Wide-Angle or High ISO which is of greater importance?

[polabear_inc]

I have a problem choosing between Fuji F31fd and Panasonic DMC-FX50.
Question: Wide-Angle or High ISO which is of greater importance?

It seem either one has a way to slove. What i mean is that without a Wide-Angle Lens means to say i have to stand further back to take a shot. And as for ISO problems, you can slove it by having better lighting. But each also have it limtations, in a tight spot, wide-angle is prefered, whereas in a nightclub or low light areas, having Higher ISO is a plus too!

So this again puts me almost dead center between the 2.
I was hoping if there is any PROs here to give their advice. Btw I'm an owner of a Panasonic DMC-FX7, which is about 1 1/2yrs old. Shots I take are like disco club shots and outdoor day/night shots.

[Belle&Sebastain]

Originally Posted by polabear_inc I have a problem choosing between Fuji F31fd and Panasonic DMC-FX50. Question: Wide-Angle or High ISO which is of greater importance? It seem either one has a way to slove. What i mean is that without a Wide-Angle Lens means to say i have to stand further back to take a shot. And as for ISO problems, you can slove it by having better lighting. But each also have it limtations, in a tight spot, wide-angle is prefered, whereas in a nightclub or low light areas, having Higher ISO is a plus too! So this again puts me almost dead center between the 2. I was hoping if there is any PROs here to give their advice. Btw I'm an owner of a Panasonic DMC-FX7, which is about 1 1/2yrs old. Shots I take are like disco club shots and outdoor day/night shots.

weigh what is important to you, low light or wide angle, no one shoot the way you do except yourself, so answer your own question by looking at your current shooting patterns and determine what is limiting your photography more.

[ExplorerZ]

my pick is fx50... noise control ain't 1/2 as good, but it have OIS which will definitely help you to get the picture (static object) and i love wide-angle.
but not everyone think the same, so think about what you will be shooting.

[Astin]

I had similar question as u few months back. I also like to shoot with friends during dinner or outing.
Finally I picked the Fuji F30 instead of the Panasonic wide angle. I observed that, for most compacts the flash power is about 3-5m, even with 28mm wide angle if u shoot a group photo the flash power is still not enough to brighten up the whole group, u tend to move backward a bit more, then the result is still dark, and Panasonic sensor at high ISO cannot perform well. As for Fuji, I can move back a bit more with 35mm and increase ISO to 800, I can still take the group photo and capture the background as well (hence the background not completely dark).

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by polabear_inc I have a problem choosing between Fuji F31fd and Panasonic DMC-FX50. Question: Wide-Angle or High ISO which is of greater importance? It seem either one has a way to slove. What i mean is that without a Wide-Angle Lens means to say i have to stand further back to take a shot. And as for ISO problems, you can slove it by having better lighting. But each also have it limtations, in a tight spot, wide-angle is prefered, whereas in a nightclub or low light areas, having Higher ISO is a plus too! So this again puts me almost dead center between the 2. I was hoping if there is any PROs here to give their advice. Btw I'm an owner of a Panasonic DMC-FX7, which is about 1 1/2yrs old. Shots I take are like disco club shots and outdoor day/night shots.

Why not get the best of both, switch to a DSLR! Nikon D40 kit is selling for less than $1k. This puts it in contention with the higher end digi-compacts/DSLR-like PnS... plus an option to upgrade lenses in the future if you want to.

[polabear_inc]

Originally Posted by lsisaxon Why not get the best of both, switch to a DSLR! Nikon D40 kit is selling for less than $1k. This puts it in contention with the higher end digi-compacts/DSLR-like PnS... plus an option to upgrade lenses in the future if you want to.

hahahaha~ I knew there would be a reply to get a DSLR. But I'm actually lookin for a cam that i can use for those unexpected shots~ those where u see somthing really nice and you want to capture it~ Anyway i'm still a student so don't really have time and $$ for DSLR

DSLR price are OK! but the lens are a BOMB!

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by polabear_inc hahahaha~ I knew there would be a reply to get a DSLR. But I'm actually lookin for a cam that i can use for those unexpected shots~ those where u see somthing really nice and you want to capture it~ Anyway i'm still a student so don't really have time and $$ for DSLR DSLR price are OK! but the lens are a BOMB!

Hahaha.. okie.. I've had my share of PnS too but still doesn't beat the quality you get out of DSLR. You can choose to start small, don't need a lot of money. The price you pay for a Panasonic 'SLR like' can already buy the D40 kit which comes with a useable lens.

Unless you really want it small, then get a small PnS, otherwise the small sensors used in those PnS are inherently noisy. There's not really much you can do about them.

