Panasonic FZ7 v Canon S3 IS

[Yohji]

Still poking around camera review sites, and like the look of the FZ7, and have noticed the S3.. Which by spec looks the same as the Panasonic, just with no rechargable batteries included. And, the Canon is more expensive.

So, anyone got either of these, or used one?

[Yohji]

Humph.

Well, just had a look at the new Amature Photographer magazine, and it says there aren't many differences, apart from the difference in price.

Seemed like a much fairer review compared to other magazines as well, some use completely different picture to compare with each other :/

[PanzerKnight]

Just got a panasonic fz30, a sweet camera! Very happy with it so far.

[shiato storm]

its a toughie...canon's great pedigree on processing quality, panasonic's using the leica lens = top quality.
either way each will produce great images.panasonic attrocious at high ISO...so if you're after something for low-light forget the panasonic I'm afraid

[da_ging]

i had the canon s2 is and it was a pretty good camera although it had a bit too much purple fringing and the s3 doesnt appear much better in this regard where as the fz7 is a lot better but then the fz7 appears to be a fair bit noisier than the canon

but the s2 was very easy to use and very easy to change any setting with only a few button pushes

[shiato storm]

see...tricky to choose from either. if you had say 5 or 6 cameras in your sights then you might easily find one that fits the bill just for your needs.

[Yohji]

Yeah. I looked at a few comparisons of super zooms, and they compared much more expensive ones with the FZ7.

Would the only time I'd need a really high ISO be indoors with no flash?

[shiato storm]

mmmm....yes, most probably. although sometimes outside if you've got the lens fully zommed out you may need to bump up the iso to ensure shutter speed is high enough firstly to capture your subject but also limit camera shake.

[Yohji]

Yeah.

I think I'm still most likely to go for the FZ7, I had a look at the example galleries for both on dpreview, and couldnt see much difference.

[alterion]

I'm basically making the same decision now the other camera's in the same range (sony-H2 ect all seem to have flaws). Did you go for one or the other i think i will head to jessops to check them out In person. I also need to do some reaserch on what this "iso problem" means.. The difference in price is only about £40 but like you i'm currently leaning towards the Z7 although if anyone has any knowledge of other "zoomy's" at around £300ish then i'd love to hear about them

[Yohji]

I haven't made a purchase yet, will be around the end of the month

I've looked at some comaprisions of shots, and tbh, I can't see any major iso problems with the panasonic, which had made me hesitant at first... The price is only slight, but when you consider as well as a case and memory card you will want better batteries with the S3 it adds up...

[alterion]

.. hmm i'm still leaning slightly towards the s3 at the moment but from what i've seen both are really excellent camera's with slightly different weaknesses so it just come down to which "works" better for you. The sony H5 looks good as well but its a bit to expensive for me to justify (esp when combined with the sony memory stick premium). Also the S3 seems to be slightly smaller which is good for me with my weeny hands

[shiato storm]

memory stick prices have plumeted recently, 1G for £40 is pretty decent in my view (i've got two )

[noah]

pro duo memory sticks are down to about £35-40 for 2 gig on the 'bay

[alterion]

Okay I've now pretty much rules out the S3is whiles its undoubtedly very good i think the marginal possible benefits don't justify £60 that could be spent on a monopod (Surely the best invention ever for a IS camera) and a UV and polarizing filter ect. For me its probably now down between the Panasonic fz7 and the tz1; if the Tz1 was cheaper like it is in the US i would jump on it but its almost exactly the same in the UK. What bugs me is that although the TZ1 is 1 less megapixel there really seems to be nothing between the 2 in image quality

[Hans Voralberg]

Still £30-40 for 1G of memory is a bit expensive compared to £15-17 for SD card, and use could use them elsewhere.