Expert Camera Reviews

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3K (on Amazon.com link in new window)

The best of the recent lot of point-and-shoot cameras which offer the beauty of wide-angle photography and are less expensive is the 7.2 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ3K, which couples a 28mm wide-angle lens with built-in optical image stabilization, a wide three-inch LCD and a reasonable number of specialty modes.

To help stabilize your shots, the TZ3 offers three separate shooting modes, two of which utilize Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer), along with a separate Intelligent ISO Control setting, which detects movement’s of the subject and automatically adjusts ISO and shutter speed to decrease blur. The wide-angle, high-zoom camera performs well and takes acceptable shots, though it’s hardly perfect. Its higher resolution, wider lens, and larger screen make it better than its predecessor in nearly all categories.

Strengths:
• Extremely fast and responsive with an excellent startup time
• Wide powerful lens with little distortion
• Mega Optical Image Stabilization
• Sharp Leica lens, producing crisp pictures with accurate color
• Large LCD screen with 230,000 pixels resolution
• Very good battery life

Weaknesses:
• No manual exposure controls
• No stop motion movie mode
• Large and heavy
• Tiny buttons

Specifications:
Megapixels – 7.2
Weight(oz) – 8.2
Optical Zoom – 10x
LCD Size – 3.0 inch
Flash range (ft) – 2 ft – 14 ft
Image Stabilizer – Yes, optical
Batter Type – 1 x Rechargeable Custom Lithium Ion
Special features - RAW and JPEG file format support, ISO 100 – 3200, storage MMC, SD, SDHC Card Slot, USB 2.0 support, 4x Digital Zoom, Dual Image display in playback, 12.7 MB Internal Memory

Summary:
Its higher resolution, wider lens, and larger screen make it better than its predecessor in nearly all categories. Unfortunately, it misses one of its predecessors most fun shooting modes, and it keeps some minor image issues which need to be improved. Overall, the DMC-TZ3K offers a lot of value for the money and easily trumps amongst other super zooms on size.

The Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd belongs to the bridge cameras group whose primary features are live-preview on the digital cameras. It is an ultra zoom camera with a 6.3 Megapixel SuperCCD sensor that produces less noise than regular CCDs, and giving this camera the potential to be the low light king of its class. An interesting new face detection feature is available with this camera. The camera has a 10.71 x zoom and the 10.71x (28 – 300mm) lens is not separable, although it feels like a detachable lens with a rubber ring for full manual zoom control around the barrel.

Some very good features of the FinePix S6000fd are:
• Face detection technology is great for shooting pictures of people in groups
• Priced very low for the good quality lens and sensor it offers
• The camera is very light, has an excellent grip and resembles a dSLR camera.
• Manual zooming is simple and effective
• Supports the RAW file format
• High resolution LCD unit
• Excellent flash exposure

Some drawbacks of the camera are:
• No optical image stabilization provided, just picture stabilization mode which degrades image quality
• While capturing RAW images the shot-to-shot speed is quite slow
• The electronic viewfinder is hard to use
• Bulky in size

Specifications:
Megapixels – 7.2
Weight (oz.) – 5.9
Optical Zoom – 3x
LCD Size – 3.0 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 4 ft to 11.2 ft
Image stabilizer – No
Battery type – Lithium Ion
Special features – Auto and Manual focus modes, new face detection technology, three continuous shooting modes, self-timer for delayed shutter release, DPOF and PictBridge compatible, Movie recording with sound

Summary:
The camera’s 6.3 megapixel image chip might not impress when there are models which boast up to 10 megapixels of resolution, but the images produced out of this camera are rich in color and impressively sharp, even in difficult shooting or low light conditions. The Fujifilm S6000fd can compete with many higher-resolution super zoom models and even over some digital SLRs.

The second digital camera from Leica is the V-LUX 1, which is clearly based on Panasonic’s DMC-FZ50 technology. This camera has almost identical specifications to the DMC-FZ50 with a 10 megapixel CCD, a Leica branded 12x optically image stabilized lens, a tilting 2 inch LCD screen for optimum picture checking, electronic viewfinder, flash hot-shoe and full manual controls. The V-LUX 1 also comes with a 512 MB SD card. The V-LUX 1 has a 0.44″ color electronic viewfinder with 235,000 pixels for those who prefer to hold the camera to their eye.

Pros:

• ISO sensitivity ranges from 100 to 1600
• High Movie resolution at 848×480 pixels
• The large range of focal lengths offered eliminates the need of changing lens.
• Optical Image Stabilization which can be switched ON or OFF at any time
• The Picture Signal Processor (Venus Engine III) ensures quick picture signal processing

Cons:
• The V-LUX 1 is priced quite high at $800 compared to other models with the same features

Specifications:
Megapixels – 10.0
Weight (oz.) – 25.7
Optical Zoom – 12x
LCD Size – 2.0 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 1 to 22 ft
Image stabilizer – Yes
Battery type – Custom Lithium Ion
Special features – Support for SDHC Memory Cards, NTSC/PAL TV standards, USB 2.0 High speed support, High movie resolution at 848×480 pixels, JPEG, RAW and MOV file format supported

Summary:
The V-LUX 1 model is recommended due to the numerous positive features it has compared with its only drawback of being a bit highly priced which I guess most consumers will ignore.

Read reviews on the Leica V-LUX1 on Amazon.com