I've just bought one of these cameras. I've wanted to upgrade from my little compact which I've found is limited for certain things - iffy low lighting and rubbish photos at the slightest distance.

I've read that it struggles at high ISOs but have no idea what that means or if it will affect me.

Bit of an impulse buy tbh.

Thanks :)

High ISO is the ability of the film/sensor to capture images in low light. So, for example, you would use ISO 100 for bright sunny days, and get nice clear images.

The higher the ISO, the higher the sensitivity of the film/sensor. But, the trade off is image quality. In digital, they turn up the gain effectively on the sensor, so it generates electronic noise, which appears as speckles in your image (either coloured or monochromatic, like film did).

Generally, compacts suffer from noise more than DSLRs because the sensors are so tiny and each photosite is much closer to it's neighbour, so the 'noise' problem is worse.

I have just bought a Lumix TZ3 for a carry around, and the noise compared to my D70 is very noticeable, but as long as you realise it's only a snapshot camera you should be just fine.

So avoid using it in dim light without a flash!

Geezer

I've just bought one of these cameras. I've wanted to upgrade from my little compact which I've found is limited for certain things - iffy low lighting and rubbish photos at the slightest distance.

I've read that it struggles at high ISOs but have no idea what that means or if it will affect me.

Bit of an impulse buy tbh.

Thanks :)

Looking at one of them myself. As mentioned here and on DPReview it struggles to produce a good picture in low light conditions. In good light it sounds like it produces some quality pictures though. It does also mention that the 18x (28mm - 504mm) zoom is really pushing the limits of the sensor. It seems as though a compact is never going to be a match for a DSLR however the Panasonic can be had for around £220, a budget DSLR would cost at least twice that, more if you add in a few lenses etc.

I got the FZ50 (£249) as I liked the manual zoom . It does struggle in very low light, but the good light pics are :thumb: You can lock the iso settings if required.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2452015869_d50eed1a13.jpg

Lots more here
Collection: South Africa 2008 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/-stevem-/collections/72157604813732678/)

I had the FZ8 which is just the older version of the 18. Overall it was excellent and certainly a massive step up from your normal point and shoot. Even ISO 200 has noticable grain so generally ISO 100 only and certainly not ISO400. It also very small and light for what it is.

It's not SLR quality but then it doesn't cost as much or weigh as much but as said in bright light the images are fantastic.

:thumb: