I need some advise on digital cameras.?

Question

I'm looking at a Panasonic TZ3 at this moment. The zoom is what is appealing and the size of the camera. I want it to take good pictures. I go to a lot of concerts so a camera that takes good pictures in low light would be good. And to have pictures that don't come out blurry because of all the movement. I'm willing to spend about $500. Thanks for all the help.

Answer 1

If Panasonics have a weakness, it's that they don't do as well as the competition in low light. The in-camera processing tends to result in detailess, smeary pictures at high ISO/low-light.

I would look at competitive cameras from Canon and Fujifilm. Canon makes some good cameras with both image stabilization and better performance than the Panasonic in low light.

Point and shoot cameras don't do so well at concerts; SLRs are the best option in such a situation, although they are often too big to be brought in.

Answer 2

For good low-light photography you need a very fast lens - f1.4 or 1.7 - and a fairly high ISO like 1600 or 3200. Image Stabilization will definitely help, especially if you're limited to f2.8. The flash on a digicam is useless beyond about 15 feet if its that powerful.

Digital cameras aren't magical - they don't have the ability to repeal certain facts concerning exposure.

Here are some examples using a school stage/auditorium as our subject:

ISO 800

f2.8 @ 1/30 sec.
f4 @ 1/15 sec.

ISO 1600

f2.8 @ 1/60 sec.
f4 @ 1/30 sec.

ISO 3200

f2.8 @ 1/125 sec.
f4 @ 1/60 sec.

As you can easily see, to have any chance of stopping action we'll be wide-open at f2.8 @ 1/125 sec @ ISO 3200. If we use ISO 6400 at f2.8 out shutter speed will be 1/250 sec. Of course at ISO 3200 & 6400 we're going to have a lot of digital noise to deal with.

Most concert venues are probably even darker and the farther back you are the worse the conditions for taking pictures. If you're using a zoom it will have to be a constant f2.8 - and that's an expensive lens and certainly won't be found on a digicam.

Be sure to check on your concert ticket. If it says: NO CAMERAS ALLOWED and they find yours it will be confiscated and you'll probably never see it again.

Answer 3

For low light condition I recommend Fuji or Olympus.. but in general I love panasonic and I have FZ50 which I consider one of the best digital cameras for the price range you asked for. Great ZOOM

Answer 4

My wife is the photo fiend in our home. All I can tell you is to look to see if it has a "night" feature, and I know the more pixels the clearer the photo if you know what you're doing.
That's pile of money, but I reckon you get what you pay for. She does quite well with the little Kodak job I bought her. I just bought her another Kodak with more pixels and bells and whistles.
The other ones I looked at, like the Panasonics, they were too pricey for my anemic wallet.