fz-5 or fz-30?

[UNClE]

still trying to decide between fz-7 and fz-30, in terms of "fast and accurate". had enough of the s2 with slow focus and the worst of all
"misses" most of the time when in full zoom, the picture quality might be better on the s2, but need to find out the difference between the two pan.
well, i will mainly use the "auto mode" in general.
in reviews fz-7 seems to be more "fast and accurate" than the fz-30.
comments please?
thanks in advance

[pxpaulx]

i haven't touched an fz7 (but did handle and fz5), bought the fz30, but for the photos i take generally (sounds similar to yourself) i probably would have went with the fz7 had it been available - it makes up a few key features that werent on the fz7 or fz20 that i wanted on the fz30 (zoom during video, larger video size, a few more pixels for larger prints, and longer exposure for nighttime photography). given that you'll save at least $150 bucks, that'll buy alot of goodies to get you started! i know i've spent a couple hundred dollars on accessories so far, its addictive!

[genece]

I have compared the photos of the S2IS with the FZ5 --FZ7 ---and FZ30 and in my opinion the FZ are all better in picture Quality than the Canon....

The focus of my FZ30 is very fast and accurate but I would imagine the the FZ7 is equally good.

IMHO the FZs are much better than the S2 IS....but you may not agree.

[UNClE]

thanks for the replies, still could not figure out fz7 or fz30,
size is not my issue, only picture quality, sharpness noise and accurate + fast focus at full tele zoom. since i should only be using "P" mode just for the iso and the rest will be set to "auto".
is there any pros or cons on the different in lenses, since fz30 is not retractable, will it be better concerning the moving of the lense during on/off?

[pxpaulx]

in regards to the fixed mount lens of the fz30, i do think that is a definite advantage over the fz7. i don't know if the zoom resets when the fz7 is off, but having the mechanical zoom allows for much better framing and fine tuning of your shots overall, and is probably quicker at it too. i know it helps with startup time as well, my fz30 doesn't have to extend it's lens, and is ready to shoot in under a second. combine that with my op/tech filter cap that flips open in a split second and i'm ready for the picture by the time the camera is upto my eye! coming from an older digital camera (song mavica - one of the models that wrote to mini-CDs) i'm still not used to the speed; its great for pictures of my dog running in the park! i'm sure its' nothing compared toa dSLR mind you, but i really enjoy that too. All in all, i'd probably still pick the fz30 over the fz7 even at a $150+ more dent in the wallet. bottom line it wins in form and function.

regarding focus at full zoom, i've had some problems, but i don't think that would be any better or worse on either panny model. the past few days are really the first i've had a chance to be outdoors with it; we've been taking the dog to an off-leash park, some of the shots are focusing on underbrush, but there is quite abit of it so thats understandable. i would try using the manual focus and pre-focus on a spot, but our dog is too fast for me!

[UNClE]

maybe i should go back to FZ20 for the better lens especially for indoors!
its giving me a big headache!

[Pave]

I personally have fz30 and I'm absolutely happy with it. And the manual zooming ring offers at least one cool thing....zooming while taking picture with a longer shutter speed. The results are quite interesting. You may have a look on some of pictures I took using this technique. :o I'm posting it below. :)

[Pave]

Hey, I just noticed....where are those attachements I added to my previous post???

[Pave]

And now I see them...It seems my browser is a bit crazy :o

[Travis9000]

That last one with the church is an amazing picture IMO. Nice work, and very creative idea.