Canon S80 vs. Panasonic DMC-FZ5?

I see that the FZ5 would be more ergonomic when shooting,
and the S80 would be more ergonomic when not shooting.
(It seems truly pocketable).
The FZ5 has image stabilizaton. The S80 has more
pixels, has a real view-finder, and a bigger LCD
screen. The FZ has a much better zoom range.
Now that I've been pointed to the dpreview site,
I'm impatient to hear what they say about the S80,
though the slightly bigger, older S70 was much admired.
Have I missed anything obvious or predictable?
thanks for your thoughts,
Joe

PS: Apparently Panasonic ships the first S80s today.

 

They're different cameras, aimed at different markets. Better to compare
the FZ5 with the Canon S2IS, or compare the S80 with the Panasonic LX1.
Those would be apples-to-apples comparisons (5 Mp superzooms for the
first pair, 8 Mp compacts for the second pair).

-dms

 

thanks, but there is only one market, it's me; and
in my ignorance, I am trying to collect the differences
to make my choice between these two cameras.
Joe

 

The primary difference between the two is the lens. Do you anticipate
needing/wanting a long optical zoom, or would you prefer a smaller,
lighter lens (the weight of the S80 is half that of the FZ5)? I have an
FZ5 and I'm very happy with it, but even though it's small compared to
an SLR, it's larger than a lot of compact cameras.

Some other things to bear in mind, some of which may be irrelevant
based on the sorts of pictures you envision taking:

The S80 has a wider wide-angle limit than the FZ5, so if landscapes and
other panoramic shots will make up a large chunk of your photography,
that's a point in favor of the Canon.

The FZ5 has a faster (wider aperture) lens over most of the zoom range.
Combined with the image stabilizer, this means that the FZ5 will cope
better for handheld photos in lower light conditions.

Canon makes a waterproof case that will install over the S80, allowing
simple underwater photography. As far as I know, nothing of the sort is
available for the FZ5.

The FZ5 has a fairly fast (for a consumer camera) burst mode, about 3
frames per second. The S80, according to Canon's spec sheet, is somewhat
slower, topping out at 1.8 fps.

FZ5 movie mode is low resolution (320x240), whereas the S80 supports
higher-res movies.

Price. Street price for the FZ5 is around $450-500, for the S80 around
$550 or so.

-dms

 

thanks very much for the points!
Joe

 

A bit OT but .........

I belong to a small digital photography group we have two people with
Panasonics one with an FZ30 (just bought it) and one with an FZ5. Looking at
two portraits last week, not of the same person alas, the FZ5 one is more
detailed and sharper.

They are going to do a side by side comparison and some A4 prints.

I'm saving up to buy an FZ5.

Jem

 

Here Panasonic fz5 is better:

macro
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=60&mo1=151&p1=545&ma2=1&ph=20

Zoomtele

http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=60&mo1=151&p1=545&ma2=1&ph=6

Here Canon is better:

Video
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=60&mo1=151&p1=545&ma2=1&mo2=166&p2=712&ph=14

Resolution:
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=60&mo1=151&p1=545&ma2=1&ph=6

Noise..??bah..fz5 better ,i suppose

 

excuse me for mistakes....but in site you can to find a right
example..hi

 

You won't regret the FZ5 - it's a delight.

When comparing the portraits, were they taken under identical conditions?
Perhaps not. The FZ30 has twice the pixels of the FZ5 so, given a tripod
and adequate stopped-down lens, should produce the sharper image.

David

 

The choice is simple and difficult. If the FZ5 is still larger and more
bulky where you would be far more inclined to leave it home then the S80
is the better choice; however, if that is not the case then the FZ5 will
produce better results in more situations and the 5mp will produce 8x10
enlargements without much difference as the S80.

The FZ5 appears more flexible and versatile as long as you use it.

 

Good point.

The S70 will do about as well as the S80. for less money

 

Most people will not use a tripod with either camera. The question I
have is with the same settings would you see any significant difference
in a moderately cropped 8.5x11?

 

See the recent news items at dpreview.com. Evidently there have
been problems with some sensors in S60's and S70's. It may pay to
check with Canon to determine if S70's beyond a certain serial
number can be assumed to have the improved/fixed sensor. Said to be
about wires delaminating, or something like that. If I had lots of
disposable cash I wouldn't mind having either one.

 

measekite wrote:
[]

No, a tripod would not be used, but if you want to make precise
comparisons between two cameras using a tripod eliminates one variable. I
was referring specifically to the print comparison.

I would expect that, other things being equal, an 8MPB image would look
better than a 5MP image. But if you needed the extra zoom of the FZ5, or
the image stabilisation, then the image from the FZ5 would likely be
better than that from the S80!

David

 

That was supposed to be the "protrait" comparison!

and that was supposed to be 8MP!

Arrgh!

 

"David J Taylor"

Are you sure it wasn't meant to be "portrait" comparison?

 

There is a gremlin in this system somewhere, or perhaps it is sitting at
the keyboard!

David

 

The digic II processor alone is worth the update. Much faster focusing and
almost no trigger delay when prefocused, which cannot be said about the
previous Digic on the S70.
/per