Which camera to buy?
12-16-2004, 02:47 PM
#11
Gold Member
Re: Which camera to buy?
Originally Posted by Troutly
Don't worry, he got that off someones website 
Another letter from Trooper Troutly to me.....sheeeeet Hydro is at it again. I think 1/2 of Troutly's posts this year were to deal with that outhouse law boy. The other 1/2 were about lesbo's.
I am bringing a girlfriend for Troutly's wife as he asked....then I am going to watch him watch...should be fun!
...and send Hydro pictures with his FZ-20 so he will know what he gets next year if he is good.
12-16-2004, 03:03 PM
#12
Re: Which camera to buy?
Originally Posted by Troutly
Just making sure you give credit where credit is due!!!
OK....thanks for the letting me off with a warning...I can't afford another ticket from you!
12-16-2004, 03:22 PM
#14
Charter Member #232
Charter Member
Re: Which camera to buy?
Another major advantage of Nikon is that their lenses can be swapped from one body to the next. So I can take my manual lens off my FE2 and put it on any camera through their entire line.... Nice to know that if you buy an expensive lens that you may not use much you will more then likely be able to use it on thier next great camera.
IMO the camera's are already far outperforming what most people have for printers. That seems to me anyhow to be the big hold up with going to digital if you are that picky. If you talk to most any pro photo guy they are shooting all digital now and having their stuff printed in a pro lab. Even film is getting converted to digital then back again for prints. I have a customer with a 4,000 buck thermal printer (I think that is what he said it was) and you would be VERY hard pressed to tell me that it is not film. I shure thought they were film when I saw them and did not know that he had purchased the Nikon.
Jon
IMO the camera's are already far outperforming what most people have for printers. That seems to me anyhow to be the big hold up with going to digital if you are that picky. If you talk to most any pro photo guy they are shooting all digital now and having their stuff printed in a pro lab. Even film is getting converted to digital then back again for prints. I have a customer with a 4,000 buck thermal printer (I think that is what he said it was) and you would be VERY hard pressed to tell me that it is not film. I shure thought they were film when I saw them and did not know that he had purchased the Nikon.
Jon
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12-16-2004, 03:44 PM
#16
Re: Which camera to buy?
Originally Posted by Phantom1
I could not be happier with the Panasonic/Leica DMC-FZ-20. Thanks again for the advice Hydro.
You have a good eye for stopping motion in boat races!
12-16-2004, 04:15 PM
#17
Re: Which camera to buy?
Originally Posted by Troutly
Hyrdo,
A couple of points.
First, the FZ-20 is not a DSLR. It would be in the 'point and shoot' camera category (with some nice features!).
The optical zoom range for the FZ-20 is the equivalent range of 36-432mm on a 35mm camera.
The D70 being a true DSLR has a focal length multiplier of approx 1.6 . This means my 28-200mm lenses has the equivalent range of approx. 44-320mm on a 35mm camera. Much closer to your zoom range than you allude to.
With this in mind, I would only need a lense of approx. 270mm to equal the zoom range of the FZ-20. What if I wanted to get out to that 600mm range?? Well, I'd only need a lense of 370mm to do it. Nikon and others make many VR lenses (vibration reduction) in that 200+mm range.
Now, to the cost. There is NO WAY that I would need to spend $5,000 to $6,000 to equal (or even wax) the FZ-20 in that 432mm to 600mm range. There are many fine lenses out there in the 300mm to 400mm range (remember, that is all I need with the 1.6 FLM) for much less than that.
I would bet the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR Zoom for $1,500 would better the FZ-20. Actually, for the same $$$ I'd give up the mega zoom and go with Nikon's 80-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR AF-S....this lense absolutely ROCKS! It has a fast 2.8 aperture for low light, with a fast AF-S zoom, VR, and incredible sharpness...all for about $1,600.
Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking the FZ-20. It takes real nice pictures at a great price point. It is just hard to compare a point and shoot digital camera with the flexibility and quality of many of the DSLR's out there.
A couple of points.
First, the FZ-20 is not a DSLR. It would be in the 'point and shoot' camera category (with some nice features!).
The optical zoom range for the FZ-20 is the equivalent range of 36-432mm on a 35mm camera.
The D70 being a true DSLR has a focal length multiplier of approx 1.6 . This means my 28-200mm lenses has the equivalent range of approx. 44-320mm on a 35mm camera. Much closer to your zoom range than you allude to.
With this in mind, I would only need a lense of approx. 270mm to equal the zoom range of the FZ-20. What if I wanted to get out to that 600mm range?? Well, I'd only need a lense of 370mm to do it. Nikon and others make many VR lenses (vibration reduction) in that 200+mm range.
Now, to the cost. There is NO WAY that I would need to spend $5,000 to $6,000 to equal (or even wax) the FZ-20 in that 432mm to 600mm range. There are many fine lenses out there in the 300mm to 400mm range (remember, that is all I need with the 1.6 FLM) for much less than that.
I would bet the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR Zoom for $1,500 would better the FZ-20. Actually, for the same $$$ I'd give up the mega zoom and go with Nikon's 80-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR AF-S....this lense absolutely ROCKS! It has a fast 2.8 aperture for low light, with a fast AF-S zoom, VR, and incredible sharpness...all for about $1,600.
Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking the FZ-20. It takes real nice pictures at a great price point. It is just hard to compare a point and shoot digital camera with the flexibility and quality of many of the DSLR's out there.
-The DMC-FZ-20 is a "hybrid" in that it has a "fixed interchangeable type lens" made by Leica. It's unique.
-The D-70 is a "pro-sumer camera" as is the FZ-20 as seen stated in the review articles. In some respects they are both point and shoots if you use the screen to compose.. A "pro" DSLR costs $ 5 grand and up.
-Some serious photographers do not like a DLSR with a multiplication factor as some lenses tend to vignette a bit; because of that they go to the Canon or Contax pro-models.
-Hands down the D-70 has the "potential" for being a better prosumer camera depending on the lenses and external flash you buy.
-The FZ-20's best feature...instant Zoom from 36-432mm without needing to change lenses and it maintains a fast f 2.8 all the way to 432mm. The Leica lens contains the lens stabilizer. A huge key feature for a mega-zoom camera.
-If I were shooting weddings for a living I would go Nikon D-70 for the TTL flash and better indoor ability to see through the viewfinder in very dark shooting situations.
-If I wanted something for the boat races and home pictures as well; then the FZ-20 would be my choice; you need fast zoom and a fast lens at high zoom to get those action shots frozen without big bulky lenses and tripods.
-Overall if both cameras were priced the same with equal zoom you would win without a question.
-Throw in price and I win to a point. That point is my camera is 1/3 the price of yours and it takes pictures that are very similiar. In 2 years I can get a new Panasonic/Leica with a CMOS and 8 million megapixels for around $ 600.00 they say and still have invested only a grand.
It is all about price.
-Mine will always be the best for a grand or less says Steve's and CNET.
-Yours is the best $ 1,500-2,000+ " prosumer" DSLR.
-Contax/Zeiss and the Canon Pro models whip us both.
-Then we realize nothing beats a 35mm Leica/Contax or "pro" Nikon 35mm with Kodak "High-Definition film" yet.
Fair enough Troutly?
Last edited by Hydrocruiser; 12-16-2004 at 04:58 PM.
12-16-2004, 04:29 PM
#19
Re: Which camera to buy?
Originally Posted by DONZI
Any suggestions on a decent printer for pictures ? Dislikes & likes.
I really didn't want to start another non-boating thread.So i thought i'd jump in here. Don't shoot please.
I really didn't want to start another non-boating thread.So i thought i'd jump in here. Don't shoot please.
