Minolta Z2 v Fuji S5000 ?

[alguru]

2 sec is seriously long... but if u are concentrating on non-action type of shots I guess it's ok... the first shot that u posted looks rather shaky... were u breathing very hard? This kind of nervous monitor lizards, u need a very long telephoto as they will not let u get too close...

I have made a BooBoo!

Correction: S5000 shutter lag is NOT 2 secs. It is actually less than 1 sec. Unless you are paying close attention, you will not notice it.

Apologies for any confusion.

 

[stann]

Juz bought a S5000 too. I've taken 2 pics, one at ISO 200 and the other at ISO400, raw converted to jpeg without any post processing other than resizing to 3M size.

ISO 200
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO200.jpg

ISO400
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO400.jpg

Personally i think with a bit of tweaking of the colours, contrast etc etc, the pics are really better than even the Z2, which i think produces soft pics.

Pics taken in jpeg really dun do justice to the potential of the camera...

 

[The_Cheat]

Juz bought a S5000 too. I've taken 2 pics, one at ISO 200 and the other at ISO400, raw converted to jpeg without any post processing other than resizing to 3M size.

ISO 200
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO200.jpg

ISO400
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO400.jpg

Personally i think with a bit of tweaking of the colours, contrast etc etc, the pics are really better than even the Z2, which i think produces soft pics.

Pics taken in jpeg really dun do justice to the potential of the camera...

It's hard to judge from your pictures whether S5000 is better than Z2.

May I know what magnification were you using? And what's the setting like? :dunno:

 

[icer]

Hi all,

Just took some pics with my Z2. Very happy with it, think its user-friendly and not too complicated to use.

The zoom is good and the pic is clear. Night pics are good too if you have stable hands or tripod. Just switch to night scene mode and Slow flash.

;p

I zoomed into this spider.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/glenn_goh/detail?.dir=/c7cd&.dnm=beb1.jpg

It's hard to judge from your pictures whether S5000 is better than Z2.

May I know what magnification were you using? And what's the setting like? :dunno:

 

[The_Cheat]

Hi all,

Just took some pics with my Z2. Very happy with it, think its user-friendly and not too complicated to use.

The zoom is good and the pic is clear. Night pics are good too if you have stable hands or tripod. Just switch to night scene mode and Slow flash.

;p

I zoomed into this spider.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/glenn_goh/detail?.dir=/c7cd&.dnm=beb1.jpg

Cannot view!!

 

[stann]

It's hard to judge from your pictures whether S5000 is better than Z2.

May I know what magnification were you using? And what's the setting like? :dunno:

That's why i use 'personally' . Its my subjective opinion. Settings? Download the pictures and view the Exif lah :dunno:

Another pic from the S5000-

http://home.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/DSCF1212_2.jpg

If i didn't mention it, u probably wun realize that its a 4 megapixel image produced by a 3 Megapixel camera. But then its a bit noisy lah, and it really shows the sharpness and resolution of the raw-converted images.

Compare the above with this picture from the Z2:

http://konicaminolta.jp/products/consumer/digital_camera/dimage-z2/sampleimage002.html

The 3 Megapixel S5000 produces a sharper image than the Z2...and its juz my opinion

 

[gadgetnut]

I don't know, stann. Take a look at the two pictures posted in this thread on another forum:
http://www.stevesforums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22610
Both of those photos were taken with a Z1 , which is a 3.2 megapixel version of the Z2. They look pretty darned sharp to me. You have to scroll down through the thread to see them both.

 

[stann]

I don't know, stann. Take a look at the two pictures posted in this thread on another forum:
http://www.stevesforums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22610
Both of those photos were taken with a Z1 , which is a 3.2 megapixel version of the Z2. They look pretty darned sharp to me. You have to scroll down through the thread to see them both.

Of course they look sharp. They're downsized. Pics always look sharper when resized to a smaller size. :sweat:

 

[gadgetnut]

Of course they look sharp. They're downsized. Pics always look sharper when resized to a smaller size. :sweat:

I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. You've posted some nice shots here that you've taken with your S5000. But when I downsize then to the size of the two pics in that link I posted (to test your theory about downsizing) your's look softer to me. Either way, I think they are both great cameras. The photographer makes much more difference than the camera anyhow.

