14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Wait, don't buy it yet !!
Date of Review: May 8, 2006
The Bottom Line: Buy only if would 'never-ever' print more than 5x7 inches.
In a digital SLR camera, you cannot see your views on the LCD screen before you take a photo. It is only after you take your photo that it apears on the LCD screen. Hence, a lot of imagination and prior thinking is required before you shoot your photos. But the DSLR images are very clear when enlarged to more than 8x10 prints.
In the point and shoot ones you can see the view through the LCD screen and then click your snap. But you can never get all the different adjustable functions of the DSLR. If you ever printed an image at 8x10 size you'll see the obvious noises from the point and shoot ones.
The FZ30 camera falls into the category called the "bridge cameras". In bridge camereas, the SLR's functionality and the point and shoot's easy handling is exploited. The Panasonic people have done a terrific job by producing the FZ30. It is truely a digital marvel among digital cameras. However, they either didn't make an aggressive move towards improving image quality, or such a technology simply doesn't exist as of today. What is the use of all the fantastic DSLR functionalities if you can't get a good 8x10 print ?
My guess is that the technology with respect to digital cameras is developing at a real fast pace right now. The booming digital camera market is pumping lots of money on R&D purposes to improve digital images. Waiting for a year more, so that a better bridge camera would come along seems wise. Hence, contend yourself with a point and shoot or and hold on to your wallet for a year atleast.
