C730UZ or FZ1 ????

[Bob]

01. Budget - <$1000
02. Megapixel count - 2 - 3 MP
03. Optical zoom factor - >10x
04. Size - compact SLR-like (C2100-i find it too bulky)
05. Which batt is better? Lithium or AA
06. Weight - relatively light
07. Able to mount lenses/filters? - I am not to sure i need it or not
08. Manual controls required?
09. Auto-Focus Speed? -the faster the better
10. What kind of pictures are you hoping to take? - close-up and candid

This are some of my requirements.
I am actually tring to decide between Panasonic FZ1 and Olympus C730.
FZ1 : 12x zoom with image stabiliser, but only 2.1 MP
C730 : 10 x zoom, no image stabiliser, 3.2 MP
What i heard is that anyting more than 6x zoom, you need an image stabiliser, thus FZ1 is the obvious choice. However i am not too happy with the MP.
Anybody there owns a FZ1, i need your feedback. Does the stabiliser works at 12x zoom?
Whether the 2 MP is enough a dugital album

Thanks

 

[Bluestrike]

Originally posted by Bob

Whether the 2 MP is enough a dugital album

Can anyone out there tell mi what the heck is a Dugital Album?
I try searching for it but cannot find leh.....:devil:

 

[lavenderlilz]

Ah Di

U're now CS's spellchecker huh? hehehe ;p

 

[majere2sg]

Originally posted by Bluestrike
Can anyone out there tell mi what the heck is a Dugital Album?
I try searching for it but cannot find leh.....:devil:

Dug is the paste tense of Dig.
So Dugital is the paste tense of Digital.

 

[fruitybix]

Originally posted by majere2sg
Dug is the paste tense of Dig.
So Dugital is the paste tense of Digital.

eh, help the guy out lah, jokers...

anyway, if you ask me, will not get either.

Ever given thought to a Finepix 602Z instead? Fast AF (even at full tele), hotshoe, good colours, good grip, minimal shutter release lag. check out the Fuji forum for more user experience.

730Z has slow AF, and is a drag (literally at full tele), shutter release lag is a pain. Not too familiar with Panasonic..

 

[newuser]

why do you need such a large optical zoom of 10X?

At 10X, the camera will have to be on a tripod or supported to take sharp pictures.

For $1000 and only 2MP, the FZ-1 is not really worth it, even with it's Leica lens. And the C-730UZ is not really a great camera either.

I suggest you get a Fujifilm S602Z (6x optical) and fit a tele-converter lens to improve the zoom if you really need a larger zoom factor.

The S602Z uses AA batteries and unlike the C-730UZ & FZ-1, you can fit an external flash on it w/o the need for a flash bracket since it has a hotshoe.

Which you will need as the camera's built-in flash cannot "reach" the subjects at 10X zoom.

For a compact and SLR-like feel, the S602Z fits the description better than the C-730UZ.

The S602Z is a 3MP camera, which can be interpolated to 6MP if you want to.

since you mentioned you want to take close-up and candids, you will need to focus on the "MACRO" capability of the camera, rather than the zoom.
If the camera can focus at a closer distance, won't it be better than one focusing at a further distance and using zoom?

The Macro focus range for S602Z is 1cm, the FZ-1 is 3cm and the C-730UZ is 10cm. So you can see the difference.

The sensor size of the S602Z is also larger at 1/1.7",compared to LZ-1 at 1/3.2" and C-730UZ at 1/2.7"
This results in better quality pictures.

Lastly, the S602Z can use either the SM or CF(which is both cheap and fast), while the FZ-1 uses MMC or SD(expensive) and the C-730UZ uses SM or xD(expensive)

The S602Z is going for around $1K and should not cost too much to add a teleconverter.

check out the comparisions


C-730UZ
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_c730uz.asp
FZ-1
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Panasonic/panasonic_dmcfz1.asp
S602Z Pro
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Fujifilm/fuji_finepixs602zpro.asp

 

[denizenx]

1. the fz1 is only 899 retail
2. the 730 has a 3cm macro mode

if u can get s602z PRO under a k, it is a better buy.

the IS works at all zoom, but the camera has no aperture control (Av or scenes modes) ... so far most of the shots under auto WB are slightly ruddy, dunno why, and not so nice...

 

[gyjoe]

the lens on the FZ1 is indeed awesome (f2.8 up to 12x!). the IS works well too (little shakiness at 12x compared to to 300mm on normal SLR). however, there is no manual control, there r feedbacks on the ordinary pic quality, there r rumours tat panasonic is gonna come out with a higher MP cam with same lens. all this frm forums on digiviews etc.

i was looking at tat, but in the end the price is just too much for a camera with so little features. if it is like <$500, i wouldn't mind getting it simply becoz of the lens...