Who has a zoom that can compete with the Panasonic Lumix DMZTZ3?

by Barry Zee

With the digital assist the, 10X zoom increases to 50X
What other compact cameras can compare?

Answer by LEM
Canon S5 has 12x optical zoom…

Now that said – here’s a bit of advise:
Never, ever, ever use digital zoom. Forget about its existence, disable it on all your cameras and pretend it was never there! Then e-mail 10 of your frie…. oh.. no… don’t do that :/

Here is why – digital zoom is not exactly a zoom. It’s what we call cropping. Your camera takes a picture, then crops out the middle part of it (discarding everything around), and then, does the most horrible thing – it enlarges the picture to be as big, as if you took it using full sensor.

Why this is bad?
Because the quick and simple resizing algorithm in the camera will most likely irreparably destroy some of the information in a picture. What you should do instead, if your optical zoom is not enough, take the picture at max zoom level, then crop and if necessary resize at home with your photo editing program. Then you’d keep your original, you’d be able to see what resizing done to the picture and step back if needed, and finally you’ll be able to use some sophisticated resizing programs/algorithms if need be, not the default algorithm in your camera.

Answer by offroader_ii
You don’t look at the 10X zoom rating. There are lots of camera’s with 10x zoom. You look at the maximum focal length.

For the DMC- TZ3 (there is no DMZ-TZ3) the maximum focal length is 280mm (35mm equivalent).

Another long zoom compact camera is the Kodak v610 which has a maximum focal length of 380mm (35mm equivalent).

HTH

Also, looking at a 5x digital assist is not a good idea. All digital assist does is crop the image. You can do that with the most basic photo editing program (MS Paint).

What do you think? Answer below!

Mister donut 小峰


Image by bluemonkey.
too many wires in this city ,I get annoyed with them when shooting something like this.

some time it’s tough to compose with them in side of a frame.

the lens is superb for its price range probably better than any kind of 70-300zooms in any time era. but I just cannot compare it to my EF70-200f4LIS , which is the sharpest lens ever used in my life , it is sharper than all primes I ‘ve used before.

one thing I found using Nikon gear is the its VR is not as effective as Canon IS , still it is better than in-camera IS of Oly and Pentax , in fact , as opposed to many tests , I found the Sony SSS very effective , certainly better than the Pentax , Olympus and Nikon shake reduction systems , maybe as effective as Canon IS.

the Panasonic MegaOIS is actually still better than all others , so I am getting the GH1 as it becomes available in Thailand.

I do like Nikon d300 but body size and design,and so I am using my D80 for casual shooting but I do hope the GH1 will replace it , I truly believe the GH1 type of cameras will dominate this market and make all SLR type of cameras obsolete.

4 months a go , I thought the D90 would replace my D80 and bought it but I found its photos too soft for my taste, so sold it and I am looking for a small back-up for my D300 and EOS50D, the mirror-less Panny would probably be my second camera replacing my D80 and 450D , just not sure about the AF , how fast it is.

UPDATE: I sold the 40D , D90 and 5D , they are all good in some areas but not so in some ways and decided let them go.
I can’t wait get my hands on the GH1.

I found the D90 image too soft , superficially sharp though with lots of digital sharpening in camera.

I am comparing two camera’s.

1. Panasonic – Lumix 7.2MP Digital Camera – Silver
Model: DMC-LZ7S SKU: 8258459
6x optical/4x digital zoom; 2.5″ TFT-LCD

2. Samsung – 10.1MP Digital Camera – Black
Model: NV11 SKU: 8292171
5x optical/5x digital zoom; 2.7″ TFT-LCD monitor; Schneider Kreuznach lens

one has 10.1 mps yet only 5x zoom

the other has 6x zoom and only 7.2 mps

so which is better? I am comparing them on Best Buy.com
there is also a dramatic price difference, I just want to know what is really needed. I want to be able to take closer pictures when I am on the boat and taking pictures of friends water skiing.

Answer by George Y
Hi Nicki,
Here’s one comparison between these two very different cameras. Be sure to read the user reviews.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=panasonic_dmclz7%2Csamsung_nv11&show=all

I’ve handled the Samsung at a local Target store and was impressed. But I’ve always liked the specs of the Panasonic line, too. (Geez, he’s no help!)

Both cameras have the anti-shake feature that’s important for you. But it looks like the Samsung may come out ahead. Even though the zoom is only a 5.4x, the extra megapixel resolution should let you crop the photos in your computer for a comprable or better image.

If there was a bigger difference in zoom ratios, I might suggest otherwise, but here, I think the Samsung comes out better. It felt solid in my hands and the interface was easy to use.

Answer by TomTom
higher optical is alot better.
you can take fantastic pics with 2 mp

Answer by Dr. Sam
Both factors are important, but neither one is the bottom line, decision maker. I’d rather have a digital SLR with 6 MP than a point and shoot with 10 MP if you are only considering image quality. When it came to my pocket-sized point and shoot camera, though, I chose pixels over optical zoom, because I can always crop in the computer. I have three pictures for you to check out. Read the captions carefully so you understand exactly what you are looking at. This series is comparing the difference between optical and digital zoom, but it also shows the value of a decent number of pixels. Be sure to hit “All sizes” and then “Original” to appreciate the differences.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/459603923/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/459603939/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/459603931/

Personally, I would think 6 or 7 MP is perfectly adequate for almost any shooting short of pro level photography. Put this behind a camera that zooms to an equivalent of 130-200 mm and there is little that you can’t shoot other than some wildebeests half a mile away. You COULD go with a camera that boasts BOTH features, like the Canon S3-IS or S5-IS or the Sony DSC-H2 or DSC-H9. Then we’d have to have the whole discussion about image quality and sensor size, but that’s a whole different matter…

What do you think? Answer below!

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