Canon G6 vs. Panasonic FZ20

[Ace Rimmer]

I am a complete novice to digital photography, and my knowledge base is solely from viewing dcresource and dpreview. After a few years of resisting the change from 35mm SLR's (which I have used for 25+ years) to digital cameras, I am finally caving in. From my research on these sites, I have narrowed down my choices, based on features and price (cannot afford a digital SLR), to the Canon G6 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20. Pros for the Canon seem to be higher resolution, truer colours outdoors (from the samples on the dcresource website), longer exposure times available, and RAW format (if that is better than TIFF?); and for the Panasonic, much higher optical zoom, Leica lens, image stabilisation, and better indoor photography (from what I have seen on dcresource website, again). I rarely use over a 150mm zoom in 35mm photography (I occassionally use a 2x teleconverter with this), so would a 12x zoom be an advantage or overkill? One thing I noticed after playing around with a G6 is that it is hard to tell how far down to depress the shutter to activate the AF as opposed to making an exposure; whereas with the FZ20, there is no question as to where AF stops and exposure begins judging by the feel of the shutter release button. The FZ20 also seems slightly easier to figure out. Would a G6 with one of the add-on telephoto attachments be as good as the FZ20? Does the software that comes with each camera make a difference? Which, if either, seems to have better quality prints? Which camera seems to do better all-around (in all types of photographic situations) regarding digital photography? Inquiring minds need to know. Thanks!

[applepeach]

I am a complete novice to digital photography, and my knowledge base is solely from viewing dcresource and dpreview. After a few years of resisting the change from 35mm SLR's (which I have used for 25+ years) to digital cameras, I am finally caving in. From my research on these sites, I have narrowed down my choices, based on features and price (cannot afford a digital SLR), to the Canon G6 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20. Pros for the Canon seem to be higher resolution, truer colours outdoors (from the samples on the dcresource website), longer exposure times available, and RAW format (if that is better than TIFF?); and for the Panasonic, much higher optical zoom, Leica lens, image stabilisation, and better indoor photography (from what I have seen on dcresource website, again). I rarely use over a 150mm zoom in 35mm photography (I occassionally use a 2x teleconverter with this), so would a 12x zoom be an advantage or overkill? One thing I noticed after playing around with a G6 is that it is hard to tell how far down to depress the shutter to activate the AF as opposed to making an exposure; whereas with the FZ20, there is no question as to where AF stops and exposure begins judging by the feel of the shutter release button. The FZ20 also seems slightly easier to figure out. Would a G6 with one of the add-on telephoto attachments be as good as the FZ20? Does the software that comes with each camera make a difference? Which, if either, seems to have better quality prints? Which camera seems to do better all-around (in all types of photographic situations) regarding digital photography? Inquiring minds need to know. Thanks!

Hi ACE,
I am in a similar situation like yourself. While the G6 is more compact and can be carried around more conveniently, which is what most amateurs preferred, I think I cannot resist the ease of use and the ultrazoom Leica 2.8 in the FZ20. I wonder why FZ20 still using the USB1.1 for downloading to PC. I will be visiting the camera shops tommorrow to do my final decision. As of now, my choice is still the FZ20.

[haikai]

Hi ACE,
I am in a similar situation like yourself. While the G6 is more compact and can be carried around more conveniently, which is what most amateurs preferred, I think I cannot resist the ease of use and the ultrazoom Leica 2.8 in the FZ20. I wonder why FZ20 still using the USB1.1 for downloading to PC. I will be visiting the camera shops tommorrow to do my final decision. As of now, my choice is still the FZ20.

well, i have a g6... although i have not used the camera itself to transfer files in quite some time, i do not think it is USB 2 either. honestly, you're better off shelling out another $20 or so and getting a USB 2.0 card reader. save your camera battery for actually taking pictures, and using a card reader will probably be quite a bit faster. i don't think anyone should really make their camera buying decisions based on the speed of the camera's USB port unless they really don't want to transfer their files any other way. besides, with a card reader, you can use your flash card to transfer files between computers without the camera (and most readers these days accept multiple types of cards so you have a universal solution).

as for deciding between these two cams, both have their perks... i love the lens and image stabilization of the fz20, but i need RAW capability (yes, it is better than TIFF), and i like the flip out lcd and the remote shuttering capability. :)

hai