[milamber]

I have a panasonic and i must say that the Mega OIS is amazing! I have got usable shots hand holding the Leica (another reason i got the panasonic!) lens at 400mm shooting with ISO 400 and 1/100 shutter speed. Yup, it was an indoor shot. The wide angle is indispensable for indoor confined spaces shooting and gives a unique distorted portrait shots. IMO the Mega OIS gives 2-3 stops more hand holding capability, similar to pushing your ISO 400 to about ISO 1600-3200 level without the resultant noise! Of course you don't get the fast shutter speed to freeze your subject but the ability to hand-hold at low speeds is more vital to me for candid shots, makes the cam more versatile IMO. If you find the ISO400 setting too noisy, there are great noise reduction softwares so that's not a big issue.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by lsisaxon Hahaha.. okie.. I've had my share of PnS too but still doesn't beat the quality you get out of DSLR. You can choose to start small, don't need a lot of money. The price you pay for a Panasonic 'SLR like' can already buy the D40 kit which comes with a useable lens. Unless you really want it small, then get a small PnS, otherwise the small sensors used in those PnS are inherently noisy. There's not really much you can do about them.

lol, guess you got messed up with fz50 and fx50... hes considering fx50 which is a PnS camera, while the 'SLR like' you talking about is fz50.

[ortega]

i'd go for WA

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ lol, guess you got messed up with fz50 and fx50... hes considering fx50 which is a PnS camera, while the 'SLR like' you talking about is fz50.

Oh.. yes.. I thought it was the fz50. Didn't know there's another fx50.

[lsisaxon]

Originally Posted by milamber I have a panasonic and i must say that the Mega OIS is amazing! I have got usable shots hand holding the Leica (another reason i got the panasonic!) lens at 400mm shooting with ISO 400 and 1/100 shutter speed. Yup, it was an indoor shot. The wide angle is indispensable for indoor confined spaces shooting and gives a unique distorted portrait shots. IMO the Mega OIS gives 2-3 stops more hand holding capability, similar to pushing your ISO 400 to about ISO 1600-3200 level without the resultant noise! Of course you don't get the fast shutter speed to freeze your subject but the ability to hand-hold at low speeds is more vital to me for candid shots, makes the cam more versatile IMO. If you find the ISO400 setting too noisy, there are great noise reduction softwares so that's not a big issue.

I have LX2 as well as P4 and I think VR is better than MegaOIS.. But too bad P4 is not as wide. Ixus 850IS might be good..

[antacid]

what about the ixus850IS?

28mm, usable ISO up to 800, 1600 for emergencies, and a 2-stop IS. seems like a winning combo to me

[calebk]

Originally Posted by antacid what about the ixus850IS? 28mm, usable ISO up to 800, 1600 for emergencies, and a 2-stop IS. seems like a winning combo to me

Second that. Good noise handling and wide angle. Isn't that best of both worlds?

[polabear_inc]

Originally Posted by calebk Second that. Good noise handling and wide angle. Isn't that best of both worlds?

Well i was also lookin at that model but it seemed abit of a plastic feel and the noise isn't as well handle. But indeed it is close to having the best of both worlds... hmmm... but the battery life is bad~ 270shots as review on dcresource site. compared to fuji and pansonic which boast 420shot. Not unless if i use the view finder then will the it be 600 shots if i'm not wrong. please correct me~ thanks

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by polabear_inc Well i was also lookin at that model but it seemed abit of a plastic feel and the noise isn't as well handle. But indeed it is close to having the best of both worlds... hmmm... but the battery life is bad~ 270shots as review on dcresource site. compared to fuji and pansonic which boast 420shot. Not unless if i use the view finder then will the it be 600 shots if i'm not wrong. please correct me~ thanks

I doubt you will want to use those "viewfinder" they are so the d**n small...

[polabear_inc]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ I doubt you will want to use those "viewfinder" they are so the d**n small...

yup right on the point~ hahaha~ yes indeed the viewfinder is really small, unlike my canon film cameras that i have which at that time boast for it large viewfinders.

btw does anyone have their views or IMO on the Panasonic LX2?? seems promising but i bet the price would be sky-rocket like the LX1.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by polabear_inc yup right on the point~ hahaha~ yes indeed the viewfinder is really small, unlike my canon film cameras that i have which at that time boast for it large viewfinders. btw does anyone have their views or IMO on the Panasonic LX2?? seems promising but i bet the price would be sky-rocket like the LX1.

might want to take a look at the panasonic section.
anyway i think lx2 is at about the 650 price mark.

[zcf]

Fujifilm 6500 has wide angle 28mm and high ISO (ISO3200)
Fujifilm Finepix S6000fd / S6500fd Review

But now I want it with optical or sensor base image stabilisation

[dominator]

WIDE ANGLE is 1st choice.

You can use tripod with WA at night if don't have high iso.
But
You cannot use high iso and get WA shot.