[Recovered Thread: 102984]

[tiger98]

Gregg. Can't help you much regarding the other brand of cameras but I can HIGHLY recommend the Panasonic FZ30. It has been one of the most relible, rugged, versatile cameras I've ever owned. I've had Pentax, Nikon, Canon and Sony experience and still feel, (IMO) the FZ30 to be tops. Regarding the FZ50 it wasn't a problem with noise, it was a problem with the internal software degrading the picture quality. I found the problem exsisted even if you dropped the MP's to 5 ! Regarding the low light, your going to get some noise even with a SLR. I always use a flash in the low light situation and avoid a noise problem. Hope this helps! Jim

[gregg]

thanks Jim

so there is no difference in performance?...shot to shot speed, shutter lag, and ability to focus in a variety of situations.....between the FZ30 or the 50?

if I don't care about the higher mp...is there any advantage you can think of (reading my original wants in a camera) with the 50 over the 30?

one question again (forgive me)...One of the knocks on olympus is that their self timers reset after using them. Does that mean if youuse the self timer on the FZ30/50 and hit the shutter once it will automatically keep snapping every 10 sec (or so) until the card is full or you stop it? just wondering.

thanks again,

gregg

[tiger98]

Gregg, In my opinion the 30 will do everything you could want ! The burst speed/ frames are actually less in the 50 than the 30. The resolution of the LCD is less in the 50 than the 30s. There are some new features in the 50 which I liked , such as more range in the movable LCD. There is a function button which allows you to make some settings changes without going into the menu. There is no 80 ISO in the 50 as in the 30 but there are some iso settings which are usable, (but grainy). But for all the new features it still didn't make up for a picture with less quality than the 30 or the 20! If it wasn't for the lousy picture quality it would be a great camera! (IMO) If they get the quality of the picture equal to that of the 30 I'll buy it again! Jim

Regarding the self timer, as I recall you have to reset it after each shot, which was never a problem. The focus etc is about the same on both cameras.

[Rriley]

that timer thing on Olys is a pain, I have had cause to use it a lot
you have to chase it in the menus every time you use it
the remote trigger is the answer, its cheap and works well

[tiger98]

Riley, I agree on the remote!

[gregg]

the wireless remote came with both olympus cameras...I don't use it that often...but it's easy to get spoiled

I guess I am just kind ofsurprised that:

1) there are no compact or zoom cameras that offer wireless remotes anymore...until you get into dslrs...the last ones tooffer a remote were the olympus c-8080, samsung pro815(?) and the nikon coolpix 8800

2) and that you have to hold down the shutter for any kind of sequential or continuous shooting...

I had just wondered what reveiwers meant by "resetting" the timer

I figured that onsome non-olympus models, you could hit the shutter button, let go...and it keeps snapping based on the timer length...I guess I was wrong

thanks for the thoughts though

gregg

[JohnK]

The FZ50 has a slower burst mode than the FZ30 2 or 2.5 fps vs 3 fps for the FZ30, if you do much burst shooting that's a pretty big deal. The FZ50 is slower shot to shot when shooting RAW since it has to write a much larger file, but if you're using RAW speed isn't usually as big a concern.

John


gregg wrote:

thanks Jim

so there is no difference in performance?...shot to shot speed, shutter lag, and ability to focus in a variety of situations.....between the FZ30 or the 50?

if I don't care about the higher mp...is there any advantage you can think of (reading my original wants in a camera) with the 50 over the 30?

one question again (forgive me)...One of the knocks on olympus is that their self timers reset after using them. Does that mean if youuse the self timer on the FZ30/50 and hit the shutter once it will automatically keep snapping every 10 sec (or so) until the card is full or you stop it? just wondering.

thanks again,

gregg

[gregg]

thanks John

but what I wascurious about was the timer resetting in olympus cameras that reviewers tended to talk about in a negative way...I had wondered does that in better cameras was there is a continuous mode for the self timer?

In other words if I was using the fz30 or anotherhigh quality camera and wanted to get a familygathering at the dinning room table...with my olympus I can use the remote...with other cameras I have to tell themnot to move while I get up and reset the camera...I can assure you that it was easier to organize the G7 summit than to try to getthem to sit still in one place...just a thought

:? I would have thought camera manufacturers would make some models with some sort of a "continuous timer mode" (oh...yes, some canons have remote shutter/timer down through the computer)

just my opinion

gregg

[RedStickMan]

"I figured that onsome non-olympus models, you could hit the shutter button, let go...and it keeps snapping based on the timer length...I guess I was wrong"

I suspect what they may be saying is that on some cameras, if you put it in timer mode, it starts the timer every time you push the shutter release.

With the FZs, each time you want to use the timer you must select either the 2 sec. or 10 sec. delay before each shot. It's a simple one (2 sec)or two (10 sec) button press. There is no way to have it continually take photos without holding the shutter release.

[Rriley]

on Olys what I think the reviewer meant by resetting the timer is
each time you go to use it you have to navigate thru the menus and select it
my C7070 also has 2 sec and 10 sec

Another aspect is, outside of whatever you have in the MyMode section
Olys reset themselves when turned oof
and any settings you made are lost and need to be reselected
thats a two edge sword
on the one hand you always know how its set when you start
but if you have a prefered setting thats a tad unusual you need to reapply it

Riley