Compacts - Lumix TZ8 or Canon IXUS 220hs

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fidsey79

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Sarah
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Does anyone have any experience that they would like to share?!?!? I have been looking at these two online all day and can't choose between them. They are both around the same price bracket £120 (although Canon running cashback on 220hs until 25th Jan ;)) Only needed for p&s when D7000 is too much. Please don't recommend a S95 - I am in the process of sending one back as it is too much for a quick handbag job - very sad though :'(. Any thoughts would be gratefully appreciated as have been scanning Which, Snapsort, Amazon, here, Flickr images all blooming day. Thanks for ANY help, Sarah
 
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I have the Canon Ixus 220 HS, is that the one you mean? Your title is a little confusing. If it is then its a great little camera, good high ISO performance, simple to use, 24-120mm lens is perfect for general photography, full HD video, filters, take it with me everywhere.
 
I have just sold a TZ8.

I originally bought because of the good reviews but it falls a long way short in low light. It has a good zoom 12x and extendable even more but I never used this feature.

I am staggered you will be returning a S95 as it is one on my short list due to its low light performance. I am alos considering the Canon G12, Nikon P7100 and the recent introduction of the Fuji X10 really has made it more complex.

I may think s od it and go for a Panasonic G3 - but I am really well confused :bonk:
 
I use a TZ8 and have to agree with the above ref low light.

Other than that though i spent 2 weeks in Florida with it and filled a coffee table book with absolutely fantastic images from it, fantastic dynamic range when in anything other than low light too.

Shame really as i feel it's the only bad point of this little pocket rocket.

I guess all point and shoots have their individual drawbacks though.
 
DayDreamer said:
I have just sold a TZ8.

I originally bought because of the good reviews but it falls a long way short in low light. It has a good zoom 12x and extendable even more but I never used this feature.

I am staggered you will be returning a S95 as it is one on my short list due to its low light performance. I am alos considering the Canon G12, Nikon P7100 and the recent introduction of the Fuji X10 really has made it more complex.

I may think s od it and go for a Panasonic G3 - but I am really well confused :bonk:
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I'm only returning the s95 because i felt extremely guilty for spending £229 a camera that i only really needed as a point and shoot. Felt gorgeous camera to hold and i have seen some amazing images taken with it. Just felt very very guilty. Thanks for the info on the TZ8, i really appreciate actual owners advice. Sarah
 
fidsey79 said:
I'm only returning the s95 because i felt extremely guilty for spending £229 a camera that i only really needed as a point and shoot. Felt gorgeous camera to hold and i have seen some amazing images taken with it. Just felt very very guilty. Thanks for the info on the TZ8, i really appreciate actual owners advice. Sarah
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You have the option of the Nikon D7000 which must be really good in low light. In my case I am looking to get one camera but which --- Gawd only knows :thinking:
 
Do you find the zoom ok on it?
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I find the zoom OK, in fact i like the range better than i have found on any other comapct, 24mm is great for landscapes and with it going to 120mm, perfect for candids, nice and sharp as well.
 
I have the baby brother of the Ixus 220 HS (the Ixus 115 HS) - some pictures here (the 8 photos taken before the one in the link are all with the Canon Ixus but most of the ones after are all with a Sony Nex, however this album and this one are all photos taken with the Ixus 115 HS.

I love it and it's biggest advantage is the tiny size - I take this camera everywhere. With hindsight though I wish I had got the 220 HS instead as it's the same size (in fact a fraction smaller I think???) and the 24mm wide angle would make a big difference/be a lot more useful compared to the 28mm on the Ixus 115. Otherwise I think the cameras are very similar spec and £110 for the Ixus 220 HS (after Canon cashback) is a bargain. Lots of fun features too like the diorama (miniature) effect (example) and the slow mo and high speed video (example, not mine). :D

Weak points -not the best lcd screen (but usable), pictures could be a little sharper (it is a tiny compact camera though). Not much else.

The TZ8 has a much larger zoom (25mm to 300mm) so if you think you would use that then it may be a better option (especially for wildlife: birds etc). I mainly shoot portraits and landscapes so don't really miss not having a long zoom (and happy to sacrifice one for portability). TZ8 is quite a bit more bulky than the Canon.

