Digital Camera with Image Stabilization

Color me “conflicted” :confused:

I am very happy with my Canon Power Shot S 50 (5MP, 3X optical) digital camera. At least I was until I read about the 12X optical cameras with Image Stabilization. They sound really HOT!! I wasn’t really looking to spend an extra $500 right now, but damn – they sound wonderful. Thus my conflict.

So here is my question – and I hope I can get answers from folks that actually use these gems. How much does the IS feature slow down the time delay from when you press the shutter button, till when the camera takes the picture? It’s frustrating enough with my current camera, and if the IS software adds any lag time at all; I’m definitely staying with what I have. On the other hand, if that too has been improved / enhanced then I’m going to have to look hard at getting the new camera.

I’d need to keep the same media I now have with the Cannon, to be as cost efficient as possible (CompactFlash if I’m not mistaken). So I guess I just ruled out Sony, and no doubt several others, but I would love to get some feedback from those who use the 12X optical, 5MP, cameras with the IS feature.

Thanks, :)

Terry

I just purchased a Canon S1-IS which has image stabilization. It is 3.2 MP and has a 10X optical zoom. I am still playing with it and can't answer your question about delay, but it does take Compact Flash media. As far as i am concerned, you can't go wrong with Canon.

I have an S30 which does very well, except for the zoom!! I have been looking for awhile now at many models. There are none with a 12x soom that take the compact flash card at this time, other than DSLR cameras.

The new Canon S2-IS uses SD cards, I believe. The last model, as mentioned already, the 1S-IS is 10X and uses CF cards. Don't know why Canon changed, except maybe to keep the size down.

Nixon's w/10X zoom use CF cards and the newest model has Image Stab.

I have the Cannon Power Shot S1 IS AND LOVE IT!! I also have a Nikon SLR (yes film). I would love to upgrade to the new one but with a cruise in less than 3 months, can't. I do not see any delay with the stabilizer. But I will say I did get a couple blurry photos (to bad you can't use it on the people your taking the photo of). My girlfirend had a different brand (that did not have it) and had a lot of blurry photos. I use take photos with my SLR and the hubby does the digital. I love the 10x zoom on it. You can also buy 2 other lense for it. I have one and use it.

I will say I also have a smaller digital camera it is a Nikon and I use it for point & shoot or quick ones.

Good luck.

You're only long-zoom choice without buying new types of memory cards would be the Nikon 8800...it is 'only' a 10x zoom (350mm equivalent), 8MP. Nikon lens is solid, decent shooting, not as fast in shutter lag as the new Sony and Panasonics...but better than your current cam. Build is good.

Note: all of the new crop of cameras have significantly improved shutter lag and shot to shot processing times. They should all focus and shoot much faster than your current camera.

Also: If considering the other cameras which take other memory card types, the Canon S2, Sony H1, Konica Minolta Z5, and Panasonic FZ5 are your other choices with IS.

Of these, the Sony takes the Memory Stick Pro, and the others take the SD cards. The Sony H1 is currently the fastest of the crop in shutter lag and auto focus speed. The Canon has one of the longer battery lengths. The Panasonic has the fastest continuous shooting mode at 3 frames per second, but the Canon and Minolta aren't far behind. The Sony has the biggest LCD monitor...and one of the brighter ones.

The Canon suffers from some fairly high purple fringing in high contrast areas. The Konica has some low light focusing issues. The Panasonic gets fairly noisy at higher ISOs, and in shadow areas, but not much worse than the others.

The Panasonic FZ20 tends to get better reviews, has a slightly better glass (larger body and lens), and better low light capability than the cheaper FZ5. The Sony H1 has received a strong initial reception. The Canon S2 improves on the S1 but doesn't seem to stand out as much against the solid Panasonics which have been on the market longer and the Sony which packs a better build and bigger LCD (though the Canon 1.8" LCD does flip out for shooting flexibility).

Hope that helps!

Zackiedawg,

Sounds like you know your digital cameras. Before I sailed on the Century last year I purchased a Canon S410. It takes nice photos but did not have the zoom I wanted. And has a too tiny of LCD of 1.5 inches.

In March we will travel to the Southern Caribbean on the Constellation and I want to buy a new compact digital camera. Great reviews from the Canon G6 (little heavy at 467 grams but it has great ergnomics), Fuji F810 less weight and good reviews (by next year this one may get replaced w/F910), Pentax Optio 750Z (wide to only 37.5 mm) or the Sony DSC-P150.

