Finepix s9000 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30

[Humble.Egoist]

Basically I want the best camera I can get for $600. I will be priting 11"x14" photos to put up on my wall.

Finepix s9000 vs Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30

I'm stuck! Please help. I can't decide between the two.

If you believe that another camera might suit me better please tell me. I want to make an intelligent decision when I finally make the purchase. I'm willing to spend up to $750 on a digital camera. Not interested in digital slr's they're too expensive unless of course I can get a digital slr and a good zoom less for a total not exceeding $800.

Thanks.

[jimmy]

you can get a Minolta 5D plus a sigma zoom lens for less than $800 18x125 or 18x200

[TampaJim]

I personally believe the Canon S2 to be the best all-around ultra-zoom Point and Shoot camera at this time.

The top three P&S cameras, IMO, currently available are -

Canon S2
Fuji S9000
Panasonic FZ-20 (Correct not the FZ-30)

The Panasonic is the least expensive at around $389, the Canon next at around $449 followed by the Fuji at around $519. These prices are approximate.

All three cameras can do what you are asking - it really is going to come down to which one you like best in your hands.

[coldrain]

The FZ30 is a good camera, just so very noisy (which I don't like). You can try to reduce noise with software, but lost detail can not be regained and pictures get a flat plasticy look to them...

The S9000 is a lot better with noise, but the photos tend to look soft. You can sharpen them up very well, though, with good editting software (like Adobe PS Elements 4), revealing a lot of detail. It lacks IS.

So, the FZ30 needs noise reduction software, and the S9000 at times can use some sharpening software.

Like TampaJim I also am charmed by the S2 IS, it is compact (I like that a lot) compared to the other 2, it has very good colours and image quality at iso 50 and 100, and its swivel screen and its panoramic sequence mode are great in my opinion.

On the DSLR side, you could get a Nikon D50 or a KM 5D with a Sigma 18-200 lens for about $800, I guess. The D50 will have the edge in image quality, the KM 5D has the edge with its built in IS. The 18-200 will give you a focal range of around 28-300mm, same as the S9000. The S2 IS and FZ30 go further but less wide, around 36-430mm.

[BonjiB]

Depends on what you're going to be using the camera for. The s9000 and fz30 are the two best superzooms on the market. The fz20 is an awesome camera but it still doesn't beat the fz30 in terms of image quality and yes the noise levels are essentially the same between the two. The fz30 just has more pixels so it shows more noise at 100% crop. My big beef with the s9000 is the lack of an image stabilizer which was a deal breaker for me. Something with a 420mm far end needs image stabilization (at least for me it does, you might have rock solid hands.) The s9000 does better than the fz30 at higher iso's and as a result in lower light situations. I personally have no need for higher iso's because if i'm shooting low light i'm gonna be using a flash (sunpak 383) anyways. However, the fz30 does considerably better than the s9000 in lower iso's and consequently in better lighting. The iso 200 mode on the fz30 is quite useable and the pictures turn out nicely. The noise at iso 200 looks more like film grain than just nasty digital noise when printed and it's pretty much undetecttable even printed up to 8x10 and non existant at 5x7. Now on iso 400 yeah, it's nasty digital noise and pretty bad depending on the situation and usually will require some noise reduction software. But bear in mind iso 80 and 100 photos come out absolutely gorgeous (much better in my opinion than the s9000's lower iso shots.) The lens on the fz30 is pretty much the best you can get on a point and shoot. Leica rocks. So really it's a tradeoff... image stabilization, great pictures, and lower high iso performance or no image stabilization, slightly softer images, and higher iso performance. I base everything i'm saying on the PRINTS each camera makes, not how the stupid thing looks at 100% on the computer monitor. A photographer takes pictures to print, not zoom in to actual pixel sizes and bitch about the noise.

[Humble.Egoist]

Thanks a lot! Your comments made it easy for me to decide. I just ordered the Fz30. Can't wait till the postman brings it home.