Digital cameras 101

[riley]

I need to take shots of rooms for interior and architectural purposes - so I'm looking for a light weight digital camera to carry on the job.

I also want to blow up the photos to 8 x 10.  I'm presently using a Canon S60 (4 years old) and pic's are grainy.  Also don't like present barrel nose distortion.

What do you think of the Panasonic Lumix?  Which model would you recommend?

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Riley,

Can you be more specific about what you mean by lightweight? Are you looking for a compact or ultra compact? For example, the Panasonic FZ18 is lightweight and full featured, but it is not compact. But is has a wide angle (28 mm/equiv) 18X zoom lens. Do you need manual controls? Do you need a hot shoe?

If you're asking about the TZ3, it is a fine camera with little distortion at any focal length (I owned one for several months but missed it having a viewfinder). It has a wide angle, 10X zoom.

Panasonic makes very fine digital cameras but they are not known for having stellar low light capability, which may be important to you if you take a lot of low light or inside photos. If you don't mind using a camera support such as a tripod, you can keep the ISO set at 200 or below in low light.

If you're not in a rush, Fujifilm just announced a new
28-140mm equiv camera, the F100fd. As you may know, they outpace the competition when it comes to high ISO performance. The camera has "Wide Dynamic Range," which accorind to Fujifilm, has capabilities similar to those found on their S5 Pro digital SLR.

It's too early to tell how if it will have lens distortion. I recently purchased a Fujifilm F20 and am kind of shocked at the bad wide angle distortion when photographing scenes with vertical lines such as inside walls. Not very good for taking photos of interiors or buildings.

The Photo Marketing Association conference is being held in a few weeks and many new cameras will be announced. But new releases can take months before appearing on store shelves.

The Canon SD870 (no viewfinder) and SD800 (has viewfinder) are ultra compacts with 28mm wide lenses. I own the SD700 and am very impressed with it. In low light, the have better ISO performance that a lot of other cameras (up to ISO 400).

Canon SD800 Blog entry:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/6/

Panasonic TZ3 Blog entry:

http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/7/

[riley]

Hi S-Gail,

Thanks for the response.  I saw a Lumix FX55 and liked the size.  So would that be ultra compact?  I want to stick it in my purse and go to work.  My old Canon S60 is very bulky.

Yes, I need something that will work well in low lighting...will need to rely on FLASH.  Do not have time for the tripod.

Also, will want to print out 8 x 10 high quality pictures for presentations.  Is there a DIGITAL camera which will print out shots with the clarity of good old FILM?   My S60 prints out very GRAINY  pictures.

As you can tell I'm not too technical...more of a point and shoot kind of gal.

Thanks!

[ShutterbugGail]

I've done some research and some lines from a professional review summarize some of the problems you may have when shooting at high ISO with the FX55:

"....noise reduction kicks in at ISO 400, softening details and reducing color saturation. Even so, a midsize print is very possible at that setting. Once we hit ISO 800, details start to disappear, and you're better off avoiding that setting (and those above it) unless you're absolutely desperate. The FX55's main competitor, the Canon PowerShot SD870, maintains a bit more detail at the higher ISO settings, but it's still pretty close."

Source: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/panasonic/dmc_fx55-review/index.shtml

One of the reasons I sold my TZ3 was because of poor flash performance. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll encounter the same problems with the FZ55. But just be aware that these two areas (flash and high ISO photos) are weak spots in many Panasonic digital cameras.

If you decide to buy it, ask about the return policy. Say that you need it for professional work and ask if you can return it if it doesn't do the job.

Then test the camera at high ISO and test the flash. Look particularly at wide angle flash photos to see if there is a lot of light fall off (ie dark areas at four corners of an image).  Check for extreme barrel distortion too.

http://www.digicamhelp.com/learn/special-subjects/property3.php

There are really not many wide angle ultra compact digital cameras other than the ones mentioned above. Each has strong and weak points.

[riley]

Hi ShutterbugGail -

I've done a bit more research.  Have you heard about the Leica D-Lux with 28 - 120 lens?  They say no vertical line distortion and lots of detail on large prints (20 x 30")

The only hitch, yes you are right, flash is only good for 10 feet.  I'd have to get an external flash.  Also, it's bigger than an ultra compact

Unfortunately the camera is double the price of the above mentioned.

Perhaps the answer is to get the Lumix or Canon (above) for job sites meetings and the Leica for portfolio shots....which means finding a second job to pay for all this equipment!

Any thoughts on the Leica D-Lux?

[ShutterbugGail]

The Lecia is a decent camera but I'm not sure it's worth the extra money, quite frankly. They are pretty much the same as Panasonic cameras. For example,  the D-LUX 3 is based on the Panasonic LX-2.

Since none of the cameras we've been discussing have a hot shoe, you may want to invest in a compatible Slave Flash.

http://www.digicamhelp.com/accessories/external-flashes/slave-flash.php

Nikon has just announced an ultra compact camera, the Nikon S600 (10MP 28-112mm; weights only 4.6 Ounces and will be available in April.

If you want to go compact instead of ultra compact, Richo make a few 28mm cameras that have a hot shoe, weighing about 7 ounces. Know, though, that they have a lot of noise at all ISO numbers.

If you can wait a few months and low light, non-flash performance is a top priority, I think the Fujifilm F100 is worthy of consideration.

[ShutterbugGail]

Panasonic announced the Lumix DMC-FX35 with a 25-100mm equiv. 4x zoom. Now that's ultra wide angle! 4.4 oz without battery!

Nikon announced the Coolpix S600 which has a 28-112mm, wideangle lens. It is ultra compact too, at 4.6 oz.

[ShutterbugGail]

Another announcement: the Sigma DP1, one of the few compact cameras with a hot shoe so you can use an external flash. It has a sensor is about the size of a dslr so it probably does very well in low light. It is a fixed, wide-angle lens (28mm/equiv, no zoom).