[navin]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Hmm why do you think its not compact?

The S90 weighs 197gms with bateries and card against SD880 's 157gm. Plus its got bigger sensor.

The S90 is 31mm thick the SD980 is 23mm thick but the F70EXR is also only 23mm thick. F70EXR vs SD980? Is that even a valid comparision?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...cfx55&show=all

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by navin

my wife needs something that she cna keep her purse all the time and shot in auto mode. I dont think she will ever play wth the settings. A good movie mode will help though.

may i suggest you take a look at sony t90. i bought for my fiance and she is very very happy.

it lacks only 1 thing. wide angle lens. rest all of your requirements are covered. its one sexy looking camera. in black looks superb. its fast, takes good shots, has 4x opt zoom and plenty of other features. it has i scene where it recognizes the scene and adjusts the settings automatically. works too good.

just my 2 cents.

[proton]

Originally Posted by navin

Actually the super zooms like the ZS3 or F70EXR might be a good choice too. I just worry about distortions with such long (10x) zoom lenses. How bad are they compred to the 4x or 5x zooms?

my wife needs something that she cna keep her purse all the time and shot in auto mode. I dont think she will ever play wth the settings. A good movie mode will help though.

The Canon sd880 and the Fuji F100fd won 2nd and 1st place for Premium Compact:
Premium Camera Group Test (Q4 2008) Review: 12. Conclusions and ratings: Digital Photography Review

The Panasonic ZS1 and ZS3 were declared Joint winners for Compact Super Zoom by DPReview.

'Compact Super Zoom' Camera Group Test (Q2 2009) Review: 16. Conclusions and ratings: Digital Photography Review

I have the zs3 and its HD video (not found on zs1) is a killer feature. Basically, with this cam, you can leave your DSLR and HD camcorder at home while travelling! No DSLR can give as sharp an out put over the entire range it covers: 24-300mm equivalent!

Re: I cant say for yourself...: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=33567635

[navin]

Originally Posted by chevelle

may i suggest you take a look at sony t90. i bought for my fiance and she is very very happy.

actually my wife was looking at the Leica C-Lux3

Originally Posted by proton

The Canon sd880 and the Fuji F100fd won 2nd and 1st place for Premium Compact:

Nice news but how do these cameras compare to the F70EXR or SD980? The F70 and SD980 were not out when the Premium camera test was conducted. The F70 was incuded in the 'Compact Super Zoom' test either maybe it was released later.

If the F70 or ZS3 can compare well with the F100/SD880/SD980 then it makes a lot of sense as their lens have a 10x/12x zoom which can come useful. The F70 especially is as comapct (in size if not in weight) as the SD980.

[proton]

Originally Posted by navin

actually my wife was looking at the Leica C-Lux3

Nice news but how do these cameras compare to the F70EXR or SD980? The F70 and SD980 were not out when the Premium camera test was conducted. The F70 was incuded in the 'Compact Super Zoom' test either maybe it was released later.

If the F70 or ZS3 can compare well with the F100/SD880/SD980 then it makes a lot of sense as their lens have a 10x/12x zoom which can come useful. The F70 especially is as comapct (in size if not in weight) as the SD980.

C-lux 3 = heart attack!

Read the user reviews:
Owners Opinions: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: Digital Photography Review

Re: ZS3 vs F70EXR -- round 4 -- high ISO ladders: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

The SD980 has been reported to have less than stellar lowlight performance. Is the slimming down affecting the performance of these new cams?

[navin]

Originally Posted by proton

C-lux 3 = heart attack!

The SD980 has been reported to have less than stellar lowlight performance. Is the slimming down affecting the performance of these new cams?

but...the F70 is as slim as the 980!

Not that the SD980 has had good reviews either - are the dp users opinions a bit too harsh? - here is a sample of some of the user reviews a otherwise well received camera like the F70 has recieved.

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: RFabian: Digital Photography Review
The camera isn't a simple, fully automatic point-and-shoot

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: plac: Digital Photography Review
Need learning and tweaking the settings

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: al porfido: Digital Photography Review
This is the first "new" camera that seems to set photography back 5 years.

What about the Panny FX37? 25-125, under 25mm thick, ...hmmm

Now it is a 3 dog race F70 (with it's long range), SD980 (nice 3" LCD and we have been happy with Canon colour for many years now), and the FX37 (same range as the SD980, same weight and thickness, and maybe better performance???)

[proton]

Originally Posted by navin

but...the F70 is as slim as the 980!

