How does ZS7 perform in colors in low light indoor? Hi, I had ZS3 for a month and was satisfied with its performance, features mostly except for one thing. Shooting with flash under low lighting, especially a little yellow type of lighting. The default iA mode turns out bright objects in the center, front, but other objects near the edge, back are too dark. Also the colors are not so true to real scene when taken with flash under low light indoor. It tends to be a bit reddish or pinkish than real.I tried to resolve this with ISO, EV, WB settings in the normal mode. Though I made some improvements, still it's not so good. So I am looking at both ZS7 and Sony's HX5V to replace my ZS3. I wonder how ZS7 performs against ZS3 in colors in low lighting indoor. Has anyone had both cameras and compared its color performance? How does ZS7 perform in colors in low light indoor? Hi, I had ZS3 for a month and was satisfied with its performance, features mostly except for one thing. Shooting with flash under low lighting,... » Read More How does ZS7 perform in colors in low light indoor? Hi, I had ZS3 for a month and was satisfied with its performance, features mostly except for one thing. Shooting with flash under low lighting, especially a little yellow type of lighting. The default iA mode turns out bright objects in the center, front, but other objects near the edge, back are too dark. Also the colors are not so true to real scene when taken with flash under low light indoor. It tends to be a bit reddish or pinkish than real.I tried to resolve this with ISO, EV, WB settings in the normal mode. Though I made some improvements, still it's not so good. So I am looking at both ZS7 and Sony's HX5V to replace my ZS3. I wonder how ZS7 performs against ZS3 in colors in low lighting indoor. Has anyone had both cameras and compared its color performance? « Show Less
359951
If HX5V works better for your application and usage, then it's good for you. I have no problem with that. But for me the IQ of camera is very important (I consider both sharpness, distortion as part of IQ) and having more manual control is important too. I agree that many folks would just use auto mode or pre-set scene modes, but it's good to have option to tweak it when needed for people like me. In these two regards, ZS7 is the better camera for me.
359952
Look up "Imaging Resource" website. There is a very cool "Comparometer" (look on the left side, "Compare Sample Images). I, too, am trying to decide between the ZS7 and the HX5V. My biggest beef (in particular, with the Fuji F80, which I returned), is with over-processed images wiping out facial tone. I'm worried the Sony does that a bit, but it seems to retain some of the Fuji's low light magic. It's a shame the ZS7 went up on megapixels and therefore lost resolution in processing out noise. (Compare the house photos between the two on the Comparometer. The ZS3 clearly wins. Look up "Imaging Resource" website. There is a very cool "Comparometer" (look on the left side, "Compare Sample Images). I, too, am trying to decide between the ZS7 and the HX5V. My biggest beef (in particular, with the Fuji F80, which I returned), is with over-processed images wiping out facial tone. I'm worried the Sony does that a bit, but it seems to retain some of the Fuji's low light magic. It's a shame the ZS7 went up on megapixels and therefore lost resolution in processing out noise. (Compare the house photos between the two on the Comparometer. The ZS3... » Read More Look up "Imaging Resource" website. There is a very cool "Comparometer" (look on the left side, "Compare Sample Images). I, too, am trying to decide between the ZS7 and the HX5V. My biggest beef (in particular, with the Fuji F80, which I returned), is with over-processed images wiping out facial tone. I'm worried the Sony does that a bit, but it seems to retain some of the Fuji's low light magic. It's a shame the ZS7 went up on megapixels and therefore lost resolution in processing out noise. (Compare the house photos between the two on the Comparometer. The ZS3 clearly wins. « Show Less
359953
I just ordered the ZS7. I first tried the F80 but returned it after finding pictures had a remarkable amount of compression artifact. All the files come out around 4 MP (max) and faces start to look like pastel when you zoom in. That said, it does perform better in low light. If you don't care about HD video consider the F70, which I read is better. (For that matter, the ZS3 is supposed to be better, but I want the bells and whistles.)