Any suggestions or knowledge of these or others in this category would be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance, Hal

BTW- my mom and dad (decessed) lived in Boca (Camino Real) for over 30 years. We visited them often and loved the area.

We have a Minolta Konica DiMage 5 that has 12 X with an Image Stabilizer.

We took it on our Alaskan cruise. We loved the pictures we were able to take with it. My husband was able to get some great close-ups of bald eagles in Sitka.

Not sure about the other cameras, but the Nikon 8800 also have Best Shot Selection. It's seems combining this with the IS, would really improve it's performance. Nikon describes it as:

"Nikon’s proprietary Best Shot Selector (BSS) automatically selects and saves the best of 10 shots in any mode. A very useful feature for close up or low light conditions."

It select the sharpest of the multiple shots.

In March we will travel to the Southern Caribbean on the Constellation and I want to buy a new compact digital camera. Great reviews from the Canon G6 (little heavy at 467 grams but it has great ergnomics)

The G6 is a solid performing camera...in most reviews I've read, the G6 and Sony V3 were rated nearly identical in all performance aspects, and even in size and shape...either would probably be a good choice, if you don't mind the slightly larger size of each of these.

Fuji F810 less weight and good reviews (by next year this one may get replaced w/F910)

Actually, I've been more impressed with the Fuji F10. It doesn't have all the same range of manual controls as some other models, but if you are primarily looking for a solid, easy to use camera that gets good shots and has good flexibility, the F10 is very impressive in one respect: Usable ISO range. Other than DSLR cameras, you cannot really use much higher than ISO320 on digital cameras of any brand because of fairly harsh and visible noise (graininess) in the shot. The Fuji F10 is the first compact so far to offer an ISO range of 64 to 1600, and achieves a very low noise result even at 1600. This means the camera will have excellent indoor capabilities and low light capabilities.

Pentax Optio 750Z (wide to only 37.5 mm)

This camera I honestly don't know as much about.

or the Sony DSC-P150.

This is a decent compact, solid across the board, but with the typical limitations of a compact camera (not as convenient manual modes, less ergonomics, but more ocnvenient in a pocket - tradeoffs either way). The P200 is the newer upgrade of the P150 - it adds a larger LCD screen which you may like. Also consider the 'W' models of Sony...they are identical 'guts' or internals as the P series...same lens, chip, etc, but have a more traditional rangefinder shape which some people like ergonomically. A W5 is the same as the P150, and a W7 the same as the P200. Both take nice shots, and have good color...but weak flashes and average indoor performance.

Another consideration if you don't mind the larger size would be the much more flexible Sony H1...it is a larger camera, but adds a nice 12x optical zoom (36-432mm) with image stabilization. Otherwise, much of the internals are similar to the P-series line of 5MP cameras.

If you want to stay compact, I'd probably recommend looking at the Fuji F10, Sony P200 or V3, or Canon G6. And add the H1 to the looking list if you don't mind a larger body.

BTW- my mom and dad (decessed) lived in Boca (Camino Real) for over 30 years. We visited them often and loved the area.

I'm a few miles north of Camino...just north of Glades. I've lived here from 1974-1986, then from 1994 to present. It's a very nice area, and changing all the time. If you go away for 3-5 years, you come back to all new roads, homes, and buildings!

I just bought a Panasonic FZ20 for our Alaska trip in June. The 12x zoom (optical) combined with 4x (digital) worked just fine. The image stabilizer has 2 modes. One works all the time. It uses more battery but does the job. The other mode works only when you make an exposure. Shutter lag is almost none. We went whale watching and got about 100 yards from the humpbacks. Without the zoom and stabilizer the whales would have been mere specs on the prints. I highly recommend the FZ20. By the way, I retired my Nikon autofocus SLR. Digital is the way to go. With a 1gb SD card I took 294 pics and still had room for about 100 more. I hope this helps you.

The FZ20 is basically the camera all of the others were copying when they made 12x image-stabilized zoom cameras. It wasn't the first, but it was a solid performer across the board and very popular. A very good camera, though a bit larger and more expensive than the new bunch of super-zoom compacts (Panasonic's FZ5 is the smaller 12x IS cam that competes in this new category). It's actually BETTER than the smaller compacts with respect to the glass - the nice, large F2.8 Leica lens has better clarity than the glass on the smaller cameras (even the FZ5 which has Leica glass too, has a smaller lens diameter and isn't as sharp)...but many people are looking for the fancy new crop of smaller, lighter cams.

