Nov 08, 2007 12:49 AM
5335 Views
I am a practising Plastic Surgeon and photographs are an integral part of my profession. In fact, I cannot over-emphasize the importance of good photographs in my field.
I had a Canon Powershot G2, now nearly 4 1/2 yrs old and I have always felt loyal to Canon thanks to the superb performance of that camera. With that in mind, I went to JJMEHTA, a reliable camera dealer in Dadar market, mumbai with the intention of shopping for a Canon S3IS or a S5IS(at that time just out in the US market).
To my disappointment I was told that the S5IS hadnt arrived and they didnt have any stock of the S3IS. However the knowledgeable salesman recommended that I take a look at the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50. Now panasonic in my view didnt merit mention in the same breath as the ruling triumvirate of Nikon, Canon and Sony. However he insisted and thank god he did.
One look at the camera and my interest was piqued. It looked so much like an digital SLR that I almost asked him if he had made a mistake. Mention of the 12X optical zoom and testing it out half sold me on the quality of the pics, esp the close-ups. I was also pleasantly surprised by the many user-friendly functions and shortcuts on the camera. What finally tilted the scales was the flip and twist LCD screen, a MUST-HAVE in my field to take pics from angles. Although this one flips vertically and then twists, it takes just a little gettign used to, that's all.
Over the next 2 weeks, I tested the camera extensively in both clinical circumstances as wellas for social photography. I was thrilled at the consistent results in the macro mode, the true-to-life color definitions and the quick relexes of the camera. The burst mode shots, the 3 shots with different exposures with ability to choose, the special effects shots, the ability to zoom with video and audio on video were all exciting to discover.
The only grouse was a kind of minor one, the inability to focus quickly enough in low-lighting, in night mode, perhaps the "noise" mentioned on many digcam websites.
Otherwise, this is a total VFM fabulous camera.