359954
This is a great resource AnthonyB. I think the review clearly favors the Panasonic but I am biased ;-) I'm with you on the noise issue but all else aside the improvement over the first generation is remarkable. I especially like the macro modes. Much better (see my review).
359955
I think I am going to return this camera because all of my indoor photos are yellow. They are AWFUL. My old elph takes better indoor photos. I am so disappointed!
568653
If getting good pictures under low and dim light conditions are the most important aspect for you then the ZS15 is not the camera for you. The ZS15 is a fairly compact camera with a small sensor (1/2.3") and a not too fast lens (F3.3 - F5.9). It will probably boost the ISO resulting in higher noise.
1731439
Here is from one of the reviews for Sony SXRD.I tried the Samsung HLT-6187S that was LED driven. I guess the technology is toooo new and Samsung needs to iron out a few problems with those sets. I had two sets that I went through and so I had to buy my backup set, which was this KDS-60A3000 model. I noticed that in vivid mode, the Samsung HLT-6187S had a very strong blue push during dark scenes, but the colors really popped out. By the way, I used vivid mode to watch animated films. In Sony's vivid mode the colors are natural. No biased color push. The Sony KDS-60A3000 has a very solid build. The Samsung I owned felt cheap, felt like the plastic moved around. Sony's cabinet build felt strong. Here is from one of the reviews for Sony SXRD.I tried the Samsung HLT-6187S that was LED driven. I guess the technology is toooo new and Samsung needs to iron out a few problems with those sets. I had two sets that I went through and so I had to buy my backup set, which was this KDS-60A3000 model. I noticed that in vivid mode, the Samsung HLT-6187S had a very strong blue push during dark scenes, but the colors really popped out. By the way, I used vivid mode to watch animated films. In Sony's vivid mode the colors are natural. No biased color push. The Sony... » Read More Here is from one of the reviews for Sony SXRD.I tried the Samsung HLT-6187S that was LED driven. I guess the technology is toooo new and Samsung needs to iron out a few problems with those sets. I had two sets that I went through and so I had to buy my backup set, which was this KDS-60A3000 model. I noticed that in vivid mode, the Samsung HLT-6187S had a very strong blue push during dark scenes, but the colors really popped out. By the way, I used vivid mode to watch animated films. In Sony's vivid mode the colors are natural. No biased color push. The Sony KDS-60A3000 has a very solid build. The Samsung I owned felt cheap, felt like the plastic moved around. Sony's cabinet build felt strong. « Show Less
1082488
TechWriter,I've noticed several posts on various forums that give me the impression that a user is "de-activating" the flash, even though they are in the IA flash mode. Have you noticed a button or mode that could have been used unintentionally. FZ controls are often "layered" and a new user wouldn't recognize that. One user was going to return the camera because the flash stopped working, and then remembered they had activated a mode or setting for testing and it had de-activated the flash. It took her several days to discover it. I can't remember what she did, but it didn't seem related to flash at all. A "burst" setting perhaps? I would have never guessed it had anything to do with the flash. TechWriter,I've noticed several posts on various forums that give me the impression that a user is "de-activating" the flash, even though they are in the IA flash mode. Have you noticed a button or mode that could have been used unintentionally. FZ controls are often "layered" and a new user wouldn't recognize that. One user was going to return the camera because the flash stopped working, and then remembered they had activated a mode or setting for testing and it had de-activated the flash. It took her several days to discover it. I can't... » Read More TechWriter,I've noticed several posts on various forums that give me the impression that a user is "de-activating" the flash, even though they are in the IA flash mode. Have you noticed a button or mode that could have been used unintentionally. FZ controls are often "layered" and a new user wouldn't recognize that. One user was going to return the camera because the flash stopped working, and then remembered they had activated a mode or setting for testing and it had de-activated the flash. It took her several days to discover it. I can't remember what she did, but it didn't seem related to flash at all. A "burst" setting perhaps? I would have never guessed it had anything to do with the flash. « Show Less
653990
I found that it took better pictures in bright light or outside. Low indoor light provided the most challenges, when trying to get a good shot. I found the closer I was to the subject, the better the picture. There are modes you can use on the camera to compensate and enable you to get a good indoor photo. Good luck.
