CameraRec » compact

Olympus XZ-1, King of Point and Shoot Cameras?

toby — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 16:06:24 +0000

Canon’s S90 and more recently the S95 have held the title of king of P&S cameras in my book for the last 18 months – they are excellent cameras w/ larger than average sensors, a fast lens and excellent control scheme that includes a lens ring that controls several different features. The XZ-1 offers all of that with a faster lens, hot shoe/accessory port in a slightly larger package, still smaller than Canon’s G12. Image quality is excellent and looks to be slightly better than the S95 in the lower ISO numbers and just slightly worse in the higher ISOs but I want to stress that these differences are very slight and both cameras take excellent images that you are hard pressed to tell any difference in your average day to day use. Additionally the XZ-1 has a faster lens, f/1.8 at the widest and f/2.5 at full zoom. This means two things – you can actually control depth of field some, something that previously was really only an option in more expensive DSLRs and you can shoot at lower ISOs and still get bright images. These benefits come at a cost, the XZ-1 is about $100 more than the S95 currently and is a slightly larger camera.

	Canon S95	Olympus XZ-1

MP	10MP	10MP
Sensor Size	1/1.7″	1/1.63″
LCD	3″ 461,000 dots	3″ OLED 614,000 dots
Max Aperture	f2.0 – f4.9	f1.8 – f2.5
Lens Focal Length	28-105mm	28-122mm
Hot shoe/External Flash	No	Yes
Built-in Flash	6.5m range	8.6m range
Continuous drive	0.9 fps	2fps
Weight (inc batteries)	195g	275g
Dimensions	3.94 x 2.28 x 1.18″	4.37 x 2.56 x 1.65″
Buy

Bottom line: Both cameras are excellent, the S95 offers a pocket fitting form factor. The Olympus gives you a faster lens, very bright OLED screen and the option to add an external flash. At $599 though you are approaching the cost of the increasingly popular 4/3 cameras like Olympus’ own PEN E-PL2 – even better quality, very friendly manual controls and the ability to switch lenses. This puts the XZ-1 in an awkard position, it certainly is an excellent camera but until the price drops I continue to give the S95 my nod, though it is a slight nod. As always find me on twitter @camerarec for my latest thoughts. Canon PowerShot S95 10 MP Digital Camera with 3.8x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch inch LCD Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-Inch OLED Monitor (Black)

Personalized Recommendation for Steph

toby — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:05:32 +0000

Steph wants my best pick in a compact camera under $400. Emphasis on Movie Mode

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 10MP Digital Camera with 12x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3 inch LCD Camera highlights: 12x wide-angle optical zoom | Beautiful 3″ LCD screen | Face Detection | HD Movie mode, 60fps!!! optimized format, movie files are not as gigantic | iA mode for photos AND movie mode = a suite of technologies that ensure the best settings for the scene, stabilize the image and auto adjust for lighting | Face detection AND recognition = auto focuses and optimizes exposure on faces and gives priority to faces the camera has seen before | Stylish black, blue or silver

You can get quite a bit of camera around the $400 mark and this Lumix is currently at the top of the pile. Reviews of this camera and previous ZS & TZ lines have been very positive, even earning DPreviews “Highly Recommended” designation. Inside and out this is a really nice camera.

Possible Alternatives:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Camera Highlights:3″ LCD | iA mode – 5 features work together to pick the perfect settings for each shot, includes Auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 10x Zoom | HD Movie Mode | 400+ Near perfect reviews on Amazon Site |

Canon PowerShot SD880IS 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized ZoomCamera Highlights: 3″ LCD | Face detection for focus, auto scene selection, auto red-eye removal and image stabilization | 4x Zoom |
Lows: 640×480 Movie mode – decent but not exciting | LCD is 1/2 the resolution of the Lumix

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black) Camera Highlights:12MP | 3″ LCD | Face Detection, Priority Face, Smile Shutter technology, Anti-Blink technology | 5x Zoom | HD Movie | mode Beginner mode
Lows: LCD is 1/2 the resolution of the Lumix | captures to Memory Stick media – Sony proprietary |

If you are not Steph and you want your own personalized recommendation

Personalized Recommendation for Danny

toby — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:55:16 +0000

Danny is looking for a camera that is portable, has a decent zoom and takes great pictures. HD video capture would be nice, but not necessary. Most pictures will be shared electronically with the occasional prints. Budget is $200-$350.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom You don’t have to spend oodles of money to satisfy Danny’s requirements. Panasonic has been producing a line of camera’s the Lumix DMC that continue to garner high praise from professional reviewers and your average photographer. The Lumix DMC-TZ5S 10MP continues the line of excellence.

Why this is a great camera for Danny:

Compact enough to easily fit in a small camera bag or jacket pocket.
10x Leica zoom with wide-angle coverage out to 28mm – Lens quality is described as “truly excellent” by dpreview.com
Fantastic HD movie mode with 1280 x 720 pixel 30fps wide screen option
3″ LCD allows you to easily compose and review

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5S 9MP Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

Possible Alternative:

Samsung HZ15W 12MP Digital Camera with 10x Schneider Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0 inch LCD (Grey) Has some neat features like Frame guide – The Frame Guide setting on the new HZ15W means you no longer need rely on the technological capabilities of strangers for perfect holiday snaps. When you use the setting, the camera takes a ghost picture of your desired shot and displays a template when you pass the camera over to someone else – ensuring they take the picture you want them to take, with you perfectly placed in it.

If you are not Danny and your want your own personalized recommendation

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8K

toby — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:01:18 +0000

8MP
Face Detection, Intelligent ISO, Intelligent Scene Selector & quick AutoFocus
Easy mode and Full Manual Control

A excellent camera at a very nice price. 5x zoom with optical image stabilization and intelligent ISO combine to give you blur-free photos. Face detection and scene selectors insure that the camera settings are are correctly matched to your subject(s). And finally a really nice wide-screen movie mode at 30fps, something you don’t see in other cameras at this price. This camera has excellent reviews and if you use a set of good rechargeable batteries(see note below) you can get nearly 500 shots on a pair If you have someone that is trying to learn photography this camera is not a terrible place to start as it offers full manual control.

A solid performing camera at an excellent price.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8K 8MP