Which is the best Panasonic-fz? (1 Viewer)

I noticed that there Panasonic FZ-5, 10, 15, 20 and 30. My main interest would be to take a photo record of birds and propbably would not use anything bigger than an 8x10 photo.(no experience in photography) Will one of these cameras take a better picture than the others and is one easier than the other to use in the field? I notice that I can get an fz-20 for $395.00 versus about $600.00 for an fz-30. The other models seem to be less available. It appears from what I've read that 8mp(fz-30) versus 5mp(fz-20) will not make much of a difference in an 8x10 photo.Is that true? Any feedback would be appreciated.

I am not familiar with any of these specific cameras, but I can tell you that the big advantage an 8 MP camera has over a 5MP camera is when you want to CROP a picture.

It is true that for an 8x10 print, both are about as good, using a picture right out of the camera. But say you take a picture of a bird and it only fills a quarter of the frame. If you used an 8MP camera, you could crop the picture so the bird would fill the whole frame, and still print it at 8x10. With a 5MP camera, if you cropped it like that, you would not be able to print it that large because the resolution would be too low. You could probably only print it at say 4x6.

I have experience of the FZ10 and FZ20 having upgraded from one to the other. They're both good cameras, but the FZ20 has the edge as regards operation - everything just feels right. The FZ30 has received mixed reviews so far. It may be higher MP but it's reported as having a noisier sensor than the FZ20. The sensor on the FZ20 isn't perfect as regards noise as it is which is why I use it at the lowest ISO rating of 80. The lens on it is very good and the image stabiliser is very effective. The noise issue makes the FZ30 a non-contender for me.

I'd still rate the FZ20 as the best of the range. Even with the 12x zoom and teleconverter added 50% crops for bird photos are common place. A quality 10x8" photo would be pushing it for a cropped photo. Personally I think the only way to go for decent large prints is a DSLR with 400mm+ lens.

I hadn't really given much thought about cropping a photo. I remember seeing a bird that was unknown to me. I tried to take a picture of it with my wifes 3x optical zoom camera from 50' away and couldn't even find the bird in the picture. Hopefully 12x optical zoom will be enough for me to be able to at least see the bird.

It will be larger but really 12-15' is a realistic expectation for a 12x zoom. Maybe 20-25' with a 1.7x converter for a small bird like a Chickadee would be the maximum and even then a 50% crop for a reasonable size.

These shots of a Hoopoe (c.11" tall) show the full frame shot and a cropped shot of around 50% from c.50' with 1.7x converter attached.

For a Bald Eagle I'd say you have a bit more room to play with maybe even 50 yards for a full frame - provided you don't expect to fill it.

The Shag is a full frame shot from 40 yards with 1.7x converter.

The Red Kite is likewise a full frame from the same distance with just the FZ20 alone.

That shot without the converter is encouraging because I do get within 50 yards of Bald Eagles during the winter occasionally and in all honesty I like the quality of the shot you did without the converter better.(I'm only going with the camera for starters)