Digital Camera : Sony or Panasonic

royal · 14-01-2007, 01:47 PM

Hi All,

I plan to buy a 12X Digital camera (mostly for outdoor shooting while travelling). My choice is restricted between these two ...

Sony DSC H5

Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ30

Which do you think will be better ?

It would be helpful if you can quote approx. international prices (since I will be getting it from UK). Also feel free to suggest any other brands/models which you think is better than these.

ajayashish · 14-01-2007, 01:55 PM

i have used H5 and it is simply awesome... i prefer that as i have also planned to get it from US next month...

royal · 14-01-2007, 02:27 PM

What about Canon PowerShot S3 IS ?

anniyan · 14-01-2007, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royal

What about Canon PowerShot S3 IS ?

i own it and its a beauty. It costs about Rs 20000

royal · 14-01-2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anniyan

i own it and its a beauty. It costs about Rs 20000

What are the pros and cons? And when did you buy it and from where?

janitha · 14-01-2007, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royal

What are the pros and cons? And when did you buy it and from where?

It is 6Mp with 12 X optical zoom and with image stabilization ( to prevent blurred pictures due to hand shake, especially at tele settings) from a more reputed brand. You can see the specifications here
http://www.jjmehta.com/products/canons3is.html

koolbluez · 14-01-2007, 09:31 PM

H5 is a 7.2 megapix, 12x optical zoom, image-stabilized, with almost no dust upto iso 400, has a 3inch screen & a strong flash.

The only place where the Canon leads is swivelling lcd & slightly lesser purple fringing.

royal · 14-01-2007, 09:45 PM

Anyone owning a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ50 ? And first hand experience will be preferred over tech specs ...

BTW, neither H5 nor S3IS has options for fitting an external flash

jal_desai · 16-01-2007, 01:14 PM

go for SONY no doubt abt it...

ajayashish · 16-01-2007, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royal

Anyone owning a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ50 ? And first hand experience will be preferred over tech specs ...

BTW, neither H5 nor S3IS has options for fitting an external flash

I don;t think an external flash is needed for personal use...

royal · 16-01-2007, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajayashish

I don;t think an external flash is needed for personal use...

You never know when it might come in handy

BTW, you seem to be a Nikon fan...can you suggest any suitable model for me?

24online · 16-01-2007, 06:13 PM

sony... cyber shot...ultimate

royal · 16-01-2007, 10:03 PM

I would have loved to hear from a Lumix owner ...

I read gr8 review of it...at par with H5 and S3IS

shantanu · 16-01-2007, 10:42 PM

I UsED SONY SO sonY I THIN I VERY GOOD

drgrudge · 16-01-2007, 11:08 PM

Even I'm planning to buy a cam in the same category.

Check these 2 links:
http://www.tech2.com/india/topstuff/...of-2006/3529/0 ---> "The Best Superzoom Camera of 2006"
and
http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digi...0_reviews.html --> "Most Powerful Extended Zoom Camera"

They're telling that F Z50 is better than H5 and S3.

Remember that whatever review that I read they say that F Z50 has the best image stabilization. For shots at 12X, this IS thing will play a huge role.

Myself and koolbluez had a talk abt this things and I noted:
H5 has these advantages :
1. 3" LCD
2. Battery charger but bundled battery charger is super slow.
3. ISO 1000 (S3 has upto ISO 800)
4. 1 MP more
5. like you said runs on 2 batteries only.
6. Shots on low light is better in H5, even in the same ISO ratings. DCRP says:"The DSC-H5 is definitely cleaner than the PowerShot S3 at ISO 40."
7. 32 mb Internal memory compared to 16mb memory card.

Where as S3 scored in
1. Less purple fringing
2. In the end of the day, it's boils to the cost. It's around 2k cheaper!
3. Swivel LCD --> once if you get spoiled by it you'll never buy any other cam without this feature.

FZ50 scores in:
1. 10 Mega cam
2. Good IS
3. Swivel LCD
4. High ISO ratings (upto 3200)
5. Rechargable batteries (Sony's charing is very slow --> read in reviews, same as in Nikon L2)

Only thing is FZ50 is expensive and maybe it's out of my focus. Plus it's weiging more than 725 grams!

I'm too confused now. I even thought of buying W 500, then A710/A640 and now again back to this 12X dilema. Will the wieght be a factor?

ajayashish · 17-01-2007, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by royal

You never know when it might come in handy

BTW, you seem to be a Nikon fan...can you suggest any suitable model for me?

