Panasonic or FujiFlim

[shenoes]

I wanted to get a digital Cam for my ROM this coming JuNE. Ideally one which is like semi pro & pictures come out also can haf SLR effect.

Am confused whether to get Fujiflim Finepix S2000 HD or Panasonic Lumix LX3.

Both also haf gd reviews. I checked the prices in SIM LIM and it's like $100-$200 diff.

Any pro photographers can help??

Thanks a million!!!

[taxico]

LX3 yo!

an LX3 is essentially a rebadged leica (different firmware and cover, s'all)

[shenoes]

hey taxico, thanks for replying!

btw, LX4 come out oready isit??
wats the diff btw LX3 n 4?

[taxico]

i'm living in a very backward part of the world and they don't have the LX4 here, and i've never tried it out yet.

i love my LX2, and will buy an LX3 in singapore later this year before they disappear.

LX3 is a very good camera. i wouldn't go for an LX4.

to quote someone from another forum:

There's one thing I have learned ABUNDANTLY well over time: The very best cameras don't get "improved" -- they get "ruined" in updates. Or they don't get "updated" at all. Just ask the FZ50 folks, or the Canon Pro1 folks, or a whole bunch of other folks who've had one of those "special" cameras made by the various manufacturers over time.

[Strong Eagle]

The only downside to the LX3 is the maximum 60 mm zoom range...

[Zeenit]

i'm living in a very backward part of the world and they don't have the LX4 here, and i've never tried it out yet.

i love my LX2, and will buy an LX3 in singapore later this year before they disappear.

LX3 is a very good camera. i wouldn't go for an LX4.

to quote someone from another forum:

There's one thing I have learned ABUNDANTLY well over time: The very best cameras don't get "improved" -- they get "ruined" in updates. Or they don't get "updated" at all. Just ask the FZ50 folks, or the Canon Pro1 folks, or a whole bunch of other folks who've had one of those "special" cameras made by the various manufacturers over time.

Only downside of FZ50 is the aperture which is f/11.....

[Strong Eagle]

Only downside of FZ50 is the aperture which is f/11.....

This will be true of all digital cameras with small sensors... and the FZ50, like many others, has a 5x7 mm sensor.

It has to do with the diffraction limits of a lens and the sensor size... realistically, you would not want to stop down past f8 for a sensor of this size. You need a bigger sensor to get a higher f-stop.

Gory details here: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/te ... ction.html

and here: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori ... graphy.htm#

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/tech/dof.html

[taxico]

i'm gonna edit and post someone else's reply from another forum... :


The LX3 is one of those "special" cameras wherein everything came together to make a superb package. Any "LX4" really can only destroy one or more of the things that make the LX3 so special.

You want a longer zoom? Just go buy a ZS3 or an FX580 or whatever, and suffer the image quality losses. Because that's what you'd get if they increased the zoom on an "LX4."

There are "laws of physics" here that might be tweaked a bit by technology, but overall truly control things. In order to put a longer zoom in the current LX3, they'd have to do one of the following:

1. Make the lens bigger, requiring a physically bigger camera.

2. Make the lens slower, ruining one of the best characteristics of the LX3.

3. Make the sensor smaller, ruining the LX3's excellent image quality.

So, it's really very simple -- if an "LX4" includes a longer zoom range, it'll have to implement one or more of these three options. And I wouldn't pay a plug nickel for something like that.

Otherwise, just look at the progression of TZ5 to ZS3 (TZ7) or FX500 to FX580, to see what you might get into with an LX4:

1. Expect more megapixels, destroying the LX3's special image quality. They just CAN NOT CAN NOT CAN NOT CAN NOT CAN NOT stop from stuffing more megapixels into these teensy sensors. Consider the LX3 to be a "miracle" abberation of this nonsense.

2. Expect the new video stuff -- fine if you want that.

3. Expect new gadgetry, such as the new "face recognition" stuff.

That's all.

In other words, expect the new video and gadgetry, along with a pixel density increase that'll ruin the LX3's image quality. And then -- well heck -- they might as well ruin the lens, too, and give you a few more millimeters of zoom. Whoopee.

credit: Tom Hoots
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomhoots/

[Strong Eagle]

...they'd have to do one of the following:

1. Make the lens bigger, requiring a physically bigger camera.

2. Make the lens slower, ruining one of the best characteristics of the LX3.

3. Make the sensor smaller, ruining the LX3's excellent image quality.

Sounds like this was written by an anti-zoom afficiando... from photo.net, possibly.

Yes, the above three statements are correct and the author of them left out two additional salient points.

a) If the same size lens is used, the lens does not have to be slower across the entire zoom length, only slower at the maximum zoom since the maximum speed (f-stop) is computed as focal length / aperture. So, the LX3 offers f2.0 to f2.8 at 24 t0 60 mm (25 mm equivalent). Stretching this to 100 mm would result in an f3.3 speed at max zoom.

b) A 3x zoom doesn't exactly require the kind of rocket science, materials and number of lenses that a 12x zoom does. Very good quality could be achieved. But hey, why not just a standard lens to take this to the extreme?

The LX3 does have very useful features such as RAW format, necessary to properly print high contrast scenes.

I agree that this obsession with megapixels is truly stupid... a 6 megapixel camera will allow you 11 x 17 prints... and most people have their pics on the web. It's hard to find a 6 megapixel camera these days.

[taxico]

i'm not a photog whiz, and i hope you're right, eagle!

personally, i almost never use zoom... : )

let's just wait for good honest reviews on the LX4... hopefully it's not been bastardized.

[Strong Eagle]

i'm not a photog whiz, and i hope you're right, eagle!

personally, i almost never use zoom... : )

let's just wait for good honest reviews on the LX4... hopefully it's not been bastardized.

LX4 won't be released until mid 2010.