Panasonic FZ7 Picture 'noise'

M271

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Reading many reviews of Panny FZ7 it seems to score very highly in all areas apart from picture noise above ISO100 - 200, the technical reviews for this really seem to slate it. However all reviews seem to mention the poor higher ISO setting performance.

In the real world does this picture 'noise' issue become a problem or is it a Lab Test type problem? When would this 'problem' become apparent ?

For the price, functions and other good points I'm tempted to buy the Panny FZ7 over the Sony H2 and Canon S3, but this 'noise' issue is stopping me making the final decision.
 
its there and its a pain on iso 400 or so. The panny relies more on its OIS system in lower light. Which gains you a good coupe of stops and can enable you to use a slow iso setting where you would normally use a much higher. On a shot in low light, say at a dinner table or in a bar, the noise is very much noticeable. All digital cameras have it thought, just that its more apparent on the panny unfortunatly. There is some demo shots on DPReview
 
M271 said:
Reading many reviews of Panny FZ7 it seems to score very highly in all areas apart from picture noise above ISO100 - 200, the technical reviews for this really seem to slate it. However all reviews seem to mention the poor higher ISO setting performance.

In the real world does this picture 'noise' issue become a problem or is it a Lab Test type problem? When would this 'problem' become apparent ?

For the price, functions and other good points I'm tempted to buy the Panny FZ7 over the Sony H2 and Canon S3, but this 'noise' issue is stopping me making the final decision.
Ahoy there!

I would suspect that most pictures taken with the Panny would be at ISO 80 or 100, and whilst it is widely reported, it is nothing unusual withthe FZ series cameras as they have had this 'issue' throughout the ranges from year dot (apparently the FZ30 has it less so).

That said, it's easily 'cleaned up' with software such as Neat Image. I suggest you log-on to dpreview and go into the Panny forum there where you can ask for yourself and you'll find umpteen threads on this subject alone. I'm sure any concerns you have will be put to bed there.
 

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