Price of FX 2? / FX 2 or FX 7?

[jlchong]

Hi panasonic users,

My friend has set her eyes on the above cameras ( actually more on the FX2, due to budget constrain). As i haven't got not much knowledge on panasonic cameras,i will be needing some advice.

Anyone knows what's the price of one?

Also, is any major difference besides the mega pixels?

Thanks in advance :bsmilie:

 

[qert]

yo dude,

sorry ah i hijack your thread

i also want to know about the price of FX1. am getting this for my sis as birthday pressie.

FX7 is good but, no view finder.

 

[theITguy]

FX2 has no audio for video recording to FX7
FX2 has smaller (2" LCD) to FX7 (2.5"), but better quality than FX7 one
FX2 has ISO 64 but FX7 has lowest 80
I would say FX2's ISO 400 looks slightly less noisy than FX7 ISO 400
FX2 sells for about $550 to FX7's $660.


Dun think so FX1 is being sold currently, but if there is any should be $399 from last seen on comments in this forum.

 

[jlchong]

FX2 has no audio for video recording to FX7
FX2 has smaller (2" LCD) to FX7 (2.5"), but better quality than FX7 one
FX2 has ISO 64 but FX7 has lowest 80
I would say FX2's ISO 400 looks slightly less noisy than FX7 ISO 400
FX2 sells for about $550 to FX7's $660.


Dun think so FX1 is being sold currently, but if there is any should be $399 from last seen on comments in this forum.

wow. theITguy, thanks for that very detailed analysis.

My friend is a complete newbie to photography. Quoting her, she wants ''a simple to use, yet can take good pics'' So is the FX2 user friendly?
Any users care to share on their experience?

Thanks again

 

[theITguy]

Hi, I used only 2 digital cameras, or 3 perharps (the S50 of my sister). The first is the G5, which is very similar to the S50 in terms of the software on the camera itself. There are some other difference on the buttons on both the G5 and S50, but overall very similar once you get use to it. The 3rd and most recent one is the FX2.


Now on the FX2, before I buy it I did read up on the manual downloaded from the UK website, so I know the camera well before I actually buy it (even before I touch it). The software/menu on the FX2 is plain simple and easy to understand compared to the G5/S50. While much of the menu in the Canons are in pictures, those on the FX2 are mostly words, with a few pictures. You do not really have to read the manual to operate it, but best to have someone to guide in using the camera the first time and the way to use it properly in getting the best picture quality.


1. Set ISO to no higher than 200. ISO 400 is pretty bad unless you do some post processing with stuff like Neat Image. For normal users they will not want to do post processing (I mean those shoot and print people).

2. Set to Economy Mode 2, save some battery life.

3. Set OIS to Mode 2, save some battery life.



Some stuff to take note of, is that the flash seems to have a fixed power, even in Auto flash. I would recommend to use ISO 100 with Exposure Compensation +1 (Aperture always open to biggest, while shutter speed is fixed at 1/60 with flash it seems). This way you get a shutter speed of 1/30 (decent for some movement like picking some vegetable at a dinner), clean pictures for 4R (not sure of bigger prints as I did not print bigger).

 

[qert]

FX2 has no audio for video recording to FX7
FX2 has smaller (2" LCD) to FX7 (2.5"), but better quality than FX7 one
FX2 has ISO 64 but FX7 has lowest 80
I would say FX2's ISO 400 looks slightly less noisy than FX7 ISO 400
FX2 sells for about $550 to FX7's $660.


Dun think so FX1 is being sold currently, but if there is any should be $399 from last seen on comments in this forum.

thanks for the details dude!!

Hmm, since FX1 is not being sold everywhere, maybe i should stick to FX7? another $110 extra for bigger LCD display and recorder + voice?

but, FX7 should have better picture quality than FX2 no? because its newer?

just wanna ask if, this cam can update firmware or not ah?

 

[phrozact]

thanks for the details dude!!

Hmm, since FX1 is not being sold everywhere, maybe i should stick to FX7? another $110 extra for bigger LCD display and recorder + voice?

but, FX7 should have better picture quality than FX2 no? because its newer?

just wanna ask if, this cam can update firmware or not ah?

