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"Perfect in every last detail" on by danrez
Pros: Better position of trigger, swivelling screen with greater resolution, better positioning of the EVF, zoom ring (!!!!), + everything from the FZ20
Cons: Weight. If you're not in to larger Pro / Semi-Pro this is not for you.
Summary: I am a camera enthusiast and I have a Panasonic FZ20 which I simply love. I do have some issues with it - no, not issues, possible improvements - which seem to be nailed down quite nicely in the FZ30. The swivelling screen was something I kind of envied in other cameras, the zoom ring would really be more confortable and the trigger is now placed perfectly, where you would naturally go with your finger. Plus, you get a higher density screen and 3 extra megapixels compared to the FZ20!!! Just hope they don't charge proportionally to everything it has. Seems like THE CAMERA to beat.
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"Great Camera !!! but noisy ! ." on by mark villeland
Pros: Great features , leica zoom . Exellent LCD screen .
Cons: Noise on the pictures .
Summary: I own the camera since last week , first impresion - Great peace of work . But it looks difrent on computer screen . Noise is allmost everywhere . Pictures taken at night are noisy . Pictures taken at home - noisy .
Sometimes i can be lucky and picture is fine when useing flash . ( Only at 80 iso ) . Don`t even dream taken pictures at higher iso range . It`s useless !!! .
Only outside in daylight are fine . I did not took so many shots , but i am working on it . Realy great camera , belive me but the noise ! . I sendt a mail to the Panasonic for some help , and posible improvments . I am waiting for a answer . I will comeback again with some further comment later. So - i don`t know , the great camera with too much noise . ( my first camera was Olympus 5050 - wow - exelent peace of art , too slow but great shots , unfortunetly some thief took it ). Have good weekend everybody .Updated
Well i have taken hundrets of pictures in last weekend . Well . Exellent shots . I have learn the camera . It seems that is getting beter with the time . Wow . What kan i say . Sorry Panasonic for my last opinion . Mark Villeland .Updated
I just want to say that i will give the higest point for the product . Bravo Panasonic . 10 points ,even 11 .
Mark V . Bye .
( Exellent Shots and try take the movie
it is just great ). -
"Looking for a digital SLR? Forget it and buy this instead!" on by kynance
Pros: Looks great, handles wonderfully and does the job!
Cons: Are there any?
Summary: Forget the Olympus E300 SLR......well, I have!
I desperately wanted an Olympus digital SLR. I have 5 cameras and I am usually fiercly loyal to Olympus.
I went directly to buy the E300 - there was no stopping me - that's what I wanted, until I saw this!
It's not the cheapest on the market, but boy, is it good!
Lots of functions - and by that, I mean USEFUL ones. HUGE high quality zoom - so much fun! Fabulous quality results.
It also has the advantage of using standard SD cards. Everyone has an SD card somewhere, so no mucking about paying extra just to get started, besides, mine came with a small card in the box! That's rare to see!
This camera wasn't voted "European camera of the year 2005" for nothing!
Look, I am just a girl (a blonde one at that) and I can figure my way round it with ease, my Husband is a techno freak and loves expensive high tech gadgets and HE loves this camera.
It's just great, what more can I say?
When someone asks you what you want for Christmas, do what I did....don't say "pearls" say "oh, I tell you what, since you're asking, I'll have a Panasonic FZ30 - and, just to save on the cost of wrapping paper, dearest, I'll have it early - like today, thanks!!"
You deserve the best, don't you? -
"Too Noisy For Large Prints..." on by studderstep
Pros: Great lens, good color exposure & white balance
Cons: Sensor Too Small!, Unacceptable Noise Levels Even at ISO 80
Summary: As of this writing, I am selling my FZ-30 after two weeks of use. It's unfortunate because this is, for the most part, an excellent camera that will appeal to many photographers out there and will serve many people well.
This camera is an excellent choice if you will mostly be viewing your pictures at less than 100% on a computer or if you will be printing 4x6 or 5x7 photos. If this is you, then you may want to give this camera strong consideration.
However, I personally like to make the occassional enlargement and like to display 6x8 and 8x10 photos. I also need to have a quick backup camera to take shots for 8x10 enlargements for work. This is where the DMC-FZ30 fails- and miserably so (and I can't always "borrow" the Mamiya 6 medium format for the weekend.)
I just got back from a two week vacation to Central America and loved the zoom reach of the DMC-FZ30. I got many close up shots of colorful birds, monkeys, whales and other wildlife that I would not have gotten without the optical reach of the 12x Leica lens. Again, the lens takes pictures that I thought were very color accurate, extremely detailed and very sharp. A very, very good lens. White balance was for the most part very good on the few auto shots I took with the camera. With the 9-point AF turned off, the camera was also able to take pictures fast enough to catch a great sequence of two Howler monkeys chasing each other at full speed.
Upon arriving home, I had about 460 pictures and after a long look at each, about 4 were worth blowing up to 8x10 and framing. However, the noise levels in the photos at even 6x8 were completely unacceptable. Two of the shots were at ISO 80, one was at ISO 200 and one was in RAW format. Even the RAW shot had enough noise to make an 8x10 enlargement look pixilated and ameteaurish. The ISO 200 sunset was very much so at large size.
Forget the noise reducing software! It only takes away the sharpness and fine detail that is the primary strength of the fantastic Leica lens on this camera. I have never liked noise reducing software for this very reason- sharpness and detail are needed in a photo.
Design wise, from a user friendly perspective and ease of use, this is a nearly perfect camera. However, for larger pictures of your treasured moments, the small sensor creates far too much noise- so much so that I am getting rid of the camera.
I hope the next version of the camera keeps the excellent ergonomics and functions of the FZ-30, but uses a much larger sensor to faithfully reproduce large images from a fantastic lens. Sorry Panasonic, but for larger prints (which I like)this camera is a definite pass. A shame. --Stutter -
"A very good camera" on by claudehb
Pros: Ergonomics, well balanced controls, very good pictures
Cons: Noise at high ISO, manual focus ring
Summary: This is a very good camera. The main problem is because one's compare it to SLR; it is a very good camera but it's not a SLR (with a big sensor).
Ergonomy, controls, menus are very well thought. Picture quality is very good at low ISO speeds (80-100).
I really appreciate the possibility to use 3 different sizes of pictures (4:3, 3:2, 16:9). Manual zoom is a very good idea.
Since it is an electronic feature, the manual focus ring has no limit (it always turn). Therefore, it is very difficult to adjust the focus at infiniti.
Taking picture against very high level of light is tricky (i.e.: sunset) - the picture on the viewfinder get washed (by the excess of light).
I would judge the rotation (up-down) of LCD monitor only fair: I would have preferred a sided pivot similar to the concept from other manufacturers.
I have taken more than 500 pictures so far: daylight, night sceneries, but I have not used the flash yet.
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