Most of the cameras will offer the dual-stage IS system...either at half-press of the shutter or all the time, and the full IS will take the batteries down more quickly. The Canon and Sony both use rechargeable AA batteries - the disadvantage being slightly less shooting time than the FZ20 and its big proprietary battery, but the advantage being you can buy a pack of 4 or 6 rechargeable AAs for $10 and have them charged and with you in your pocket for endless shooting (the proprietary batteries have to be plugged in and charge up again...and though you can buy a second battery pack, they can be $50 or more so it isn't as cheap).

Remember to look for the super-zoom cameras with threaded lenses that can accept filters or add-on lenses...most can, but some are not common thread sizes and harder to find filters for. For example, I currently have a Sony 717 with a 5x optical zoom, and can thread on a 1.7x telephoto extension to increase the zoom range. With my camera, 1.7x gets me to about 357mm. The S2 IS, FZ5, FZ20, and H1 all have 420-450mm zooms built in! But if I screwed my 1.7x extender onto the Sony H1 with the 12x (432mm) lens, I now have 735mm!! That's a telescope! You'll see Nat'l Geo photographers with 4-foot long, 2-foot diameter lenses on SLR cameras mounted on beefy tripods to photograph wildlife that have the same range as you with your handheld compact and extender. Of course, you'll never have the full sharpness and clarity of that huge glass, but it's a heck of a good compromise to have that flexibility in a tiny package.

BTW - ignore digital zoom when looking at cameras. Most manufacturers like to tout the total zoom capability of a camera, but only the optical zoom should be looked at. Digital zoom is nothing more than cropping; the downside being that for each step of digital zoom, you are cutting into your resolution. a 5MP camera digitally zoomed 2x will result in a 2.5MP picture. Digitally zoom 4x and you get a 1.25MP picture. Try blowing that up to 8x10 and you'll get a bunch of jagged edges and pixels.

You'll see some cameras advertise 12x total zoom, and might think them in the same category as these 12x optical zoom cameras...they are usually a 3x optical zoom with 4x digital zoom factored in. Not to say digital zoom might not sometimes be useful, if you are willing to forego some resolution to crop in close to a subject, but just don't be deceived into thinking it's the same thing.

Hope that helps too!

Zackiedawg,

I very much appreciate you sharing your knowledge of digital cameras. I saw the Sony and I read review's of both the Sony V3 and G6. The V3 is the better camera but is larger than the G6. The G6 is a very nice camera but it still may be a litlle larger than I would like to carry around. I really need to go into a camera store and pick up, hold and try out each. I will check out the others you memtioned above. Thanks again, Hal

BTW - Wife and I aways loved shopping at the Glades Mall when were in Boca. We ate at Pete's? Steak House just north of the mall along the turnpike a few times. So many great restruants their.

Just got my Popular Photography mag yesterday and they have a nice article on the Sony H1. They seem to think it blows all the others away in this segment. May want to look at one of the photo sites like Steve's digicams, Popphoto or dp review to read full review of this camera.

CAREFUL! Sonys are great cameras, but be AWARE that you only get a 90 warranty on labor. Everyone camera maker is 1 year. So when comparing price, add in the cost of an extended warranty on the Sony.

In addition to the lesser warranty with Sony, there are 2 other things that I see as negatives; they use their own proprietary memory cards and don't use AA batteries, both of these "features" make owning the camera more expensive. Their memory sticks cost more and a replacement battery costs way more than another set of rechargeable batteries. Something else to consider is this; with a camera that uses AA batteries if you have an emergency and need to buy some batteries, AA's are readily available where as the battery for a specific Sony camera isn't.

Actually, the Sony H1 DOES use AA batteries. And even with the supplied set, they seem to have milked pretty good shooting time out of them despite a big 2.5" LCD...320 shots average.

As for the proprietary memory...if you've never had a digital camera before, you've got to buy memory cards anyway...so whether or not you have to buy SD, Xd, CF, or MS doesn't matter too much. And the price differential is closing quickly. Sony sells the MS Pro sticks at a very similar price to better branded CF cards...512MB for around $80. Though you are right, the MS cards still remain towards the higher end of memory cards in price. You're talking a price difference of $20-30 per GB between them, so it isn't too significant a factor to most people.

