After many hours of research I went for the Panasonic FZ150 and have had it for four months. It fell between the FZ150 and the Canon SX40. I would have gone for the Canon but for its very limited manual mode. The pics on the panasonic are slightly sharper than the Canon out of the camera but the Canon appears to control the noise and artefacts very slightly better. The Canon can be made to be as sharp by use of the unsharp mask on a PC (you cant change the sharpness or noise reduction in camera!!). However its has been strangled by limited manual mode functions. As such for what it was intended, prosumer camera, its a non starter as you cant do too much with it. The Fuji HS20 alternative well its just really noisy and lacking detail at iso 400 and above. The Panasonic can be used at ISO 400 (as the Canon can) but does loose some detail but does produce reasonable pics that are printable even up to A4 size. The 12MP CMOS sensor does seem to make a difference here. Which is the main improvement over the FZ45 and FZ100. Dont get too carried away with more MP in small sensor cameras as the individual pixels get smaller and you loose the extra detail in the noise. The use of higher ISOs is quite important as when the lighting drops you really need to up the ISO to get a clear picture without camera shake. But as the ISO goes up you are effectively amplifying the light which also amplifies the noise. At ISO 100 it is quite a good picture and considering its Zoom range, cost, functionally it is the best of the bunch in my opinion. This will not compete with an SLR camera in terms of features but mainly picture quality (When compared to say as Canon 600D which my farther has the is has a significantly better picture and can easily use much higher ISO settings.) However for my personal choice I wanted a large zoom range. which means on an SLR extra lenses, more cost and bulk. Although this would have given me a significantly better picture I dont want to change lenses and cant afford them all anyway. So a prosumer model it had to be. Currently in my opinion this is the best choice. I wish the picture had less artefacts but i guess that would mean a larger sensor less zoom more money etc. And this is really only seen when looking at 100% on a monitor or extreme cropping on prints. Also the view finder could have a higher resolution which I tend to use more than I thought. I tend to set the exposure down a 1/3 to stop blowing the highlights too much which it has a tendency to do. Video quality is very good and I am very pleased with it. Crisp clear smooth frame rate good levels of detail. It focuses well and fast up to say 400mm but can hunt very occasionally at the 600mm end in video and picture mode but is still very useable. Bottom line this is a very capable camera as long as you dont expect it to compare with an SLR. It will take some very good shots and print to A4 very well with good detail and with cropping. It can use the higher ISO range much better than most other compact and prosumer digicams. For reviews, pics and video samples I do recommend trawling some review sites like:- http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/FZ150/FZ150A.HTM Here you can compare tha canon as well in various shots. very useful site. http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_sx40_hs_review/ http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_FZ150/Read full review
This camera is a must-buy for somebody who wants to upgrade his digital camera for budding hobbyists like me. I think it is one of the closest you can get with regards to picture quality to a DSLR although some may argue that the gap is still significant. This high-end compact digital quality has the look and feel of a DSLR with the pros of not having to carry all the paraphernalia of a DSLR. This is great for somebody who likes to travel light but does not want to compromise a lot on picture quality. The zoom of the camera is magnificent. You do not need a 'telescope' lens to carry with you to take a photo of a bird in a tree high above you. The photos taken, especially portrait pictures, are crisp and detailed. I did not give the picture quality 5 out of 5 for the sake of being as accurate as possible. The camera is not lacking in picture quality but with regards to colour in a picture, it lacks the vibrant colours of for example a Canon camera. It is not up there with the best with regards to colour saturation. However, for the price I bought this camera, the camera is worth every euro I paid. The actual retail price of the camera is not realistic but the ebay seller sold the camera at a very competitive and great value-for-money price.Read full review
The camera is light, easy to focus and zoom. The picture quality is beautiful thanks to the quality Leica lens. The size slider is a bonus as you can set it for the zoom or to focus the camera. I prefer the zoom setting but like all electronic sliders there is a little lag unlike the manual focus ring of the FZ50 model. The internal programming gives a versatility to the camera that allows clear action shots as well as nicely posed portrait shots. There is some lens distortion in some settings but it is easily corrected in photoshop. The white balance is not quite right and needs to be fiddled with but this is true of all Lumix cameras I have owned and I have owned five previous models.
I bought this camera, used via ebay auction as I had been let down by another online retailer for a new one. (Simply Electronics - based Hong Kong, won't ever touch them with a barge pole again, took 4 weeks to get my refund) I wanted to step up from basic photography and to learn how to take good pics but couldn't afford / didn't have knowledge for a DSLR so having read several reviews I decided on this bridge camera. The camera arrived like new. Its brilliant. I had quite a good point and press Samsung N130 before this. It took good pics and I still have it. This camera makes you realise what can be done quite simply. The zoom is good and controls quite easy to pick up. Only down size no detail printed instructions only a CD. I taken several hundred photos in the last month and I am now moving away from auto mode to experimenting with manual controls. The video capture is superb and a reasonable range from wide angle to zoom for a beginner like me. In conclusion I am glad I made the jump and very pleased with the price I paid via a very good genuine ebay seller.Read full review
I bought this as an alternative to my hefty DSLR with a 500mm lens stuck on the front. Less than half the weight, no lens changing, built in OIS, switch on and use it. OK, it's only a compact camera, but 12 megapixels is enough for a decent sized print, and it's fast to use when you don't have to change lenses. I have had better wildlife pictures with this than with my DSLR, which with lenses, cost eight times as much. It also does decent video, which although I didn't buy it for video, has been useful as an alternative to my video camera, and means I don't have to carry two cameras. There isn't much to dislike about this camera. Purists might complain about the electronic viewfinder, which, granted, is not as nice as an optical one, but which I much prefer to using the lcd screen, especially in bright light, and was part of the reason for the purchase. The ability to swivel the lcd screen is another plus point. Overall, I am very pleased with this camera, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a long lens without the bother of changing. There are compact cameras with longer lenses, but they are not necessarily of greater benefit.Read full review
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