The S95 is a great price now and better image quality than the SX 220 - but yes it is still more expensive at twice the price and also a bit more bulky than the 220 HS.

By the way, Jessops has the red 220 HS for £129.95 (before Canon cashback) which is the same price as amazon, but Jessops throw in a free memory card and there is also a tiny bit (about £1.50) of cashback via topcashback if you are counting the pennies. :)

Lots of sample photos of the Canon 220 HS (also called Elph 300 in the US) in this flickr group.
 
applemint said:
I have the baby brother of the Ixus 220 HS (the Ixus 115 HS) - some pictures here (the 8 photos taken before the one in the link are all with the Canon Ixus but most of the ones after are all with a Sony Nex, however this album and this one are all photos taken with the Ixus 115 HS.

I love it and it's biggest advantage is the tiny size - I take this camera everywhere. With hindsight though I wish I had got the 220 HS instead as it's the same size (in fact a fraction smaller I think???) and the 24mm wide angle would make a big difference/be a lot more useful compared to the 28mm on the Ixus 115. Otherwise I think the cameras are very similar spec and £110 for the Ixus 220 HS (after Canon cashback) is a bargain. Lots of fun features too like the diorama (miniature) effect (example) and the slow mo and high speed video (example, not mine). :D

Weak points -not the best lcd screen (but usable), pictures could be a little sharper (it is a tiny compact camera though). Not much else.

The TZ8 has a much larger zoom (25mm to 300mm) so if you think you would use that then it may be a better option (especially for wildlife: birds etc). I mainly shoot portraits and landscapes so don't really miss not having a long zoom (and happy to sacrifice one for portability). TZ8 is quite a bit more bulky than the Canon.

The S95 is a great price now and better image quality than the SX 220 - but yes it is still more expensive at twice the price and also a bit more bulky than the 220 HS.

By the way, Jessops has the red 220 HS for £129.95 (before Canon cashback) which is the same price as amazon, but Jessops throw in a free memory card and there is also a tiny bit (about £1.50) of cashback via topcashback if you are counting the pennies. :)

Lots of sample photos of the Canon 220 HS (also called Elph 300 in the US) in this flickr group.
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Thanks ever so much. I really appreciate your response. The ixus 115 seems to have really good reviews, especially in comparison with the 220. Have a few mins to pop into jessops, hoping that will help. Sarah
 
I had the same choice when buying a p&s for my wife late last year. In the end I had to make her choose rather than it be a surprise :-)

She went for the Canon 220HS and loves it, particularly the video mode. It's so small, simple and well built (like my wife :-D).

If it was for me, at the time I'd have gone for the Lumix because it had bigger zoom and the controls looked more useful. It just looks a more serious camera, but having played with the Canon it does what a p&s should do and does it well.

Neither will compare to the S95 for low light but it's much cheaper, easy to use and I'd highly recommend it.
 
Phall82 said:
I had the same choice when buying a p&s for my wife late last year. In the end I had to make her choose rather than it be a surprise :-)

She went for the Canon 220HS and loves it, particularly the video mode. It's so small, simple and well built (like my wife :-D).

If it was for me, at the time I'd have gone for the Lumix because it had bigger zoom and the controls looked more useful. It just looks a more serious camera, but having played with the Canon it does what a p&s should do and does it well.

Neither will compare to the S95 for low light but it's much cheaper, easy to use and I'd highly recommend it.
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Thanks for the advice. Is it more than passable in low light? Sarah
 
fidsey79 said:
Thanks for the advice. Is it more than passable in low light? Sarah
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It's surprisingly good for the size of sensor. Not as good as the S95 but still pretty good in my opinion.
 
fidsey79 said:
Thanks ever so much. I really appreciate your response. The ixus 115 seems to have really good reviews, especially in comparison with the 220. Have a few mins to pop into jessops, hoping that will help. Sarah
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I think internally they are essentially the same camera - Ixus 115 has a slightly bigger screen, Ixus 220 has the wider angle lens (24mm, vs 28mm) and slightly longer zoom plus a faster max shutter speed of 1/1500s vs 1/2000s on the 115 according to Snapsort.