Well, the FX7 is a 5mp cam whereas the FX2 is 4mp, so picture quality should be better in the FX7.

Think firmware can be updated. There's a thread I came across mentioning a new firmware for the FX7 which improves the performance of the O.I.S.

 

[chenwei]

Well, the FX7 is a 5mp cam whereas the FX2 is 4mp, so picture quality should be better in the FX7.

Think firmware can be updated. There's a thread I came across mentioning a new firmware for the FX7 which improves the performance of the O.I.S.

is it? is the new firmware out in sg? how to check the ver huh?

 

[Myfz1]

I got a quote for FX2 at $480 from a shop at People's Park Complex, shop is first floor behind entrance facing OG. My advice is to wait until after CNY, price will drop further.

 

[josho]

I got a quote for FX2 at $480 from a shop at People's Park Complex, shop is first floor behind entrance facing OG. My advice is to wait until after CNY, price will drop further.

the one facing the entrance?

 

[sunkist]

that is very cheap. Is the price before or after GST? I manage to get a FX2 for gf at $520(w/GST)

 

[phrozact]

is it? is the new firmware out in sg? how to check the ver huh?

I dunno...guess you gotta take it to the service centre and ask them to update the firmware for you or something. But best if you call them yourself first to confirm.

 

[chenwei]

I dunno...guess you gotta take it to the service centre and ask them to update the firmware for you or something. But best if you call them yourself first to confirm.

ok thanks, will do it.

 

[theITguy]

Sorry to say, image out of FX2 in theory with aspect to previous cameras from Canon, Nikon etc, should be better than FX7. We all know more MP same sensor means more noise somehow for digital cameras at higher ISO setting (DSLR not included here). The FX2 uses a 4MP sensor, while the FX7 uses a 5MP sensor. Images from some users I had seen suggested that FX2 images are slightly cleaner, but not significant that you see it easily on 4R.

Overall, it is a nice compact, and I have no intention of printing more than Super 8R. Moreover 5MP only gives slightly more than 10% advantage in terms of absolute pixels (2300 vs 2560 pixels). You also get bigger files at about 1.8-1.9MB compared to the FX2's 1.4-1.5MB, significant if you are not going to spend more to buy SD cards (there is a free 256MB now).


For that Chinatown shop, I guess it is without the $40 256 Lexar card. Anyway, price will always drop, the replacement of FX2/FX7 is not expected until August, unless Panasonic wants to accelerate the product cycle, which is unlikely. Maybe there are plans for bigger but compact cameras in the range of FX1 and FX5 (note the FX2/FX7 are ultra compact category).

 

[Myfz1]

the one facing the entrance?

Yup . Facing the entrance and OG. Price before GST.

Let you in on a little secret , don't believe what manufacturers when say their cameras have 4 or 5 or 8mp. In actual fact if you get 80% of the stated megapixel you are damn lucky.Most digital cam have only 60% of actual advertised.I know the file size may indicate 5 or 8 megapixels but in actual lab test on cameras by a german website, the physical pixels are way less. Who is to stop the manufacturer from programing the jpg file as 5 , 6,7,8 mp? Its just numbers only :think:
I lost the link after my pc was hit by a virus last week , now I'm searching for it, once I have it, I 'll post it.

I'm waiting for the price of FX2 to go lower and get for it my wife , its still a cool camera.

 

[theITguy]

Yup . Facing the entrance and OG. Price before GST.

Let you in on a little secret , don't believe what manufacturers when say their cameras have 4 or 5 or 8mp. In actual fact if you get 80% of the stated megapixel you are damn lucky.Most digital cam have only 60% of actual advertised.I know the file size may indicate 5 or 8 megapixels but in actual lab test on cameras by a german website, the physical pixels are way less. Who is to stop the manufacturer from programing the jpg file as 5 , 6,7,8 mp? Its just numbers only :think:
I lost the link after my pc was hit by a virus last week , now I'm searching for it, once I have it, I 'll post it.

I'm waiting for the price of FX2 to go lower and get for it my wife , its still a cool camera.

OK, this is interesting. Where you get the information? I suppose there would be technical paper and proof that the CCD/CMOS sensor indeed have that number of photosites? As least they do release such information in USA or else they can be sued for providing incorrect information.