As for warranty - Sony has always been weak in that respect. I for one haven't ever bothered to buy extended warranties...if it's under $1,000, I usually just take my chances. But if it means alot to you, you certainly should factor in the lack of coverage for labor after 90 days (the Sony warranty does cover workmanship and repair for 1 year, but fails to include labor).

I've got 2 Sonys, 2 Canons, and a Pentax myself - I like them all and am not for or against any brand. I buy a product based on its merits, not the name. The Sony Hq (which I do not own) does look like a very strong competitor in the field, and deserves a look.

I have been using the Canon S1 IS for about a year now and I have never even noticed the delay caused by the image stabilization. I however did get some blurred photos in low light situations, I probably had the wrong setting though. Camera does use CF for media. I love the camera and the 10X zoom is excellent. Now that there is a S2 available, the price for the S1 will start getting lower. Try buydig.com also, I found the price here much better than anywhere else. Hope this is helpful.

Color me “conflicted” :confused:

 

I am very happy with my Canon Power Shot S 50 (5MP' date=' 3X optical) digital camera. At least I was until I read about the 12X optical cameras with Image Stabilization. They sound really HOT!! I wasn’t really looking to spend an extra $500 right now, but damn – they sound wonderful. Thus my conflict.

 

So here is my question – and I hope I can get answers from folks that actually use these gems. How much does the IS feature slow down the time delay from when you press the shutter button, till when the camera takes the picture? It’s frustrating enough with my current camera, and if the IS software adds any lag time at all; I’m definitely staying with what I have. On the other hand, if that too has been improved / enhanced then I’m going to have to look hard at getting the new camera.

 

I’d need to keep the same media I now have with the Cannon, to be as cost efficient as possible (CompactFlash if I’m not mistaken). So I guess I just ruled out Sony, and no doubt several others, but I would love to get some feedback from those who use the 12X optical, 5MP, cameras with the IS feature.

 

Thanks, :)

Terry[/quote']

Hi guys,

I've just bought a Panasonic FZ5. It should arrive on Tuesday, can't wait. Will experiment with photos and get back to you with results.

By the way, when buying memory cards brand means nothing. My computer magazine in this issue did a comparison study of memory cards, all types, and found that there was no difference in quality or performance between branded and unbranded cards. Check out their website which is really cool. You can get all sorts of freestuff. I have a firewall, anti virus, e-mail checker and spyware removal programs installed and they are all free.Check out http://www.computeractive.co.uk

I'm also using Mozilla Firefox as my browser instead of IE as most spyware stuff is aimed at IE. I also downloaded that free as well and it works every bit as good as IE.

Cheers,

Gordy.

ZackieDawg,

I read in Steve's that Panasonic recently announced a new 8 Meg digital camera, the DMC-LX1. A compact camera with a 2 1/2'' screen and stabilization. You said it's more important for optical zoom (?) and this one has 4X. Seems like it has everything I was looking for in a new digital but a Panosonic?? I like their telephones but not sure about their digital cameras.

Please let me know what you think about this camera.

http://steves-digicams.com/pr/panasonic_07202005_lx1_pr.html

HAL2,

Don't let the name bother you on Panasonic. For one thing, digital cameras are as much a piece of electronics as they are a camera...so the 'traditional' camera makers don't necessarily have an edge in digital cameras, because they no longer use mechanical shutters, sensor plates, and film. A microchip, sensor, and lots of programming are what make digital cameras take pictures - so companies like Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic have an excellent background in developing such products. And as I've mentioned before, in many cases you'll find Sony sensors hidden beneath the bodies of Nikons, Pentaxes, Minoltas, and many other brands.

As for the other thing important to a digital camera - the lens - that is one area where Sony and Panasonic do not have a history or long-term skill in developing such things. Which is why you'll usually find lenses made by camera or lens companies. In the case of Panasonic, you've got Panasonic's leading electronic capabilities tied to Leica's excellence in lensmaking.

