Pana Fz20, FZ3, Canon S1 IS or Fuji FinePix S5100...which one and why??

[rw32561]

I am trying to choose between the Panasonic FZ3, FZ20, Canon S1 IS and the FujiFilm FineS5100. I am an on the go dad who takes a lot of pictures at his kids highschool basketball games. Will take on vacation every year and other family events.....which camera and why....I am willing to spend from $400 to $500 (give or take a little).

[PhilR.]

We all have our faves, and all of those cameras have good reasons to pick them. Here is why I chose the FZ3:
a) 12x zoom with image stabilisation - beats the Canon and Fuji handily. Another amazing thing to me is that the FZ3's lens is f2.8 across the entire zoom range. Amazing for under $350.
b) The FZ3 is a much smaller camera than the FZ20. You do give up manual focus and a hotshoe, but to me that was a distant second to the convenience of not having to carry around a camera as big as your head.
c) The price of the FZ3 is less than the others, if you can take advantage of the sales lately. It will do as much, if not more, than the others for a smaller price.

As long as you don't have need for pics larger than 8x10, then the FZ3 will do pretty much everything you would need in a smaller package.

PhilR.

[John_Reed]

b) The FZ3 is a much smaller camera than the FZ20. You do give up manual focus and a hotshoe, but to me that was a distant second to the convenience of not having to carry around a camera as big as your head.The FZ20 is nowhere near the size of anyone's head, and it's misleading to say so. It's quite a bit smaller than any dSLR with lens, and in fact, there are some for whom it seems to be too small. Before you decide on the FZ3 for its smaller size, a friend of mine once bought an FZ1 (slightly larger than FZ3) after seeing some of my stuff, and very quickly bought an FZ10 (same size as FZ20), because the FZ1 was just too small for his hands! I've carried my FZ10 in a tummy pack while running for 5 miles, and its weight and bulk weren't obtrusive at all. I'll also add that I think I get better camera stability with the FZ10 than I did with my FZ1 because of its larger size and thus easier gripping. So before you decide, handle them first, or purchase one with an easy return option, just in case...

[propwash]

Good points, John. I have large hands, but my fingers are really skinny. I tried the FZ10, FZ20 and FZ3, and for some reason the FZ3 felt the best to me. It is a little smaller, but it seemed that it was the best fit for me. I would also suggest that anyone try to do a side by side comaprison of the cameras on the "short list" and go with the one that seems to fit your needs (and your hands) the best.

[PhilR.]

The FZ20 is nowhere near the size of anyone's head, and it's misleading to say so.

I think that anyone who is smart enough to have a job that affords the opportunity to purchase luxury items such as these, is also smart enough to know: a)that there really isn't a camera "as big as your head" (unless you get into large format film cameras) and b) to discern when statements are made in an exaggerating manner in order to provide some amusement. I have not *ever* put up any posts intending to mislead, intentionally or otherwise. I'm sure the original poster got it - too bad you didn't....

PhilR.

[Rhys]

I've seem the FZ220. I haven't handled it but it looks like a nice wee beastie. Had I been looking for camera that took SD then I'd have been very interested in the FZ220 rather than my S1. I'm very happy with my S1 though. It'll take something really amazing to get me to change from my trio of Nikon 995, Nikon 3100 and Canon S1 IS.

[John_Reed]

I think that anyone who is smart enough to have a job that affords the opportunity to purchase luxury items such as these, is also smart enough to know: a)that there really isn't a camera "as big as your head" (unless you get into large format film cameras) and b) to discern when statements are made in an exaggerating manner in order to provide some amusement. I have not *ever* put up any posts intending to mislead, intentionally or otherwise. I'm sure the original poster got it - too bad you didn't....

PhilR.I react to "head size" statements, since I wear a size 8 hat, and have always suffered ridicule on my gourd's account. Be that as it may, I think that it is possible, unless you put your hands on one, to look at a photo of one of these enormous-lens FZs and get a mistaken impression of its size. I know when I bought my FZ1, it was "sight unseen," and having seen only pictures of it with its large-looking lens, I was surprised it was so small when I finally got it out of the box! So, it's easy to be misleading, whether you mean to or not, and as I said, even the FZ20 is too small for some folks. Peace, brother. :)

[PixChick]

I am trying to choose between the Panasonic FZ3, FZ20, Canon S1 IS and the FujiFilm FineS5100. I am an on the go dad who takes a lot of pictures at his kids highschool basketball games. Will take on vacation every year and other family events.....which camera and why....I am willing to spend from $400 to $500 (give or take a little).

**I found this link and it may be helpful to you. http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM (http://http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM)

You will really need to handle each yourself to make a final decision. All of the cams will give you good pics, but you may have a preference for the nuances of one over the other. I have an FZ20 and I am a small-handed person but it is not too large for me. I am also used to a larger cam as that is what I had before I went digital. My film cam was a bit larger and heavier. The extra weight was really nice to help stabilize the cam. I notice that I have a lot of difficulty keeping my FZ20 steady when I use manual focus--because it is lighter. I looked at the Fuji when it came out and it was even lighter than the FZ-20 (smaller too, but good feel to it for my taste). The fuji doesn't have IS, so that would make the camera shake issue even worse, but if you don't need/want to shoot at lower shutter speeds hand held it won't matter. With the basketball shots, you will need a fast shutter speed in order to capture action so for that IS isn't really going to be an issue. I really like the fuji's colors and overall picture quality from a lot of samples I have seen (just a personal preference, not anything scientific or professional)-- and for what you get feature wise, I think it is a good deal. Had it been available at the time I purchased a cam, I think I would have gone for that one instead, but I do not regret my FZ-20 purchase. These are just MY opinions, and I am sure that there are many that would disagree with me. It is all so subjective, unfortunately, so you really can't rely on all of these replies to tell you what to do. I hope you are satisfied with whatever you decide to buy.