Korean Job Discussion Forums

[maddog]

I'm torn between the Fujifilm s9500 and the Panasonic FZ30. I've heard a lot about noise levels on the FZ30. Is it as bad as some people say. I've seen some night shots on the web and they look pretty bad, but that's viewed from a monitor. The S9500 has better ISO performance but does this make up for the lack of IS. I'm kinda swaying in the direction of the Fuji but I'd like some opinions before I spend $500+. Cheers

MD

[Nemesis]

The Panasonic FZ-30 is awesome. Big meaty grip, 12x zoom and a great image stabilizer.

That said, you're right about the noise in low light levels. Here's a low-light test shot from my tank that shows the mad graininess you'll have to deal with:



With enough ambient light, however, you'll get pretty clear shots.



NOTE: This from a guy too lazy to read the cam manual. Usually I just shoot rapidfire in auto mode and hope for the best. Heh.

[the eye]

the best deal going IMO is the Canon S2 IS. It has image stabilization (IS), 12x digital zoom, 5mpixels, and it can take still shots in movie mode.
the macro setting is also quite good.

i picked 1 up at the yongsan electronics market with a cleaning kit and a 1gig memory card for 380grand. it was the third or fourth sales desk on the left in the camera building.

[jinju]

WHY do you need zoom? 99% of the time I have a 50mm lens on my camera. Ansolutely no zoom. I zoom with my legs. Why not get a Nikon D50 which is an entry level DSLR and should be CHEAP now and a nice 50mm lens which is like 100 dollars? You will be able to do stuff those junky points and shoots wont even be able to come close to, and no need for image stabilization as a 50mm f/1.8 lens is fast enough for you to not need any IS. Shoot at high iso like 1600 and thanks to the sensor size you will get much less noise than a point shoot will have at ISO 400.

[Col.Brandon]

Zoom is useful for stuff like an air show where what you're shooting is a bit difficult to walk up to because there's an armed marine guarding the barrier, or the subject in question is 500+ m in the sky going at the speed of heat.

Sometimes I'd like to be able to zoom out, too. This is useful when there's a danger of my legs carrying me over a cliff or backing into something solid.

But then I'm not an expert.

[indytrucks]

[jinju]

[indytrucks]

All my zooms are fast enough for my purposes (a constant f/2.8 at either end, with the exception of 17-40 f/4 which I usually use for landscapes and sits on a tripod anyway) and unless you're shooting a lot of stuff indoors with low light with no flash/tripod, then I think f/2.8 is plenty fast enough. If I find myself shooting indoors, I'll just use faster film (ISO 800 or 1600), or push 400 ISO 2 stops ... no big deal. I also really don't see much of a difference in DOF or bokeh at f/2.8 or f/1.8. I usually don't like to shoot wide open anyway ... I'd rather stop down a few steps, as I find some lenses go a bit soft wide open.

I think it all depends what your photographic style is and what gear best suits your purposes.

PS I've got the 50mm f/1.4. It sits in my bag a lot of the time. Perhaps I should use it more. I bought it in a shop in Namdaemun for about 400k.

[jinju]

[indytrucks]

You've got me thinking now ... perhaps the 50mm should get more play.

BTW, at the same shop I bought the 1.4 I asked about the 50mm f/1.0L. If you love shallow DOF and creamy, dream-like bokeh, then apparently this is the lens for you, or so I've read. Other-worldly kind of stuff. One problem ... the price.

Yours for only 2.2 mil. Yikes.

[jinju]