If it's between these 2 I would go for the 220 for the extra 20 quid. My 115 HS is pretty good in low light though probably not as good as my old Fuji F31 which was the low light compact benchmark a few years ago. As mentioned above the S95 will be better in low light but the Ixus is not bad. I know someone who sold their S95 for an Ixus 220 despite the lower image quality, because he wanted a camera which he would always have on him and the Ixus 220/115 fits easily into a jacket pocket and also fits into a shirt or trouser pocket whereas the S95, while small (smaller than the LX5) is that bit more bulky.

Another option is the Nikon Coolpix P300 but at £179 (amazon) it's 70 quid more than the Ixus 220 HS and not far off the price of the S95. Never been a big fan of Nikon compacts but that model gets good reviews on amazon.
 
DayDreamer said:
I may think s od it and go for a Panasonic G3 - but I am really well confused :bonk:
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G3 with kit lens is only £359 here (after Panasonic cashback which runs until January 22, 2012) - a pretty good deal (G3 with kit lens was over £600 when it first came out in May last year!).
 
Sarah, seriously keep the S95. You may think that it's more camera than you need, but you can always grow into it as your skill develops. Get rid of it now and you will wish that you hadn't at some stage down the line - probably immediately before you start looking to upgrade whichever model you replace it with!
 
applemint said:
G3 with kit lens is only £359 here (after Panasonic cashback which runs until January 22, 2012) - a pretty good deal (G3 with kit lens was over £600 when it first came out in May last year!).
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Thanks for this :thumbs:

P.S. Just ordered one!!!!
 
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You are decisive not like me as I have been thinking since before Christmas what to get.

Well if you don't like it, when you get it, Jessops have a very good returns attitude/policy. :D
 
fidsey79 said:
Ooooh the 220hs is nice. Only had a quick play but looks great. Looking forward to playing in the daylight. It is light and easy to navigate. Has nice tricks. Great point and shoot.
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Glad you like it, it's a very good camera.
 
fidsey79 said:
Ooooh the 220hs is nice. Only had a quick play but looks great. Looking forward to playing in the daylight. It is light and easy to navigate. Has nice tricks. Great point and shoot.
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Enjoy it! :) By the way, you can go into My Colours on the menu and up the saturation by selecting Vivid. You can also increase or decrease the contrast under custom colour on the same menu (I usually have it on plus one). Personal preference of course but I think selecting Vivid and increasing contrast by +1 improves the pictures by giving them a bit more punch.
 
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Would be interested to know what's now on your 'drawing board'

You may go back to the S95?
 
fidsey79 said:
Heaven knows! It could well be a s95 or a Nikon P300.
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Funny - you must keep us in the picture (excuse the pun).

As you said before you are decisive provided you have a minimum of four weeks to think about it. Even then clearly it is not so clear!!!!!

Is your star sign Libra - like my daughter - she can never make her mind up :clap: And nor can I!!!!!!!
 
DayDreamer said:
Funny - you must keep us in the picture (excuse the pun).

As you said before you are decisive provided you have a minimum of four weeks to think about it. Even then clearly it is not so clear!!!!!

Is your star sign Libra - like my daughter - she can never make her mind up :clap: And nor can I!!!!!!![/QUOT

No sagitarius. I think i am supposed to be decisive!
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hi, i just bought the 220HS from comet for £129. i had the lumix TZ10 but its much more bulky and i have had it for over 4-5 years so donated it to the mrs. Still charging the battery to the 220HS but it looks and feels great!! so small!
 
fidsey79 said:
A quick update. Took the 220HS back to jessops. It seemed quite soft and some of the images suffered from fringing. Back to the drawing board:-(
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Sarah - I have the TZ10 and find it a fantastic little camera. It's very similar to the TZ8 I believe except for the GPS (which I never use).
I used mine to take most of the photos I took on my recent holiday in Tenerife. Have a look on my flickr for some examples.
Although I have the Nikon D7000 and the Panny G2 I never take them when on a long walk. The TZ10 is always with me then. I love it.
 
I bought a Pansonic G3 but too big so I bought a Canon S95 from Amazon. Great feel and the few photos I took were excellent BUT too 'diddy' for my hands.

So after a loooong deliberation I have ordered a Fuji X10. Not so compact but reading the thread, here on on TP, a lot of people are in love with it and I am looking forward to its arrival tomorrow.
 
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