Pana FZ8 vs. Kodak Z712

pythondrummer

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Hey all, new to the forum here. Photography has been a hobby of mine for a while and this year in school i'm taking a photo class to learn more. i have been taking pictures with my Panasonic DMC-FX3. It's nothing special.
panasonic-dmc-fx3.jpg



Now i would like to upgrade and spend about 200-250 smackers on a new cam. i know people will tell me to go for the dslr, but its not really in the budget right now.
I've been looking around online at different cameras and i have read several reviews. I've heard good things about both the FZ8 and the Z712, which are comparable in price. Which one do u guys think is better?
I would like to have good manual features for focusing and whatnot which is what my current camera lacks. I would also like a good macro feature

Thanks so much!

fz8
fake_2804.jpg

Z712
Z712-thumb.jpg
 
One thing to look for is whether either of them can also capture RAW, or if it is just JPG. I find that RAW files are much better to work with.
 
I would say go for the Panasonic because it uses Leica lenses, which are good.
 
thanks for the replies!

i did some more research and found that the panasonic can capture raw, whereas the kodak cannot. And thank you for the info about the leica lens.

in the reviews on megapixel.net, i saw that they found that the kodak had better image quality than the panasonic, but panasonic beat the kodak in all other categories.

does anyone think that the image quality on the panasonic is so bad that i should get the kodak?

thanks again. i appreciate any and all info.
 
hmm, i would like to know this as well as i am a beginner in photography. I also have a noob question. What does SLR stand for and what do you lose if your camera isn't an SLR or w/e </noobness>
 
I think the image quality will be fine for both. It's one of those arbitrary things that is in the eye of the beholder - and if only one shoots RAW, they were only comparing JPGs. RAW is the raw data captured by the camera, whereas JPGs are a highly compressed form of the data that is recorded after the camera (which is essentially a little computer) has run it's own settings and algorhythms over your image. In RAW you can do all your adjustments later - so I assume the image quality will be better for the Panasonic.

Regarding SLR - it means Single Lens Reflex. Most of the cameras with exchangable lenses are SLRs... and the new digital ones are sometimes referred to as dSLRs. It's a system that was developed about 40 years ago, and means that you have a viewfinder through which you look, and then actually see what you're going to shoot - because you're looking through the actual lens. It uses a little mirror inside the camera that makes that thick "clunk"sound every time someone takes a pic with one of those.

I think the two cameras shown above have electronic Viewfinders, meaning you're looking at a tiny screen inside the camera when you look into the little viewhole in the back. Or you can compose the shot by looking at the monitor on the back. The newest dSLRs now also allow you to compose a shot by looking at the monitor on the back, but that's still pretty new - you'll hear it called Live View. SLRs give you a lot of manual control if you want it, as well as a lot greater scalability as a system, because you can buy lots of different lenses that specialize on certain techniques - wide angle, macro, sports, etc. The cameras shown above are Jacks-of-all-Trades, that means they can do a little of each, but none of it breath-takingly well.
 
thanks so much for the interest and the great reply. I like that the pana has the ability to capture in RAW and a real nice lens.
no one has really said much about the kodak, so i'm not too sure about that one.

as of right now, i'm kind of leaning towards the FZ8. its 60 bucks more than the kodak, but i think it will be worth it.
looks like a lot nicer of a camera with superior ergonomics as well.

if anyone else has info, please leave a reply.
 
i haven't seen much about the kodak, but i myself have the fz8, great camera, in alot of reviews they have stated that it is the next best thing to a dslr, well maybe not quite but it's very good for the price, manual mode, and what not. also have built in memory, and as you found out has RAW, though no raw software seems to be included.
 
Before I got a dslr I used a Pana FZ5 for about 2 years and loved it. I don't know much about the Kodak but I the the Lumix cameras are great.
 
wow, sounds like the fz8 is the winner here. I read in a review on megapixel.net that the fz8 comes with some software from panasonic to develop the RAW files, so shouldn't be a problem.

thanks so much to everyone who helped me with the decision. i'll probably go get it this weekend.
 

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