two panansonic cameras to choose,any advice

[MrFurious]

ok i have been offered the following cameras and wondered if anyone here had the same model or experienced one
the panny lc5 lumix £200
the panny lc70 lumix £170

any info

[HelenS]

Originally Posted by MrFurious

ok i have been offered the following cameras and wondered if anyone here had the same model or experienced one
the panny lc5 lumix £200
the panny lc70 lumix £170

any info

I haven't owned either (though I am a keen Panasonic digital camera owner); both are 4 megapixel models - the LC5 was more "pro" than the LC70, but the latter is a more recent design - the LC5 was launched in September 2001, the LC70 in January 2004. The LC5 is a lot bigger than the LC70, which a large screen and lots of manual control options whereas the LC70 is pretty much auto only. However, there was quite a lot of controversy about the picture quality of the LC5, as it was the first of the Panasonic Lumix range, and they had tweaked it for print quality rather than shots looking right on screen - it had a slightly odd look to the shots, kind of overly crisp (almost "crunchy" actually - an odd term but I know what I mean!). It was over £500 new, whereas the LC70 was around £200 if I remember correctly.

If you haven't already found the site, take a look at www.dpreview.com, and click on "cameras" in the left hand bar, and navigate to Panasonic. There you can find a picture of each camera, its specs, and rated reviews by actual owners.

[MrFurious]

thanks very much,i think i will go for the lc70,just need it to take pictures of school work (wifes a teacher)

[HelenS]

Originally Posted by MrFurious

thanks very much,i think i will go for the lc70,just need it to take pictures of school work (wifes a teacher)

Just bear in mind that with the way digital camera prices have come down recently, the price you've been offered the LC70 at is pretty high - and digital cameras ARE improving image quality and speed of operation with each generation too. So there are equivalent (and higher spec) brand new Panasonics available at lower prices than this (and similar prices) respectively. The same applies to other brands too of course. For example the 4MP Panasonic LS1 which evolved from the LC70 is only £119 at Jessops (who have a 30 day return period if you're unhappy). It's lost the eye-level finder in favour of a bigger LCD monitor (manufacturers have decided that most digital cameras are not used at eye level, as people love to use the monitor - whether they're right in this is debatable but the eye level finders on more affordable digitals are really just for general aiming as they don't show much information, and aren't any good for close ups anyway as they don't show the correct area close up - i.e. parallax error), and it doesn't record sound in the movie mode as the LC70 did, which could be an issue for you, but it has an image stabiliser now for less blurry shots in lower light, when you're not using the flash. A feature like that could be handy if the school work is manuscripts etc., as you might not always get the desired results with flash, close up.