Ericwolff
03-04-2008, 11:58 AM
Hi,
I'm a reporter, and I'm frequently called upon to do my own photography in a wide variety of situations. However, I also need my camera to be fairly portable, since it will sit in my satchel with my laptop, digital recorder, documents, notebooks, pens, bubblegum, receipts, etc., etc.
I've been looking at the ultra zooms, but I'll just go ahead and fill out the survey.
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Budget: ~$300
Size: compact, ultra-zoom, the pseudo DSLRs
Megapixels: 7+ will be plenty. But I always shoot at max resolution so photos will be print quality.
Zoom: better than standard. I've mostly been looking at 10x-12x, but the Powershot G9 is only 6x, but that's probably fine.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10): 10. Well, the best I can get out of this size camera. As I said, I need to be able to give these to my art director as good enough to print.
Do you care for manual controls: I'm not sure. I previously had a Canon Elph with 4 MP before I lost it a year ago. I now use a Nikon Coolpix P2 which I think is a bit too restrictive. If I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty point-and-shoot. I sometimes adjust ISO or flash on or off manually.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for: Everything from press conferences to profile portraits to fast action breaking news, low light, bright light, everything.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not: yes.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate: I kinda liked my Elph, but I'm agnostic on brand.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? I've been reading a lot about the Powershot G9, and the Panasonic TZ3 (though now there's the TZ5) and the Panasonic FZ8 (DpReview suggests the FZ18 is actually too much zoom for such a tiny camera), but I'm open. I've recently been told (by aforementioned art director) that I might want to consider a camera with a bigger lens than these models, but I really want to keep the weight down.
Other Notes: One of my major frustrations with the Nikon has been the shutter lag. I first approached my camera search looking for speed and big zoom. I started with the Sony HSC series, but the reviews were only so-so. That's how I landed at the Panasonics. Both are fast, with big zooms and good pic quality at bright light. My concern is that I've read a lot about the problem with the noise reduction algorithm at higher ISOs, even just ISO 200 and 400. I saw that the new TZ5 has a new and improved processor (the Venus IV) but no one has had a chance to really dig in and see if it's an improvement or not. Are there other makes or models I should be considering? Just how bad is the shutter lag on the Powershot G9? Is the problem with Panasonic's noise reduction overstated? Anyone's thoughts most welcome.
I'm a reporter, and I'm frequently called upon to do my own photography in a wide variety of situations. However, I also need my camera to be fairly portable, since it will sit in my satchel with my laptop, digital recorder, documents, notebooks, pens, bubblegum, receipts, etc., etc.
I've been looking at the ultra zooms, but I'll just go ahead and fill out the survey.
---------------------------------------------
Budget: ~$300
Size: compact, ultra-zoom, the pseudo DSLRs
Megapixels: 7+ will be plenty. But I always shoot at max resolution so photos will be print quality.
Zoom: better than standard. I've mostly been looking at 10x-12x, but the Powershot G9 is only 6x, but that's probably fine.
* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10): 10. Well, the best I can get out of this size camera. As I said, I need to be able to give these to my art director as good enough to print.
Do you care for manual controls: I'm not sure. I previously had a Canon Elph with 4 MP before I lost it a year ago. I now use a Nikon Coolpix P2 which I think is a bit too restrictive. If I'm honest with myself, I'm pretty point-and-shoot. I sometimes adjust ISO or flash on or off manually.
General Usage
* What will you generally use the camera for: Everything from press conferences to profile portraits to fast action breaking news, low light, bright light, everything.
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not: yes.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate: I kinda liked my Elph, but I'm agnostic on brand.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? I've been reading a lot about the Powershot G9, and the Panasonic TZ3 (though now there's the TZ5) and the Panasonic FZ8 (DpReview suggests the FZ18 is actually too much zoom for such a tiny camera), but I'm open. I've recently been told (by aforementioned art director) that I might want to consider a camera with a bigger lens than these models, but I really want to keep the weight down.
Other Notes: One of my major frustrations with the Nikon has been the shutter lag. I first approached my camera search looking for speed and big zoom. I started with the Sony HSC series, but the reviews were only so-so. That's how I landed at the Panasonics. Both are fast, with big zooms and good pic quality at bright light. My concern is that I've read a lot about the problem with the noise reduction algorithm at higher ISOs, even just ISO 200 and 400. I saw that the new TZ5 has a new and improved processor (the Venus IV) but no one has had a chance to really dig in and see if it's an improvement or not. Are there other makes or models I should be considering? Just how bad is the shutter lag on the Powershot G9? Is the problem with Panasonic's noise reduction overstated? Anyone's thoughts most welcome.