662386
I did have some trouble at first with the lighting in different rooms, but I found that if I take the reference pictures in different places, it worked much better. Take your 16 pictures, delete some of them, and take more in a different location (another room, day/nite, or outside). As for the color overall, I haven't had much trouble. As with any camera that has no flash, the more light, the better.
2194468
Sensor is bigger and low light is better. Shoot in 30P rather than 60i and you'll be quite happy in normal indoor room light. Go to shutter priority and you can go to 1/15 second if the light is lower. With the optical stabilization you're good at the lower shutter speed.
568655
If you are using it indoors in low light, try the HD setting in the SCN mode. I did that and got a pretty good shot of an infant (no flash).
2280342
Depends on the lens you're using and regardless of that, you should always be using flash indoors. The image will be grainy otherwise. So yes, that's normal.
50980
Low Light Performance indoors is good in my opinion. The flash works great. I can finally take photos indoors in really low light, without having to turn on all the lights in the room. Zoom is great also. I really love this camera. I really wanted to take action shots of my dogs running and playing. And the action shots are incredible. No blur. Really crisp.
1613607
Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you insist, it's there, and it's perfectly fine. Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you... » Read More Hi there, I own this camera since this April and took around 8000 pics since, about half of them in very low light. With this camera, you do not even need to use the flash in 99.9% of the cases. (this is why I chose this camera in the first place) In case it's really dark and you don't have any lightsource, you can use the flash and it is sufficiently strong so your photos will look good. But usually, you really don't need the flash at all. I made perfect shots (photo and video) in dark dimmed pubs as well as beautiful nightshots walking around NYC all without using the flash. But if you insist, it's there, and it's perfectly fine. « Show Less
671656
This camera is great in low light if you use the flash. Without the flash the photo will come out a little dark. Trust me; you'll love this camera :)
954748
Hands down, indoor low light is the most difficult for this camera. I find that using the 'action' scene mode helps alot. The picture comes out better and the flash seems to go quicker after you press the button. Since you posted your comment last October, hopefully you've found some ways to improve the pictures that you can share with us.
506265
I always use the flash, even in daylight. I don't have trouble with backlighting. I have used most of the "mode" settings.
1825474
I bought this camera (ZS40) recently. In my experience, (I use the iA setting) the day time photos were very good although the night time (low light) photos were not very good; they had 'noise'. However, the video clips were very good and, I like the optical zoom of 30 times.
1411114
I just took a flash picture in an almost completely dark room and it looks great. On visual inspection of the 5S in the case, there does not appear to be any obstruction to the flash or aperture.
124785
Are you folks comparing your flash shots in IA or PASM modes. In IA, the camera settings are all set to the configuration of the flash mode. In the PASM modes, the flash is independent, where it can be seperately adjusted and the result is dictated by the menu adjustments you have set or are locked in at that time. Even what appears to be identical data displayed on review won't necessarily provide the same results. Be sure to set the white balance to the flash setting to start in PASM. If you're having trouble indoors using IA, you may be using more zoom than is necessary and the flash is not strong enough and the default flash mode settings are at a narrow aperture and fast shutter speed, which would cause a very dark photo. You should get good results in IA up to the 5x (130mm) point easily, at least within 10-15 feet. In the PASM mode, you need a good working knowledge of exposure as well as how to manipulate the flash exposure settings to get good results. This would be used as "fill flash", highlighting a subject or making the background "black out", etc. Aperture, ISO, White Balance, all have a major effect here. The FZ40/100 have a different menu/flash system than the FZ28 I'm familiar with. You may want to check and see if it's set incorrectly or possibly open the main menu and "reset" the entire system back to default. If someone can describe a particular situation, I may be able to help. "Overexposure" is the usual complaint with an FZ in IA.