What is most important for a compact? Zoom or low light?

[mtclimber]

dj-

I do not mean to further complicate this discussion, but how a camera handles WB or white balance is important as well. Take a look at the attached photo here is a composite photo showing how the Olympus E-600 (a DSLR camera ), the Panasonic ZS7, and the Kodak Z-950 all handle the white balance in the same photo.

The three photos were taken within 20 seconds of each other under the very same lighting conditions. The colors Black and White were used to see if one of these cameras produced any kind of color cast due to how the individual cameras handled their own WB.

The E-600 has a slight blue cast

The Panasonic ZS7 has a pronounced green cast

The Kodak Z-950 was the most accurate of all three cameras.

Sarah Joyce

[cristina yang]

i think the zoom is very important, especially when go outside

[Ann Norman]

Keldun,
Let us know your response to the Samsung you bought to compare to the Panasonic Lumix.

The Kodak 950 is sounding interesting. Other than not having nas wide a lense, does it have similar features to the Lumix zs5 and the Samsung?

A friend loves their lumix but states flower photos of yellow flowers are a bit garish, using AI mode. Has anyone else found this to be true? Perhaps is it prone to go yellow, as well as green (well, green is yellow and blue, so maybe so)?

[mtclimber]

Hi Ann-

Welcome to the Forum. We're delighted that you dropped by. Panasonic's WB tends toward the green-ish hue as I posted previously. Therefore, anything yellow in color is impacted noticably.

Interestingly enough, the Kodak Z-915 and Z-950 do not have that WB problem at all as you can see from the attached photo.

Sarah Joyce

[Wirraway]

Sarah this shot is over exposed and lost detail.

[mtclimber]

Ian-

You are 100% correct. But it was the only predominately yellow shot I had on file. I used it to demonstrate WB.

Sarah Joyce

[Amruth]

Hi All,

I am looking for a good camera which can take some great photos, good video quality, better zoom and better low light performance.

After looking at most of the compact superzoom cameras i am impressed with Canon SX210 IS.

For your convenience here is the list of top superzoom makes i could find:

Panasonic FZ35
Kodak Z981
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Canon PowerShot SX210 IS - 14.1MP, 14x zoom, 720p HD video
Nikon S8000 - 14 MP, 10x zoom, 720p HD video
Samsung WB650
Samsung HZ30W
Samsung TL240
Nikon Coolpix P100 is another better camera.
Sony Alpha Nex 5 - Excellent but costs double than all above

Can someone please suggest if it is worth for what i am looking?

If there are any other better makes/models, please suggest.

Thanks a lot!
Amruth

[mtclimber]

Amruth-

Welcome to the Forum. We're pleased that you dropped by.

In the super zoom category, in my opinion, the Panasonic is the best and most user friendly camera. It fared very well indeed in the recent DRP super zoom competition.

Sarah Joyce

[Amruth]

Sarah,

Thanks for the info!

Can you please suggest any Panasonic or other brand camera which fits my needs?

Great photo resolution, Good video with better sound quality, super zoom, good low light performance.

I have seen reviews for Panasonic ZS3/7 as well and some say it has good wide-angle than Canon SX210 IS but poor low light perf and video.

Please suggest any specific models you feel can do better than Canon SX210 IS all around.

Thank you!
Amruth

[mtclimber]

Amruth-

Take a look at the Panasonic FZ-35. It is user friendly, and very well featured.

Sarah Joyce