Hmm, I wonder if it’s possible that dpreview and PC Mag were looking at the same camera? DPReview gave the FZ5 a glowing review, while PC Mag slated it!
I’ve used one for over 2 weeks now and all the photos that appeared here over that period were taken with it.
It’s a great camera, but not perfect:
- The view finder is a bit small. I was spoilt by the large one on the Sony F717!
- Controls can be a little fiddly. Things are hidden within menus. This is probably a ciritisism that can be leveled at many cameras at this price range. The 717 had two scroll-wheels for very quick access to EV, focus points and shutter speed AFAIR!
- Image stabilisation can’t work wonders when there isn’t enough light. It helps, but don’t expect magic tricks!
- I’ll fill this in with more as I find them..
It’s still a great camera! I love the long zoom. On the street, it lets you get in close, even if that’s the cowardly way of doing things. Sometimes it’s the only way when you’re shooting street performers! I’ll post pics soon!
I’ve wondered the same… the PC Mag review baffled me at first, as it’s very much at odds with every other review I’ve read about the camera.
I think I finally understood what was going on when I re-read this segment:
In our view, low-light conditions make image stabilization essential in auto mode, because the camera’s shutter speed will usually be set very slow to compensate for the low light.
It seems to me that the PC Mag review is done by someone who understands computers, but not neccessarily someone who has a good grasp of photography.
For someone who does (say, the dpreview reviewers), the OIS offered by the FZ5 seems quite good – they know what the limitations of ultrazoom are without OIS, and they can see how far the OIS pushes the envelope of what they can do.
It seems that the PC Mag reviewers aren’t as familiar with photography and have some unreasonably high expectations – thus, instead of being impressed with how much more performance they can get, they’re unimpressed because there’s still a limit to what the OIS can achieve..
(I’m currently tossing up between an FZ5 and an S2 IS – S2 was winning until about 2 hours ago, now I’m favoring the FZ5 again…)