FZ7 x S3 IS

[MattHelm]

Hi all. I'm curious about the fact that the FZ7 review says that it has 'Images noisier than they should be, especially at high ISO sensitivities', while in the S3 IS review the camera has 'Very good photo quality; low noise levels for a 6MP camera'. Comparing the night shots, for my untrained eyes, it's obvious that the S3 is noisier. Am I wrong?
S3 IS:
ISO 200 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca...ghtshot200.jpg
ISO 400 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca...ghtshot400.jpg
FZ7:
ISO 200 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/pa...w/P1000177.JPG
ISO 400 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/pa...w/P1000180.JPG

[genece]

As the Canon ultrazooms came out I did a sample of every model and at all ISOs and in my opinion every model was noisier than the comparable Panasonic.
You would never know that by the talk on the net, either the pro reviewers or the users on the forums...but it is so.

I just quit trying to convince anyone, as its a lost cause....just enjoy your camera and ignore people that want to bash the FZ cameras....they are only trying to justify their purchase mistake.

Its been my opinion if you want a ultrazoom with the detail of the FZs ,for now at least you must accept the noise.

Now if you do not need either a ultrazoom or the detail, there are many cameras with less noise.

I have no reason to believe the FZ7 is a step backwards so that would make it a very good camera.

[John_Reed]

And your comparison of the ISO 400 images from both cameras begs the question of why this impartial site would make such a positive statement about the Canon's image, while denegrating the FZ7's image. I guess the bar was just higher for the FZ7 in this case, more was expected of it? (After all, it costs less than the S3, right?) I'm curious to see how the TZ1 fares in its review. I've been getting surprisingly good high-ISO results with mine, but the reviewer may think differently?

[genece]

John
I still can not understand how Simons statement "its not a big enough improvement" about the FZ30 can hold any water when every review of the canons and fujis seem to be almost no improvement over an already inferior camera.(and they always have something good to say about them)

When someone makes a camera that takes wonderful photos as the FZ30 does......and these reviewers seem to be afraid to say its great.

If they would just point out the features and the beautiful and wonderfully detailed photos...and then comment, they would like to see less noise.

Heck I would like to see less noise....I can even say that about the D50 and it has none.

[tim11]

Hi all. I'm curious about the fact that the FZ7 review says that it has 'Images noisier than they should be, especially at high ISO sensitivities', while in the S3 IS review the camera has 'Very good photo quality; low noise levels for a 6MP camera'. Comparing the night shots, for my untrained eyes, it's obvious that the S3 is noisier. Am I wrong?
S3 IS:
ISO 200 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca...ghtshot200.jpg
ISO 400 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/ca...ghtshot400.jpg
FZ7:
ISO 200 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/pa...w/P1000177.JPG
ISO 400 - http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/pa...w/P1000180.JPG

FZ7 wins hands down at ISO 200 and 400 when looking at those image links.
FZ7's are cleaner.

[Phill D]

I initially read this just out of curiosity but having looked at the linked shots I thought I had to do a back to back mix on the same page to really compare. So I pasted a small crop of a couple of buildings & some dark sky from both iso400 shots onto a powerpoint slide & was staggered at the differences. Not only was the noise much less in the FZ7 shot but the building detail was dissapearing dramatically in the S3IS shot where the FZ7 shot was still pretty acceptable. I can't paste it here as it came out as a 6Mb file but if someone knows how to do a direct side by side comparison in something other than powerpoint at a size that can be posted please post one as the image differences do stand out. I did notice one curious thing though when I pasted the images into powerpoint the S3 one came in much smaller & I had to stretch it to make the buildings match the size of those in the FZ image. I thought that was strange as the originals seemed to be the same size. Are we sure that there is nothing different about these two images that is affecting the way they show up? I must admit to having been very impressed with most of the S2 images that have been posted on the gallery & would have been very tempted by the S3 if I was looking to buy now but if this difference is real then I know which camera I would go for. I think this needs a few comments from Jeff on how he took the two shots & to confirm the comparisons are valid.

[pxpaulx]

i think, unfortunately, it comes down to the buying public's perception of each of these companies. One of the clerks at our local camera store put it like this, when i asked why he thought the panasonics don't sell well...people associated the names Canon and Nikon with photography, thats what they always have done and always will do. the name panasonic is associated with TVs and refrigerators and unless the consumer can get past that, their cameras just dont have a chance against the brands they know. I myself own an fz30, and while it dwarfs my camera knowledge, it inspires me to want to take photographs, not just snapshots. i love it, and have never had a problem with any noise - short of a dSLR, all digital cameras will have noise.

[genece]

While I am sure your assessment of name recognition holds some water .....It is well within my recall when no one ever heard of a Panasonic appliance...and now look.

A rep from Panasonic told me their goal is the same now for cameras as it was 30 years ago in regard to Appliances, to be in the top 3....and they fully expect to accomplish that in the foreseeable future.

[pxpaulx]

While I am sure your assessment of name recognition holds some water .....It is well within my recall when no one ever heard of a Panasonic appliance...and now look.

A rep from Panasonic told me their goal is the same now for cameras as it was 30 years ago in regard to Appliances, to be in the top 3....and they fully expect to accomplish that in the foreseeable future.

I hope that is the case! they make great products, and their line of cameras is no exception.

[adamsfamily]

I'm no pro, but from my untrained eye, the FZ7 ISO400 shot looks far superior to the S3's.

I've got my TZ1 and looking to get the next camera with some Manual modes, and to be honest, these were both on my list.

I was pretty close to getting the S3 at the weekend, it felt better in holding, and I love the colour of it.
But having seen these shots, I'm beginning to wonder whether to stay with the Panasonics.
I may be wrong, but the FZ7 and S3 are pretty much similar in spec, and one may have a feature the other hasn't in either direction (rotating lens on the S3 for example, larger screen on the FZ7 in the other direction), so the decision is pretty close to call, but at the end of the day, I still have my priority list to fulfil....

Fast
Zoom
Lowlight Shooting

So does anyone agree that the FZ7 would be the better buy?