Not that the SD980 has had good reviews either - are the dp users opinions a bit too harsh? - here is a sample of some of the user reviews a otherwise well received camera like the F70 has recieved.

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: RFabian: Digital Photography Review
The camera isn't a simple, fully automatic point-and-shoot

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: plac: Digital Photography Review
Need learning and tweaking the settings

Owners Opinion: Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: al porfido: Digital Photography Review
This is the first "new" camera that seems to set photography back 5 years.

What about the Panny FX37? 25-125, under 25mm thick, ...hmmm

Now it is a 3 dog race F70 (with it's long range), SD980 (nice 3" LCD and we have been happy with Canon colour for many years now), and the FX37 (same range as the SD980, same weight and thickness, and maybe better performance???)

FX37: joint winner with sd 790 in slim, ultra compact shoot out.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408...oup/page15.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/read...&opinion=44235

You seem to be going through a lot of cameras in 2009!

[navin]

Originally Posted by proton

You seem to be going through a lot of cameras in 2009!

NO I intend to get my wife a simple P&S that is a bit smaller than her SD870 (that seems to be dying). I still carry my 40D when I intend to shoot. Someday I will get me a S90 or LX3 or something of that nature for pocketability but that will be in 2010.

I did read the dpreview of the SD980 and the IS scare/LOW light performance got to me that is why I first posted for a camera (had there been no serious adverse review of the SD980 I might have already asked her to get that). Much of my wife shooting is indoors and in poor light. That is why I began to consider the F70EXR (again the bad reviews linked above stopped me) and later the FX37. THe FX37 is also the most recent of the compact P&S to be highly recomended by dpreview.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/default.asp?view=rating

Had the SD790 had a 28-105 lens It'd be on the list too.

[navin]

Originally Posted by proton

The Canon sd880 and the Fuji F100fd
The Panasonic ZS1 and ZS3

Originally Posted by navin

Nice news but how do these cameras compare to the F70EXR or SD980?

Originally Posted by proton

FX37: joint winner

You seem to be going through a lot of cameras in 2009!

Ok so I put all the camers in the short list side by side
Digital Cameras Side-by-Side, 6 cameras: Digital Photography Review

then started the process of elimination....of these the only camera not review by dpreview is the SD980.

First went the ZS3 - too thick (10mm thicker than the others) although it has a HD video and the best LCD screen.

Then went the SD980 becuase there are way too many people talking about poor IQ.

Then went the FX37 becasue my wife had a terrible time many years ago with her FX7 and will kill me if I even recommend a Panasonic again also it's flash recycle time is very poor (but flash range is supposed to be only bested by the SD980).

The F100fd has the best pixel density (only one under 30MP/cm2) and has bested the F70 below
DigiCamReview.com - Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR Digital Camera Review
and maybe even the SD880 on the dpreview group test..it is one fo the few compact P&S cameras (the ZS3 is another) dpreview readers have given an IQ rating above 4.0 (neither the SD880/980, nor the FX37 have done better thought the F70EXR has come close (3.95 as of this writing).

[proton]

Originally Posted by navin

The F100fd has the best pixel density (only one under 30MP/cm2) and has bested the F70 below
DigiCamReview.com - Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR Digital Camera Review
and maybe even the SD880 on the dpreview group test..it is one fo the few compact P&S cameras (the ZS3 is another) dpreview readers have given an IQ rating above 4.0 (neither the SD880/980, nor the FX37 have done better thought the F70EXR has come close (3.95 as of this writing).

You should consider getting the f70exr: exr technology came with excessive smearing from NR, but they seem to have fixed it in the f70, as noticed by many owners, and seen in your f70/f100fd comparo.

Try reading kimletkeman's other posts:
F70EXR or F200EXR [Page 1]: Fujifilm Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Based on his reccos, I bought a fuji f11, and it seems that the f70 is the successor that the f100fd never was.

[navin]

Originally Posted by proton

You should consider getting the f70exr
Based on his reccos, I bought a fuji f11, and it seems that the f70 is the successor that the f100fd never was.

F70 looks good especially it provides 2x the zoom of the f100, fx37, sd980/880, etc..the only P&S that come close to the F70 specs (zoom, size, etc..) are the Ricoh but they are not easily available.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by proton

I have the zs3 and its HD video (not found on zs1) is a killer feature. Basically, with this cam, you can leave your DSLR and HD camcorder at home while travelling! No DSLR can give as sharp an out put over the entire range it covers: 24-300mm equivalent!

