Narrowing the Search

I realized that, for the photography I do, 8 mp was not necessary. I could
not find one in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. I read of some problems in Nikon
Talk and I found that the filters are not standard and are very expensive.
Image stabilization is a must and the two I chose both have it. The Minolta
does not have quite the zoom, but has a mechanical zoom and would be easier
to operate. The FZ20 has a much longer zoom and is easier to find. I am
hoping that filters for both will be easier to find and cheaper.
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Bill wrote:
 > I have eliminated the Coolpix 8800 from my list and am now left with
 > the Minolta Dimage A2 and the Panasonic FZ20. The differences that I
 > find are as follows: A2 has 8 megapixels, up to 800 ISO, a 28 - 200
 > zoom with macro on both ends, goes to F11; FZ20 has 5 megapixels,
 > up to 400 ISO, a 38 - 432 zoom, and goes to F8. Other than the zoom,
 > the A2 seems to have the advantage. I would appreciate thoughts or
 > opinions on both or either. Thanks in advance.

I did have a Minolta A2 earlier in the year but I sent it back because:

- I felt the swivel LCD was very tinny in construction.

- the defects in JPEG images that were reported in the A1 hadn't been
fixed, and noticeably reduced the quality of JPEG images.

- the image stabilisation appeared not to work at the low shutter speeds I
needed.

- Minolta lied about the number of pixels in the viewfinder.

I lost faith in the company as a result. I bought an FZ20.

Cheers,
David<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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David,
Is having the zoom ring with the shutter release a problem? I also liked
the mechanical zoom of the A2, is the motorized zoom of the FZ20 easy to
control? Thanks
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Bill H. wrote:
 > David,
 > Is having the zoom ring with the shutter release a problem?

Not that I found

 > I also
 > liked the mechanical zoom of the A2, is the motorized zoom of the
 > FZ20 easy to control? Thanks

I would prefer a mechanical zoom if possible. The FZ20 zoom is quite
fast, so very precise framing isn't as easy as it might be. If it's this
level of detail, I would suggest a shop visit to compare.

Cheers,
David<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Bill H." <wmhurst DeleteThis @cableone.net> wrote in message news:<10oam6tl10tdp48 DeleteThis @corp.supernews.com>...

 > I realized that, for the photography I do, 8 mp was not necessary.

The extra resolution will always be handy for cropping purposes.

 > The FZ20 has a much longer zoom and is easier to find. .

Go for the Olympus Camedia C-8080. It out performs all other 8
megapixel ZLR type cameras. It is the best ZLR.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Lukas Varossieau wrote:
 > "Bill H." <wmhurst.RemoveThis@cableone.net> wrote in message
 > news:<10oam6tl10tdp48.RemoveThis@corp.supernews.com>...
 >
  >> I realized that, for the photography I do, 8 mp was not necessary.
 >
 > The extra resolution will always be handy for cropping purposes.
 >
  >> The FZ20 has a much longer zoom and is easier to find. .
 >
 > Go for the Olympus Camedia C-8080. It out performs all other 8
 > megapixel ZLR type cameras. It is the best ZLR.

However, it lacks the image stabilisation present in the FZ20. My tests
have shown that the FZ20 equalsa or perhaps even beats the image "quality"
producesd by the Minolta A2 in JPEG mode.

David<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"David J Taylor" <david-taylor.TakeThisOut@invalid.com> wrote in message news:<300nvoF2rs9taU1.TakeThisOut@uni-berlin.de>...
 > Lukas Varossieau wrote:
  > > "Bill H." <wmhurst.TakeThisOut@cableone.net> wrote in message
  > > news:<10oam6tl10tdp48.TakeThisOut@corp.supernews.com>...
  > >
   > >> I realized that, for the photography I do, 8 mp was not necessary.
  > >
  > > The extra resolution will always be handy for cropping purposes.
  > >
   > >> The FZ20 has a much longer zoom and is easier to find. .
  > >
  > > Go for the Olympus Camedia C-8080. It out performs all other 8
  > > megapixel ZLR type cameras. It is the best ZLR.
 >
 > However, it lacks the image stabilisation present in the FZ20.

You were the group creator, yes? Perhaps you should have named the
group

rec.photo.digital.zlr-with-is or
rec.photo.digital.fz20-is-the-only-good-zlr

Seriously if you want to attract new participants you shouldn't be
putting down their cameras.

 > My tests
 > have shown that the FZ20 equalsa or perhaps even beats the image "quality"
 > producesd by the Minolta A2 in JPEG mode.

The Minolta A2 is the bottom of the 8 megapixel ZLR heap. No
comparison to the Olympus.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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Lukas Varossieau wrote:
[]
 > You were the group creator, yes? Perhaps you should have named the
 > group
 >
 > rec.photo.digital.zlr-with-is or
 > rec.photo.digital.fz20-is-the-only-good-zlr
 >
 > Seriously if you want to attract new participants you shouldn't be
 > putting down their cameras.

You are the person proposing the c8080 as the best ZLR, without pointing
out its limitations. There is a wide choice of ZLR cameras, and if
someone has a particular need such as 24mm wide angle, zoom past 140mm,
less than 8MP, or image stabilisation then not all ZLR models will meet
their requirements. Of course, there will also be people who have a
flexible requirement and may buy on price alone.

Yes, I was one of the charter proposers, although it was group discussion
which refined the charter and the group vote which created the newsgroup.

David<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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