Cannot decide between these 3 proconsumers

[chaozhoi]

Hello, I intend to get a proconsumer camera and I am considering these 3 options:

1) Canon S5 IS
2) Panasonic LUMIX FZ18
3) Fujifilm S8000 FD


The S5 has only 12x optical zoom which loses out to the 2 18x cameras.
Zoom features can be used while doing video recording and up to 4gb size. (duno about the other 2)
S8000 has best IQ @ higher ISO (correct me if i'm wrong)

Having a headache choosing between these 3.. any comments? or recommendations? I dun wan DSLR.. coz will spend more and more lol. Thanks a lot

[SkyCheong]

choose one which have manual focusing and flash hotshoe so that it wont limit your range of shooting =)

Previously I own an FZ5, the lack of external flash makes it difficult to shoot when indoors.

[chaozhoi]

all 3 got manual focus.. guess all proconsumer have that feature i think.. and only the canon s5 have hotshoe for flash..

[viewwing]

Hi Chao,

I have a Fz5 and was actually considering the Fz18.

What i can offer you is some thoughts which i had..

1. Zooming ability: how much do u want, really... with a 12x i did not use it much other than to "findout" whats happening all the way to the other end of some resort island and to take some pictures of birds and such... and shade... it usually doesn't come out well without a tripod... the IS also can't help much is the shutter speed is below 1/200 when its fuller zoomed out.

2. Picture quality: look at some reivews of the photos taken, for me... Fz5 is quite noisy... Maybe the venus III engine will be better.

3. Video: It won't be as great as having a video camera, but if you intend to bring only your camera for your holidays, you might want to get one with a better FPS/size one.

4. Size: Smaller is always better right?

5. Flash: i couldn't agree more with sky about this... with the stock flash its neither here nor there. its not good enough... other then a fill in flash...

6. Feel: Don't just read the reviews... touch and play around with the camera... if you're the shy type just pop in Best or Harvey where they just leave them around for consumers to play around with it. Some might look great... but the buttons and holding area just aren't build for u.

Overall i guess you should get the one that fullfills all your conditions. else it might be better to wait a while... cause technology for camera will always improve.

Hope this helps your decision making dude!

[chaozhoi]

ok and now the final choice is between Panny FZ18 and Canon S5is..
my hestitations:

FZ18: 18x optical zoom, 16:9 aspect ratio choice, Leica lens, wider zoom
S5is: Better video function(zoom while filming and record up to 4gb), hotshoe, swivel lcd screen

headache... lol

[liionel]

Originally Posted by chaozhoi ok and now the final choice is between Panny FZ18 and Canon S5is.. my hestitations: FZ18: 18x optical zoom, 16:9 aspect ratio choice, Leica lens, wider zoom S5is: Better video function(zoom while filming and record up to 4gb), hotshoe, swivel lcd screen headache... lol

get Fuji 9600. hot shoe + swivel lcd + super ccd + manual zoom and focus = OWNAGE.


i myself own a 6500fd after alot of research. super ccd + manual zoom and focus =

maybe you can read up on night86mare's prosumer sticky, it helped me alot.

[chaozhoi]

wah.. have to restrict to budget leh.. 9600 and FZ50 all different range already..

[chaozhoi]

the sticky is mainly for Proconsumer Vs DSLR...

now my choice is between proconsumer and proconsumer

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by chaozhoi the sticky is mainly for Proconsumer Vs DSLR... now my choice is between proconsumer and proconsumer

did mention some points about the strengths and weaknesses of each brand's prosumer
yeps

but eventually i think the best is just to pop down to shop and try it out
handling, to me, is more important than anything else these days
if it doesn't feel good to you, how to take good pictures?

[chaozhoi]

12x and 18x got really big difference or not?

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by chaozhoi 12x and 18x got really big difference or not?

no offense meant, really
you need to read up more, zoom and focal length are two different things

for example if give you 80-800mm zoom in 35mm film terms
versus 35-350 in 35mm film terms, what you see is very different, yet both are 10x zooms
so you should be talking in terms of focal lengths instead of times zoom

in this case certain brands give you wider wide ends, certain brand give you less wide wide ends, hehe

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by chaozhoi 12x and 18x got really big difference or not?

not really the different between 12 and 18x but rather than 18x offer 28mm wide angle yet not sacrificing the tele end, which imho is impressive tho quality im

[chaozhoi]

okie one more question.. by not having the swirvel lcd.. will it be juz inconvenience or some shots be impossible to make? I also think that by having swirvel lcd means more moving parts which might be more prone to wear and tear.. pls pardon my noobiness.. first time buying camera.. hoping not to regret..

[Six-GHz]

All that is said and done, go to the store and feel it for yourself. If you can't decide between swivel screens, 12x vs 18x, 28mm vs 36mm, hotshoe or not, then ergonomics would come in! Feel it in your hands and play with it, you'll get your answer faster!

Happy hunting!

[liionel]

Originally Posted by chaozhoi okie one more question.. by not having the swirvel lcd.. will it be juz inconvenience or some shots be impossible to make? I also think that by having swirvel lcd means more moving parts which might be more prone to wear and tear.. pls pardon my noobiness.. first time buying camera.. hoping not to regret..

people using nikon and canon dslrs all dont have swivel lcd, and they can tahan mah. so not that important la, its more like a "good to have" feature, but dont have won't die.

like everyone says, go down to your nearest camera shop, talk to the boss, and ask him to help you out, then work out with him something.

[chaozhoi]

okok thanks everyone for ur suggestions and replies.. hope to get my desired camera soon..

[cantaresg]

I will think that the S5 will be a good pick. Though the IQ is definitely lacking compared to a DSLR, but overall it is still good. I own a S3 and is still pretty impressed by it as a prosumer. Good luck in your choice.

[felixcat8888]

I used to own the Canon S2IS and loved the cam alot but when trying to do manual, no ring on lens to rotate and found it a hassle. Now own the Fuji S6500fd and with the ring on the lens(likeSLR/DSLR), it is so much easier to use manual.

[Six-GHz]

Out of curiousity's sake, I dropped down Courts to hands-on with some cameras. Tried the S5 and found it utterly idiot-proof. Judging from LCD screens alone, even the dSLRs I tried there had difficulties replicating the heavy-cast shadowed scene in the store (in Auto mode, no tweakings to WB etc).

Quite amazed by the accuracy the S5 produces. Haven't tried the FZ18 cos it's not out for hands-on yet. Maybe you can try it out and see it for yourself.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by Six-GHz Out of curiousity's sake, I dropped down Courts to hands-on with some cameras. Tried the S5 and found it utterly idiot-proof. Judging from LCD screens alone, even the dSLRs I tried there had difficulties replicating the heavy-cast shadowed scene in the store (in Auto mode, no tweakings to WB etc). Quite amazed by the accuracy the S5 produces. Haven't tried the FZ18 cos it's not out for hands-on yet. Maybe you can try it out and see it for yourself.

difficulties? because dSLR underexposed the scene? i would say that is better as one can easily push to shadow to get details but not pull the highlight to get details.