This is really stretching it too far..even an entry level DSLR like say canon 1000D with its 3.28 sq.cm sensor can give sharper pictures when fitted with a good lens like the 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 L IS USM when compared to the 25-300mm(35mm equivalent) ZS3 with its tiny 0.28 sqcm sensor. You really cannot compare a PnS however good it maybe with an DSLR. Besides in low light situations any DSLR will blow away a compact PnS irrespective of how good it is.

[robimahanta]

Try to shoot at iso 800 on ZS3 and then with a DSLR, after seeing all the noise, you'll know what I mean. Maybe you can also try an focus a fast moving object with ZS3 then with an DSLR, you'll realize that the AF speed of the ZS3 is lacking.

I am not saying that the ZS3 is a bad camera or anything of that sort, its a great camera for its versatility and all-around performance as long as you don't want manual functions. The video is the camera's best feature though the AVCHD Lite video format isn't well supported for post processing.

But you cannot compare a PnS with an DSLR

[proton]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Try to shoot at iso 800 on ZS3 and then with a DSLR, after seeing all the noise, you'll know what I mean. Maybe you can also try an focus a fast moving object with ZS3 then with an DSLR, you'll realize that the AF speed of the ZS3 is lacking.

I am not saying that the ZS3 is a bad camera or anything of that sort, its a great camera for its versatility and all-around performance as long as you don't want manual functions. The video is the camera's best feature though the AVCHD Lite video format isn't well supported for post processing.

But you cannot compare a PnS with an DSLR

Owners Opinion: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3: Trensamiro: Digital Photography Review
Quote
Excellent camera that really pushes the cutting edge of state-of-the-art P&S compact digital cameras.

PROs: Almost everything, most especially its optically-stabilized Leica 25-300 mm with its awesome 25 mm super wideangle and its fast 300 mm f/4.9 long telephoto, virtually free of aberrations and distortions which plague other brands. Also, the HD video has to be seen to be believed, and the very fact that you can use the zoom and autofocus while recording HD video simply puts to shame many a high-and-mighty model out there.

LX3's pocketability and ZS3's image quality? [Page 4]: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Quote
Of course it isn't. Actually, nothing beats the TZ7 (ZS3) zoom range for versatility, have a look at these two pictures I took with mine last summer, one is a 25 mm super wideangle shot, the other is a 300 mm super long telephoto shot, both taken within 5 seconds of one another. Try to do that with any DSLR, pro or not !

BTW,the writer is a full frame shooter.

We are discussing addon P&S here, so the only advantage we see are the lowlight and fast action capabilities of the DSLR. No one is saying you should chuck your DSLR!

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by proton

Owners Opinion: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3: Trensamiro: Digital Photography Review
Quote
Excellent camera that really pushes the cutting edge of state-of-the-art P&S compact digital cameras.

PROs: Almost everything, most especially its optically-stabilized Leica 25-300 mm with its awesome 25 mm super wideangle and its fast 300 mm f/4.9 long telephoto, virtually free of aberrations and distortions which plague other brands. Also, the HD video has to be seen to be believed, and the very fact that you can use the zoom and autofocus while recording HD video simply puts to shame many a high-and-mighty model out there.

LX3's pocketability and ZS3's image quality? [Page 4]: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review
Quote
Of course it isn't. Actually, nothing beats the TZ7 (ZS3) zoom range for versatility, have a look at these two pictures I took with mine last summer, one is a 25 mm super wideangle shot, the other is a 300 mm super long telephoto shot, both taken within 5 seconds of one another. Try to do that with any DSLR, pro or not !

BTW,the writer is a full frame shooter.

We are discussing addon P&S here, so the only advantage we see are the lowlight and fast action capabilities of the DSLR. No one is saying you should chuck your DSLR!

Just a piece of advice..you are reading too many reviews. Just quoting multiple reviews from different sources proving how good a camera is, don't mean a thing unless you can produce some quality results. A pro can always produce great pictures no matter what he/she is shooting with. There's more to a great picture than just the equipment.

I am not talking about chucking away my DSLR ..you don't have to tell me that. I just said that there's no point comparing Pns to DSLRS as its like comparing apples and oranges. When you say "No DSLR can give as sharp an out put over the entire range it covers: 24-300mm equivalent!"..a lot of amateurs who are thinking about getting a DSLR can be misleaded.

Adaptability (read changeable lenses), AF speed, optical viewfinder, manual controls, iso range, depth of field, quality optics are some features which very few PnS can give when compared to even entry level DSLRS