[Recovered Thread: 88074]

[Luzendel]

Hi,

I want to buy a digital camera but cannot decide between the FZ7 and H2! I really like the greater resolution of the H2 LCD. On the other hand, the FZ7 is smaller. I've only tried the FZ7 and I really like the joystick for the manual controls. Does the H2 have an equivalent of the FZ7 joystick for the manual controls?

What do you think of those two cameras? What about the quality of the lenses?

Thanks!!

[armadilloshield]

I'm also in the torn between this 2 cameras.
Currently I still can't find any FZ7 available in Singapore, but H2 already in the store, but expensive selling at U$500. Probably will try out H2 today.
I think lens quality maybe Sony is better.
One more think since H2 using two AA batt, sound good because in case of emergency you can get AA batt anywhere and cheap.

[armadilloshield]

Today going to the shop to try out H2.
Found out few things:
1. ISO 800/1000 alot noise but if go thru neat image or if you print to 4R size looks not too bad.
2. During movie recording, able to adjust optical zoom
3. LCD 2", smaller than H1, but I feel ok, maybe save battery consumption

[E.T]

armadilloshield wrote:

1. ISO 800/1000 alot noise but if go thru neat image...

Nothing can repair destroyed colours caused by extreme noise/noise removing in "high sensitivity" fraud.

http://www.quesabesde.com/camdig/not...H2_ISO1000.jpg
That brick wall should be red... so usefullness of that is very marginal and ISO400 is practical upper limit.

[armadilloshield]

Here is sample of H2:
12x optical zoom, ISO 1000, neat image and resize only.

[slipe]

If you don't need more than 600 X 800 output you can probably shoot at high ISO with any camera and have enough detail after Neat Image. To display noise in a small image you have to show a small area crop.

In the dpreview tests they didn't think the stabilization was as good on the H1 as the Canon S2 and Panasonics. Maybe they've improved it, but considering you are down to f3.7 at full zoom you can't afford to lose much in stabilization. My FZ10 is F2.8 at full zoom and I'm at the limits of my handholding ability shooting a bird in the shaded woods on a sunny day using mode 2 stabilization. Burst mode helps in those situations but the H1 didn't have a burst mode either. The FZ7 has a faster lens and good burst. If Sony didn't improve the stabilization I wouldn't find the H2 or H5 that useful. Or the H1 for that matter.

Despite the resolution the LCD on the H2 is small for that large a camera with no articulation. My near vision isn't that great so I prefer size to resolution if I have to choose. Without articulation on the LCD and with an EVF I see no use for the LCD except to review the pictures and show them off. The H5 has an excellent LCD but you have to accept a higher pixel density in the sensor to get it. I have often wished I had a fully articulated LCD for shooting over people and just getting better angles. An articulated LCD is also good for protecting the LCD in transport.

I don't think there is a lot to choose between the Zeiss or Leica lenses – or the Canon lens on the S3 for that matter. Canon and Sony are making better progress in noise control than Panasonic, but many large Panasonics let you turn the noise reduction completely off, which is an advantage in some situations.

The FZ7 is the lightest and most compact. I don't find that to be much of an advantage once you can't put the camera in a pocket or small belt pouch. I like the movies and articulated LCD better on the Canon S3. None of them have MPEG4, so it is a wash there. The Sonys have internal memory rather than come with a useless throw-away card like the Canon and Panasonic. You can use that memory to store a large permanent photo album of your favorite photos, and the H5 screen would be great for viewing them. The Panasonic is slightly faster at full zoom followed by the Canon. The FZ7 has the best burst followed by the S3. I don't know about the H2 and H5, but the H1 had no burst mode.

I think I would prefer the S3 of the lot, but not by much. I don't think you would go wrong with any of them.

[aakalan]

slipe wrote:

Please get your facts right before disseminating misinformation

In the dpreview tests they didn't think the stabilization was as good on the H1 as the Canon S2 and Panasonics. Maybe they've improved it, but considering you are down to f3.7 at full zoom you can't afford to lose much in stabilization.

Simon said "But there's not much in it", meaning the differences were negligable. Furthermore, he didn't test it, like some other reviewers. On the other hand almost every other review proclaimed it superb. Pop Photo confirmed 4 stops of IS in lab tests, imaging-resource confirmed 3-4 stops as have several others. The IS on the H1 is superb. I regularly take pictures at 1/40th to 1/20th. See my galleries at http://www.aakatz.com.

My FZ10 is F2.8 at full zoom and I'm at the limits of my handholding ability shooting a bird in the shaded woods on a sunny day using mode 2 stabilization. Burst mode helps in those situations but the H1 didn't have a burst mode either.

Absolutely wrong again. The H1 does have a burst mode. It also has a bracketing mode. Don't know where you got this misinformation. It does up to 9 images in burst mode.

The FZ7 has a faster lens and good burst. If Sony didn't improve the stabilization I wouldn't find the H2 or H5 that useful. Or the H1 for that matter.

Perhaps you would if you discovered that your objections were incorrect! :-)

[slipe]

Simon said "But there's not much in it", meaning the differences were negligable. Furthermore, he didn't test it, like some other reviewers. On the other hand almost every other review proclaimed it superb. Pop Photo confirmed 4 stops of IS in lab tests, imaging-resource confirmed 3-4 stops as have several others. The IS on the H1 is superb. I regularly take pictures at 1/40th to 1/20th.

Simon saw fit to mention the weaker stabilization in the conclusion of the H1 review. I doubt he would bother if it weren't noticeable.

When you are shooting in marginal conditions a little difference is significant. The difference between f2.8 and f3.7 is at least the difference between 1/30 and 1/50 second. With that shutter speed limitation you can't have any other limitations IMO. A bird in a tree deep in the shade takes f2.8 down to 1/30 second, With a real burst mode and bracing and holding my breath I can usually get at least one sharp image.

There are people who post here who claim to shoot that slow or slower with unstabilized super zooms and claim you need not pay extra for stabilization. It comes down to standards, how much you blow a shot up and how critical you are of the output.

Absolutely wrong again. The H1 does have a burst mode. It also has a bracketing mode. Don't know where you got this misinformation. It does up to 9 images in burst mode.

If you consider a shot a second a burst mode we are from different schools of photography. Most cameras will do that. Sony might be dishonest enough to call that a burst mode but most just call it "continuous". My little pocket camera shoots in "continuous" at about that speed and doesn't lose all viewfinder capability while it is doing it.

The SLR and DSLR crowd consider the 3 shots a second of the Panasonic a little marginal to be called "burst". And 3 shots a second is limited enough you couldn't take long bursts without an auxiliary viewfinder unless you just shoot wider than necessary and use it only on stationary targets. A shot a second with no viewfinder is worse than ridiculous to consider a burst mode.

As I said, the H1 does not have a burst mode. If they want to call "continuous" a burst mode shame on them. And too bad for anyone who doesn't know what a burst mode is.