 

[tbteng]

Yup, sharpness is to the eye of the beholder...!

I always believe Fuji's colors tend to be more vibriant and contrasting. This sometimes plays tricks on our eyes as we are captivated by the color tones
from a picture....

I usually do a +3 on the color to achieve vibrance in my Minolta. It helps on the overall picture

 

[TME]

Juz bought a S5000 too. I've taken 2 pics, one at ISO 200 and the other at ISO400, raw converted to jpeg without any post processing other than resizing to 3M size.

ISO 200
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO200.jpg

ISO400
http://pachome2.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/ISO400.jpg

Personally i think with a bit of tweaking of the colours, contrast etc etc, the pics are really better than even the Z2, which i think produces soft pics.

Pics taken in jpeg really dun do justice to the potential of the camera...

Looks very noisy at ISO200.... but then again expected with the given sensor size.... but still pretty much usable.... Can't compare with Z2 unless u have the cameras at exact same settings and location and time and compare shots side by side. Can read dpreview when they have comprehensive reviews of both cams.

 

[stann]

I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. You've posted some nice shots here that you've taken with your S5000. But when I downsize then to the size of the two pics in that link I posted (to test your theory about downsizing) your's look softer to me. Either way, I think they are both great cameras. The photographer makes much more difference than the camera anyhow.

Yep. Let's juz enjoy the camera and take more pictures. And the 10X zoom really makes it more fun~~

 

[gadgetnut]

Yep. Let's juz enjoy the camera and take more pictures. And the 10X zoom really makes it more fun~~

That's for sure! I never realized how much difference a 10X optical zoom can make when getting candid shots of people or shots of wildlife like birds. That's my favorite feature too.

 

[stann]

Looks very noisy at ISO200.... but then again expected with the given sensor size.... but still pretty much usable.... Can't compare with Z2 unless u have the cameras at exact same settings and location and time and compare shots side by side. Can read dpreview when they have comprehensive reviews of both cams.

Yeah, very good high ISO performance for a small 1/2.7" CCD. Here's wat the full sized ISO400 image looks like after noise removal:

http://home.pacific.net.sg/~kelv/DSCF1211_filtered_1.jpg

 

[icer]

Cannot view!!

Try this then.
http://www.photoblog.be/photoblog.php?nickname=icer

 

[tush]

Got the Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 yesterday. Its for my sister in Australia. My parents are going there tomorrow so I've got about 1 day or so to try it out. Tested it out last night and still trying it out today.

Got it at S$739 at Mustaffa (I know its not the best price but I've got very little time to shop around - tell me if its reasonable). Promo comes with 128Mb SD card (there is a 16Mb in the camera box also), Soft case (bag), SD/XD card reader and 1 tripod. I wanted international warranty (esp for Australia) Fuji there only has local warranty so that rules the S5000 out for my purpose.

Previously had a chance to try the Fuji S5000 that belongs to my bro-in-law.
here's what i like about the s5000:
looks (subjective but I think black and the shape looks better)
nicer grip (I've got big hands, Z2's grip looks like its made for small hands)
more 'solid' feel


But having said that, here's why I'm impressed with Z2:
I like the controls. (where the buttons are placed)
the LCD looks brighter.
the unique mechanism that allows you to view the same LCD via the viewfinder (98% real image size)
Much faster AF. (better than the Oly C-750 I was playing with two days ago) Predictive AF tracking
really larger movie capture 800X600.
Made in Japan (I'm not sure about the S5000, I think its China- please correct me if i'm wrong)
real time histogram
flash hot shoe
IS

(For myself, I shoot mostly film & use manual cams...)

 

[TME]

Hi Tush, I think for a cam with international warranty it's not too much to pay. Besides u got yourself a reasonably large memory card.


As for the small hand grip, that would suit your sister wouldn't it? She probably has smaller hands than yours... And I'm sure she would prefer the sexier silver finish compared to the more professional black....

Minolta's ergonomics are always top class.... so no surprises there....