Is Panasonic DMC-FZ20's small sensor 1/2.5" bothering you?

[jason_au]

Hello, I have been looking for a good digital camera. I find that

Panasonic DMC-FZ20 seems good. But it has a small sensor 1/2.5". I

believe the sensor is one of the important features. So, I wonder if

it bothers you. Doesn't it matter? Please share your feedback and

experience. Thank you very much.

[frank_skomial]

Most other point and shoot cameras, (e.g. Nikon Coolpix 8800) have 2/3" sensor, that is bigger (1/1.5" bigger than 1/2.5"). For that bigger sensor Nikon could not keep up the constant F max aperture. While Leica provides F 2.8 even for telephoto end, due to the tiny size of the sensor.

 

Smaller sensors get less light, produces larger noise, etc.

DMC-FZ20 is wonderful camera, if pictures are good, perhaps that is all that matters for non-professional use.

[larry_benjamin]

Hi,

A great camera for an excellent price. I use it to travel ( very light with a 12X optical zoom & image stabilization !!) & have had no problems with image quality (for a 5 megapixle camera.)

As a bonus i have purchased an adapter on e-bay which allows me to use my Olympus (62mm thread) TCON &WCON lenses to great effect.

The only negative issue, is that LCD screen/viewfinder struggles in low light conditions.

Highly recommended.

Cheers, Larry

[phule]

For all the positive things about the camera, I personally keep coming back to the sensor size. To me it would be a much better camera with at least a 1/1.8" sensor.

[jimstrutz]

It would undoubtedly be a better camera with a larger sensor, but then the lens wouldn't work with it. Leica designed a great lens and Panasonic is just trying to make the best use of it with the available technology.

 

The smaller sensor should produce more noise, but Panasonic has by all accounts done a very good job of curbing noise while maintaining sharpness. At least it's noise compares well to other high end digicams. That's still WAY more noise than a DSLR makes though.

 

The advantage to this camera is that it maintains the f/2.8 aperture for the whole length of the zoom, and it has amazingly good image stabilization. That combination allows you to shoot, hand held, at a much lower ISO than with just about anything else. And with lower ISO comes far less noise. So to answer your question, no, it wouldn't/doesn't bother me at all.

 

I bought the 3MP, FZ3 since I have a DSLR and just wanted a smaller packable camera. I am amazed at the quality of that little camera, mostly due to the lens, but digital noise isn't a real issue either. And besides, software noise filters work wonders. Last week I shot in a church at 420mm, hand held, no support, 1/10 to 1/15 second, and about half of the images were tack sharp. And I'm usually no good at hand held anything. I've owned a couple Canon IS lenses, and the FZ3 is a whole lot better. Panasonic has some real winneers with their FZ line.

[jason_au]

Hello again, thank you very much for your time to give your feedback. Have a nice weekend.

[conrad_hoffman]

Like all cameras, it's a design trade-off. The itty-bitty sensor makes possible the stabilized 12X zoom in a small and inexpensive package. The camera probably couldn't exist in the same form or at the same price point if it had a larger sensor. You have to make a choice based on the features that are most important to you. The FZ20 excels at "getting the shots" under most conditions because of the stabilization, huge zoom range, and short shutter lag. No doubt, there are non-DSLR cameras with larger sensors that have less noise or slightly better image quality. In situations where both cameras are capable of getting the shot, the FZ20 might come in a close second. In many other situations, the FZ20 will bring back the only shot. I would never trade my FZ20 for something without the zoom range or stabilization or short shutter lag, even if it had a larger sensor! Obviously, if you spend more money, a DSLR will beat 'em all. My prints from the FZ20 are noise free and adequately sharp up to 8x10 or more, when taken at the lower ISO settings. Noise is visible at higher ISO settings, but I don't find it any worse than the grain of high speed film. Question- why is film grain often considered artsy, romantic, and part of the image, while digital noise is invariably zeroed in on as a serious defect? BTW, if noise really bothers you, great things can be accomplished with programs like Neat Image.

[larry_benjamin]

Hi, Proof is in the pudding. I'm not a "pro" & this is not a "pro" camera but the results speak for themselves.

Cheers, Larry

 

http://www.pbase.com/benjaml1/image/36841152

[richard_burke1]

I just bought one of these for my wife. Great camera for the price, we

are very happy with it. We shoot only TIFF and stay completely away from anything JPG. The DMC-FZ20 can be used in all of its resolutions and save to TIFF, this is the reason I bought it. I do most of the demanding work with a Fuji S2 and Nikon 17-35 AFS and scanned 6x7mm film with a Nikon 9000.

[bill_tuthill]

Jim (or other owners of FZ digicams), do you find it's possible to

take bird pictures with this 420mm (crop factor equivalent) lens?

I've never been interested in birds per se, certainly not enough to

pay $2000 for a birding lens, but the photographic challenge might be

fun, and this camera is certainly affordable.

[jimstrutz]

Hey Bill,

 

I'm not a bird photographer either, but it seems that on DPReview's Panasonic forum there are several people posting bird picture on a regular basis. AF is quite fast for a "420mm" lens, and when shooting birds there is usually enough light to keep the ISO low. Other sites have looked at suggest that the FZ20 (and other FZ series digicams) makes a great bird shooter. Quite a few users are adding 2x TC to the end of them and still getting good results.

 

I just did a little test of my available lenses for the DRebel and threw in several shots from the FZ3. While a 3mp digicam is certainly no match for the DRebel, it held up remarkably well.

 

Personally I'm waiting for Alaska to thaw out enough to use it to shoot IK's & other water creatures. :)