A few FZ50 shots I took

[daniel_murphy1]

I got to play with my new Panasonic DMC-FZ50 today. It's been available in

Canada since early last week I think. In my port, under FZ50 first test. The

shots are out of camera, web sized to 12x9@72dpi. All jpegs, some with the

"extended optical zoom" feature on. Marketing fluff in my opinion. You can just

shoot noramally and then crop the image in your editor later. Changing th

capture to the reduced size seems to increase handshake in the viewfinder as

though you really were on a 1000mm tele lens. Not good handheld. I will stick to

the regular mode. The full zooms of the crane are hazy, but I think that's the

scene, and not the camera's fault. The shots are all at ISO 100 I think. They

looked surprisingly good at full crop, but they're not intended to be displayed

at 38x51 inches anyway. I'll add more to my regular folder as I shoot. This is

now my only camera. I'm happy so far. Pics look great, no surpise

disapointments. Cheers all.

[camiren_e]

nice test shots.

[vbbeck]

Looking good, David!

 

What did you use before the FZ50? I'm in the process of upgrading from my FZ15, which I

have loved well (and the FZ10 and FZ1 before it). I just got a good deal on a used FZ30 but

can't stop thinking that maybe I should go ahead and spring for the latest model, for once.

 

I'd be glad to hear of your comparative experience and will look forward to seeing more

shots.

 

Yours,

Virginia

[daniel_murphy1]

I've used a lot of film and digital systems, especially over the last 5 years. I just found I haven't printed a 20x24 in a long time, so I wanted to leave the bulk and expense of medium format behind. This camera has some of the limits of a small p&s digi. It has a great lens, but a small sensor. You should shoot this kind of camera at 100 or 200 ISO, never 800, avoid 400. It won't make huge 16x20 prints too well I don't think. I wanted mainly a camera for the web. It might make decent 11x14s though. Some print testing would be in order. If you really need moving subjects in low light, or bigger prints, get a small Dslr, like the Pentax DL2. This camera should be good enough for me.

[don_e]

David,

 

Good to hear you like the FZ50. I've been using the FZ30 now for a few months and feel I'm just beginning to see at the 'angle' between what I want to do and what the camera can do. Imo, the FZs are well worth the effort to master.

 

We agree 'extended' (digital) zoom feature (on any camera) is not very useful, although there is probably some use for it for some things. I prefer iso 100 to 80, but even 400 (see attached) is not worthless.

 

You are shooting in jpeg mode; there have been complaints about the agressiveness of even the low setting for noise reduction. What do you think? For those who find it too strong, I recommend shooting in raw, which is raw+jpeg, from which comparisons can be made. I've found resampling for web deals with noise fairly effectively. For other outputs, Neat Image works well and there are noise profiles for the FZ30 (and if not now, then soon, for the 50) on their website.

 

The combination of the lens, manual control + raw capture is, I think, as good as we have available today. There are very few other p&s in the same class. I doubt I'll be selling mine anytime soon. It's a keeper.

 

 

Good Luck,

 

Don E<div></div>