I am not a Nikon fan as such... i am a Graphic designer and i like taking pics... I have used Sony and nikon both but Sony dosn't gives a natural look (my personal thoughts) as the pics are more bright in it... Nikon has given me the best results and i am using P1 for now... just now i have thought of switching to Sony H5 as it has a amazing 12X zoom and 6mp cam...

and for ur cam just give me a range u are looking for and the purpose u want it for

and for external flash ... no one in personal use carry one... atleast i have never seen anyone yet neither do i carry one as all the personal click and soot cams have no place for them

shantanu · 17-01-2007, 01:03 AM

Nikon Is Good But Sony Is Great.. Even Canon Takes Many Places In Clarity

ajayashish · 17-01-2007, 01:08 AM

i have a pesonal opinion here as i have played around with many digi cams... Sony is best for personal Click and Shoot ... but Nikon comes for professinals and photographers...

shantanu · 17-01-2007, 01:17 AM

Agreeddd

royal · 17-01-2007, 12:25 PM

ajayashish my budget is from 20000-25000. Maybe I can extend it by 5000 if I get a good deal.

drgrudge FZ50 lags in the fact that it has more noise at higher ISO ...

koolbluez · 17-01-2007, 01:07 PM

Eh.... Dr.Grudge is still thinkin...

Come on maan... H5 is the best right now, Second only the S3. FZ50 is costly maan... I'ld go for a pro cam then, like that Sony Alpha or Olympus models.

I'ld suggest anyone & everyone to have a look @ Digital Camera Resource first. They give detailed, easy-to-understand reviews on all models.
__________
And about Sony's slow charging speeds, we can get a faster charger for a couple of 1k bucks more.
__________
And what about customer support, in case a camera fails... Sony rocks here.

Panasonic, Fuji and even Olympus r not that many in no. Sony, u can get a showroom everywhere, forget about service centres!!!

ajayashish · 17-01-2007, 01:20 PM

with ur bedget i will always suggest h5 or if u need u can also have a look at H2... H2 has a smaller LCD and is 6MP cam... otherwise it is almost the same as H5

drgrudge · 17-01-2007, 01:22 PM

koolbluez -
I'm buying within 20 days for sure. FZ50 is out of my focus. Expensive and the weight is a another factor.

What's the point in buying the H5 if the charger is slow and not upto the mark? I can buy charger for my S3 even if it doesn't comes with the box. chargers + rechargeble batteries hardly cost much. IS is better in S3 than in H5.

One more thing that I have read in 2-3 reviews is: if you just like that start taking shots with S3 it will be sh!t. You have to go thro the manual.

I'm inclined on the S3 only.. why want to waste 2-3k more on the similar competitor? Plus I'm planning a Flickr Pro account once I get my cam, so I'll use the extra $$ on that!

koolbluez · 17-01-2007, 01:58 PM

ok... good 4 u... my prob with the S3 is that it is lower on megapix, performs slow & badder in low-light, has lithium batteries (i can use xtra rechargable AA batteries for H5 which can be independently charged in the battery charger provided, do u have battery chargers for S3!!!), cannot be expanded (like attaching other special lens (like morezoom, telephoto lens) l8r as in H5), less powerful flash, lesser service centres, smaller display...

Me too am buying the H5 in a week or so. We'll compare pics then

janitha · 17-01-2007, 02:19 PM

@royal
If your budget is upto 30K, I think you have the option to buy a Nikon DSLR D50 with Nikon 18-55 Zoom lens, though perhaps from gray market between 25-30K. But still a SLR will make great difference.

Kiran.dks · 17-01-2007, 03:03 PM

I recommend Sony Cybershot DSC-H5 7.2MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical zoom and Image Stabilization. Good value for money.

drgrudge · 17-01-2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koolbluez

has lithium batteries (i can use xtra rechargable AA batteries for H5 which can be independently charged in the battery charger provided, do u have battery chargers for S3!!!), cannot be expanded (like attaching other special lens (like morezoom, telephoto lens) l8r as in H5), less powerful flash, lesser service centres, smaller display..

Now.. we'll clear this battery issue. S3 uses 4 battery. H5 uses 2. Whatever be the type of the battery, you can use rechargable battery. Only difference is that you get that charger with the box in H5 whereas you need to buy for S3 separately. H5 Charger seems to be slow from what I have read in 2-3 reviews.

This smaller display is complimented with Swivel type LCD. The viewfinder in H5 is of no use (atleast for me). This is a major plus point that I looked and made me inclined towards S3.

The rest of the things like lesser MP (r u gonna put up hoardings somewhere?), special lens (I'm not a pro and when I want I can buy a dSLR anytime), lesser service centres (No problems as I'll use in Dubai/Chennai only) is not a factor to be considered.

I'm just thinking of S3 more than H5, but I dunno which I'll buy until I get some good offers and actually try out the cams in the store. Anyways in the end, it's your creativity tht matters most not the camera/make/lens/etc.

koolbluez · 17-01-2007, 07:18 PM

@ royal, If u r ready for the price, FZ50 might be ok. But still, I'ld advice u to go for the H5. Almost same megapix, around 10k cheaper, good even for night shots and good enuf stabilization. Only prob... purple fringing.