Strange combined effect, Panasonic FZ200 and fader filter.

[Rob_the_waste]

<p>I recently replaced a Canon SX20IS super zoom camera that got wrecked Christmas Day with a Panasonic DMC FZ200. I'm still getting used to it. The Panasonic gives me a bit more flexibility. I have been playing around with a combination of the Panasonic and a variable ND filter (fader). I like shooting long exposures and I started using it with the Canon before the fail. With the Canon, if I put the controls on Manual (which I did often), the camera worked well with the fader except at the full darkest setting. The Panasonic in manual mode seems to compensate on the LCD and I have trouble getting the result I want. Does anyone have an idea why the camera does this? Otherwise, so far, the camera has been fabulous.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>I know this thread is a little old now...</p>

<p>I think cameramakers have to choose a balance between trying to simulate what the resulting picture will look like vs. boosting the gain for the viewfinder/rear LCD preview to make composing & focusing easier. Sounds like Panasonic's preview is not helping you as much as you're used to when doing long exposures (esp. with ND filters). It's possible there's a setting that controls this, but the approach I'd probably take is to meter daylight without the filters and then figure out how many stops I need to adjust in manual once the filters are installed -- do a little trial and error and see which recipe provides what you want.</p>