Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5X 12.1MP Micro 4/3 Compact Camera w/ 14-42mm Lens (black, red, or white) $399 + Free Shipping

Quote from calebhicks : What is the difference between PZ and PZ X? I can't seem to find anything quick in my Googling.

They are the same thing and the X is just branding nomenclature.

Quote from calebhicks : What is the difference between PZ and PZ X? I can't seem to find anything quick in my Googling.

PZ X is the power zoom. It's good for video recording.

I've heard that the issues with the PZ X lens have mostly been fixed and that newer copies of it don't exhibit the double image at the long end of the lens.

Quote from MephistoMyHero : Essentially, the benefit of the X lens is that it is about half the size and weight of a normal 14-42mm kit lens. Also, keep in mind, from googling the web, the X lens has more distortion around the edges vs. non power zoom lens. Other than that, there is no other benefits. The GF series is a M 4/3 camera and putting on a regular 14-42 lens defeats the purpose of the size reduction of the camera. I have the regular 14-42 lens and it is rather large. Then again, the camera really isn't all that small to begin with so it doesn't bother me. Then again, the large lens on the Sony NEX series aren't all that small either.

Repped for an excellent explanation.
thanks

Quote from calebhicks : What is the difference between PZ and PZ X? I can't seem to find anything quick in my Googling.

PZ means powerzoom. so it's more compact. the zooming and focusing is all like a typical "P&S". Visually you can easily tell since it's so compact.

X kinda means it's Panasonic's better and newer line of lenses. It's confusing.

Quote from calebhicks : What is the difference between PZ and PZ X? I can't seem to find anything quick in my Googling.

In the camera business, everything with an X is better.

i.e.
1DX
RX1
X Pro1

I wonder what letter they will choose to use this year

The OLYMPUS kit 14-42mm lens is cheaper, slightly bigger than the Panasonic PowerZoom kit lens, still smaller than regular Panasonic kit lens (all interchangeable). The main advantage of the PZ is smaller when in OFF setting. And the motor to zoom & focus, personally I like manual since less components to break long term, and there are compromises in optics to get everything in a smaller package.

Quote from kevint : what's the advantage of this power zoom lens over the regular 14-42mm lens?

This is considered a pancake zoom lens. Not only is it lighter and smaller as some have said, it is shorter, meaning the lens protrudes less from the camera body while the camera is turned off, allowing you to stuff the camera with lens into a smaller bag or possibly a large pant/jacket pocket. "Flat as a pancake".

Quote from apxi84 : can anyone tell me what the zoom equivilant would be to a point and shoot like is it 5x zoom or what

If you want a lot of zoom, get a point and shoot camera. The market for this camera is for the enthusiast that wants better performance in low light situations (less grainy photos). This is due to the increased sensor size over the 1/2.3" to 2/3" size sensors in point and shoot cameras. See wikipedia article on sensor size: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format
An additional benefit is you are able to obtain a shallower depth of field (like professional portait photos where the subject is in focus, but the background is obfuscated/blurry). As your sensor size increases (area), your low light/noise performance and shallow depth of field abilities increase. Jumping to an APS-C or FF sensor on a DSLR will improve these abilities even further, at the expense of increases camera size and usually cost. And of course you have the ability to mount different lenses, even vintage/legacy lenses (with adapter) which are inexpensive.

Advantages to this system: small/light camera, smaller/lighter lenses when compared to a DSLR. Much better image quality than most point and shoot cameras due to high quality lenses and larger image sensor area. Ability to change lenses.

Quote from m0nsieur : TAn additional benefit is you are able to obtain a shallower depth of field (like professional portait photos where the subject is in focus, but the background is obfuscated/blurry). As your sensor size increases (area), your low light/noise performance and shallow depth of field abilities increase.

This can be an advantage or disadvantage. If you need more DOF, such as when taking pictures of multiple people at different distances, such as someone standing behind someone else, you need to stop down the lens on a larger sensor camera more than a point and shoot, so you have to use a higher ISO, but the point and shoot smaller sensor camera can get good DOF even with a large aperture, such as with the LX7 at f/1.4.

sorry. this is probably a dumb question. do i need to pay sales tax to buy on Groupon? I live in CA.

I found this in FAQ section. so that means they would charge me sales tax then?

How is sales tax computed?
The amount of tax depends on many factors, including the type of item purchased and where it is being shipped. If something is subject to sales tax in the state to which the order is shipped, tax is generally calculated on the selling price of each individual item. As required by applicable state law, the selling price of an item could include item-level shipping-and-handling costs. Groupon works with a leading service provider to obtain sales-tax rates.

Quote from pinky811 : sorry. this is probably a dumb question. do i need to pay sales tax to buy on Groupon? I live in CA.

Yes..

Quote from whyzir : The OLYMPUS kit 14-42mm lens is cheaper, slightly bigger than the Panasonic PowerZoom kit lens, still smaller than regular Panasonic kit lens (all interchangeable). The main advantage of the PZ is smaller when in OFF setting. And the motor to zoom & focus, personally I like manual since less components to break long term, and there are compromises in optics to get everything in a smaller package.

Note though, that Panasonic uses in-lens image stabilization vs Olympus which uses on-body stabilization.

Basically, if you use the Olympus kit lens, you won't get the added benefit of IS.

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On another topic for these cameras, I find that a prime suits these cameras better than the zoom option. The 20/1.7 (or the many primes in the 4/3 system) lets you use this camera in low light with low ISOs since this can't do high ISO as well as its higher end siblings and cousins.

Sold my kit lens and just kept the 20mm prime on 90% of the time, 10% of the time I switch to a telephoto when necessary.

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And another tip: flash bounce gets fantastic indoor pictures most of the time (8-9ft ceiling height in my case).

B&H is selling for $450 only

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pro...amera.html

Why do we think $399 is a big deal?

Quote from Sun22500 : B&H is selling for $450 only http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pro...amera.html Why do we think $399 is a big deal?

The lenses are different .