Yes it is heavy and it doesn't look or feel cheap.
I turned it on and asked the man for the books. But of course there is a return policy if I am unhappy with the product within a certain amount of days. (As claiming to do something it doesn't do well.)
I spent over twenty minutes looking, capturing on preview and playing around with settings whilst the manager was packing my other camera away to send off for possibly a display replacement. (Display scratching caused by their display wipers and I expect them to do it free of charge once they see the video of evidence I made. That wasn't easy!)
The impulse wasn't about buying a new one. I was curious at first by the size on the shelf. After experimenting with the features which the other one didn't have I think it is worth a try.
To me:
It wasn't so difficult when I turned it on to use.
Fairly simple setup.
Manual focus control on the lens which is very handy.
Too many buttons? Once I get to know them.
It is large and heavy but it grips well in my hands.
Protection is my money back if I am not happy as everywhere else.
Compared to what I currently got:
Olympus C770
What is important is that the picture didn't blur on maximum zoom close range like the other one.
I have tried a Fuji 4 megapixel camera and it is useless for short range capturing. It doesn't focus well on capturing too close but that is just one and perhaps the cheapest. I read the manual too. On bright long range distances there are no problems.
Just came across this:
http://www.photograp...lumix_dmc_fz50/QUOTE
I have purchased FZ50...though it looks great and good zoom...but noise it stiil there. I am not a pro and not handleled best cameras but this is what I came across...
"But high resolution (better to call them high pixel count) chips in digicams are another thing. The 10MP sensor in the Panasonic FZ-50 is 7.18 X 5.32mm in size, while the 10MP sensor in the 10MP Nikon D80, for example, is 23 X 15.8mm. Do the math. The Nikon's 10MP chip has 373 sq/mm of surface area while the one in the Panasonic has 38 sq/mm. This gives the Nikon's sensor nearly 10X the recording area for the same number of pixels."
"It seems to me that the race to make digicams with pixel counts equivalent to current DSLRs is one being fueled by camera maker's marketing departments. Of course the naive consumer plays right into their hands. If camera A has 10MP and camera B has 10MP, then other factors aside they must be pretty similar – right? Certainly standing at the camera counter holding a 10MP DSLR in one hand and a 10MP super-zoom digicam in the other, the uninformed consumer won't understand that one has a sensor 10X the area of the other, and the salesman likely won't explain this or possibly even fully appreciate it himself."
http://luminous-land...n-quick06.shtmlbest is to go for NIKON D50 or D80 and buy a good lense from another cheap manufacturer (if your hands are steady.) or go for canon.
hope this helps,
-praful.
Better get researching into this.
Then I'll become miserable again knowing some truth.
This post has been edited by Deepsycher: 26 March 2007 - 03:46 PM