So when it comes to digital cameras, many times the people who automatically gravitate towards Canon, Nikon, Milolta, Olympus, etc because they are familiar with their long lineage in camera manufacturing are creatures of habit who are failing to realize that the digital camera is a tool of the electronic age and a very different beast from the traditional cameras. Electronics companies have just as much right, and often more knowledge, in building digital cameras than camera companies. And that's why most of the camera manufacturers simply purchase the sensors, processors, batteries, and other vital parts from Sony, Fuji, Samsung, Toshiba, and other electronics companies.

Canon has been an electronics company for a while, alongside their camera manufacturing, so much of what Canon uses in their cams is developed in-house. That can give them an edge over Nikon or Olympus as they can customize their electronics to their lenses for optimal capabilities...but at the same time it can hurt them because they must try to duplicate or develop the same technological advances that one of the other sensor makers develops - while the rest of the industry gets the latest advances from one or two main sources, Canon must try to duplicate the results with their own sensor, or buy it from the competitors.

As an example of this...Canon has not been able to equal the results in autofocus speed that Sony has attained, nor have they been able to equal the low-light focusing capabilities of Sony. Other camera companies simply purchased the Sony technology, but Canon has tried for years to duplicate Sony's speed and accuracy with P&S cameras. Canon's DSLRs are another story - Canon's knowledge of mechanical shutters and lens technology gives them an excellent lead in that market.

Anyway, as for the new Panasonic, it looks very nice. Panasonic has actually been using Image Stabilization in their compact cameras for several years now, and has received very strong reviews for their LX5 and LX7 cameras. The LX1 appears to be a successor to the LX7, moving it from 5MP to 8MP. It is a smaller zoom range than the mega-zoom cams like the FZ5 or H1...but if that's all you need it should serve well.

What is good about the LX1? Well first of all, it is the first digital compact to shoot 16:9 ratio...that means your shots can be printed at 4x6 without any cropping (few people realize that all digital camera prints made at 4x6 are cropped top or bottom to fit that ratio). That's a nice touch if you find yourself making alot of prints. The camera can still be switched back to traditional 3:2 ratio as well. Secondly, the 28mm wide angle is nice...the mega-zooms will give you tremendous long-range zoom capability, but most cannot go any wider than 32mm, so the compact medium zooms sometimes have an advantage here. And third, it has an excellent quality LCD screen. Many cameras are using 2.5 inch screens now, but many are actually lower resolution, with the same 105,000 pixels as a 1.8" screen. This Panasonic will have increased resolution to make it more useful as a framing device to shoot with, like Sony did with the T1 2.5" LCD.

It looks like a nifty little camera. Downsides? Well, no megazoom, but that only affects those who want or need it. And likely the camera will sontinue to have poor performance at higher ISOs, with too much noise in the shots and poor low-light focusing (by limiting the ISO to 400, they are revealing that they have likely not been able to tackle the high-ISO noise issues). Fuji is the clear leader, so far the only manufacturer to target noise at higher ISOs. Hopefully soon others will follow suit. And battery-wise...there is no mention here about it, but if they are using the same battery as the FX7 (likely since the body size and design are similar, and the FX1 does say 'lithium'), then battery strength may be an issue. The FX7 had a very low 120 shot duration with its battery, and since it is a proprietary lithium battery, it will be expensive to buy multiples and you won't be able to throw in a set of Alkalines for emergencies.

Hope that helps. I'm sure more news will follow on the cam. I'd definately say it deserves to be on the short list of compact medium-zooms to look at and consider, along with the Fuji F10, Sony P200, and Canon SD500.

Yet another Canon Powershot S1 IS user-- I love it...everything about it. I reccomend a high-speed CF card (I use SanDisk Ultra II). No noticable lag, excellent battery life, just an amazing camera. It is perfect for everything from pointing and shooting to selecting shutter speed and aperture values. I saw the S2 at a store and its bigger and bulkier.

Last summer, on my first cruise with the S1, I turn at the muster drill to hear the familiar shutter sound of my camera. Another S1 user... what are the chances on a ship of 700. (OK so maybe not that rare but let me have my fun :) )

I have the S2 IS, and it is GREAT!! There is a S3 IS out now, basically the same camera but 6 Megapixel instead of 5. Really nice features of the S2 are the 12x zoom (up to 48x digital, but try not to go there, you loose a lot of quality), the image stabilizer, good fast autofocus, it uses AA batteries so you can always find batteries, and you can get almost 700 full resolution pics on a 1 GB SD card. IMHO these are the best of the digital point & shoot cameras, and all the camera most people will ever need for everyday use.

MD