RE: Welcome to Club SAITO !
Bruce:
You are of course correct about the minor (sometimes major) differences from side to side making for fun, even firing notwithstanding. I balance the single carb even fire engines with very precise variations of the valve lash from one side to the other. Perhaps not the best way, but it’s the best way I know.
And I suspect your ft-120 got more gain from decreased intake restriction than it did from having individual adjustments for the cylinders.
Ernie:
I looked at the Nikons, none had even a 10:1 optical zoom, so they were out. The finalists were the Canon S2IS, the Sony DC-H2, and the Panasonic FZ-7. All three look exactly alike other than the labels and controls, they are probably all made in the same factory. One has a “Leica Vario-Elmarit” lens, one has a “Zeiss Vario-Tessar,” and the third just says “Canon.” All three lenses’ specifications have the same number of elements, groups, and apertures. Again, probably just different labels on the same lenses.
I got the FZ-7, seemed to have the best combination of features. Also got two memory cards (2GB) and the A/C adapter. Battery charger was included, but it’s out of camera charging. And a UV filter to protect the lens. I’m going to have to order a 58 mm +diopter lens set, I find the close focus works only in the wide angle setting. Bummer.
Bill.