDS :-)


--
John Bean

The most overlooked advantage to owning a computer is that if they foul up
there's no law against wacking them around a little (Joe Martin)