Panasonic Lumix DMC - FZ1camera
Andy K
impressed by its features.
I particularly like the 12x zoom.
Has anyone used this camera and can offer comments, either good or bad?
TIA
Andy
Paul Bech
Andy K <wo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bhvgcj$250e$1...@otis.netspace.net.au...
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Hans-Georg Michna
Andy,
very good for me, please have a look at
http://www.michna.com/kenya2003/ for sample photos.
Main shortcomings are only 2 Megapixels and poor or no
performance (no autofocus - no pictures) in low light. But the
performance/price ratio is still unbeatable if you need the long
zoom and the image stabilizer.
I still like this camera a lot and have not seen anything better
for my purposes, particularly not at the price.
Hans-Georg
--
No mail, please.
Hans-Georg Michna
>If only it was at least 3 meg! Try the Olympus C740 or better yet the C750
Paul,
no image stabilizer. Without that thing, you won't even be able
to shoot a sharp 2 Megapixel photo in many circumstances, let
alone 3 MP.
But if you want to walk around carrying a tripod ...
By the way, does the Olympus C750 have a filter screw thread?
The FZ1 does (55 mm).
David J. Littleboy
You're behind the times: there's already an FZ2 out<g>. (It only differs in
that it has shutter and aperture priority modes, and fine adjustment of the
white balance. Dunno if it's been announced outside Japan.)
I didn't like the mechanical feel of the FZ1; it's very light and feels
rather plasticy. The tele end of the zoom is _really_ long, and the image
jumps all over the place as you try to frame a shot. I don't think image
stabilization is enough to make that long a lens hand holdable. My opinion.
YMMV. And (assuming the IS works) a lightweight tripod would be all you'd
need, I think.
But it's definitely an interesting camera.
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan
Hans-Georg Michna
>And (assuming the IS works) a lightweight tripod would be all you'd
>need, I think.
David,
I can assure you that it works. However, it is not enough to
take photos at max zoom from the free hand. You have to lean the
camera against something or at least yourself.
I always carry a small bean bag with the camera for this
purpose.
David J. Littleboy
"Hans-Georg Michna" <hans-georgN...@michna.com> wrote in message
news:j367kvk3pbeq4q1k8...@4ax.com...
> "David J. Littleboy" <dav...@gol.com> wrote:
>
> >And (assuming the IS works) a lightweight tripod would be all you'd
> >need, I think.
>
> David,
>
> I can assure you that it works.
Sorry. My note probably sounded grumpier than it should have. Given the
price point and the features, I do agree with people who are enthused with
the FZ1 that their enthusiasm is warranted: it's looks to be a seriously fun
camera. 2MP sounds pretty small, but it should be enough for quite nice
5x7s, at least my Olympus 2020 was.
> However, it is not enough to
> take photos at max zoom from the free hand. You have to lean the
> camera against something or at least yourself.
>
> I always carry a small bean bag with the camera for this
> purpose.
Sounds sensible to me.
Steven Whatley
I am very happy with my FZ1 but I have only had it for a couple of weeks.
The image stabilizer helps me a lot and the IS feature is the main reason
that I got the FZ1. Yes, I wish it was more than 2mp but that is good
emough to get 1600x1200 background pics since I use that resolution as my
windows desktop.
I also have a Casio EX-Z3 as my carry anywhere camera. Since it is 3mp,
the Z3 will be my main wide shot camera. I have also bought a monopod for
those times that I'll need a more steady shot.
Later,
Steven
Michael Kilpatrick
It takes practice to get consistently sharp shots at the long end of the
zoom range, the shots almost always need colour balancing later and the
flash is awful but...... it will take hand held shots that no other camera
in the same price range can take.
2 Mpixels is enough to print to A4 size, which is ample for most people.
These 4 were all taken hand held, 3 at the long zoom position, the one in
the
pub at the wide angle end, 1/8 sec exposure.
They have been resized to 800x600 but the files are still a bit big.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/mkilpatrick/index.htm
Michael
Tesselator
Read this that I have pasted from another message for you here:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Try to stay away from the Japanese and Korean Electronic "junk"
manufacturers if at all possible and go with a maker that has
produced a line of 35mm SLR cameras in the past. The reasons
for this are GENERAL QUALITY and SUPPORT. (Notice how one begats
the other.)
1) Companies like Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Minolta, Lecia,
Contax, Pentax, Fuji, (Kodak?, Polaroid?) offer products
of excellent to good quality manufactur and staff an
excellent to good support team with customer friendly
policies.
2) Companies like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Casio, Toshiba,
Fujitsu, Epson, Kyocera, Ricoh, and Sharp, usually
offer products engineered to fail rapidly (ie. fair
to poor quality) and thier support teams /almost/ always
follow a policy set up under the theme: The Company
Must Always Profit -- Customer Satisfaction comes second!
This is not really just opinion as I got to work with alot
companies from both groups inside various sections as an
independant contractor not all that long ago. IMO, the only
reason you would buy a digital (snap) camera from group 2)
is if you were a Japanese Nationalist _and_ didn't care that
much about quality or product life cycles. This defines
the majority of Japanese citizens btw.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tesselator
"Hans-Georg Michna" <hans-georgN...@michna.com> wrote in message news:s9l6kvs6bulk14ph2...@4ax.com...
Yes the C750 can accept filters. I know of very few
digital cameras worth having that can't take filters
in one way or another.
:-P
Dragan Cvetkovic
> Read this that I have pasted from another message for you here:
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Try to stay away from the Japanese and Korean Electronic "junk"
> manufacturers if at all possible and go with a maker that has
> produced a line of 35mm SLR cameras in the past. The reasons
> for this are GENERAL QUALITY and SUPPORT. (Notice how one begats
> the other.)
>
> 1) Companies like Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Minolta, Lecia,
what is Lecia?
> Contax, Pentax, Fuji, (Kodak?, Polaroid?) offer products
> of excellent to good quality manufactur and staff an
> excellent to good support team with customer friendly
> policies.
>
>
> 2) Companies like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Casio, Toshiba,
> Fujitsu, Epson, Kyocera, Ricoh, and Sharp, usually
> offer products engineered to fail rapidly (ie. fair
> to poor quality) and thier support teams /almost/ always
> follow a policy set up under the theme: The Company
LOL. Contax is made by Kyocera. Ricoh was making 35mm SLR cameras in the
past. Do I need to say more?
Bye, Dragan
--
Dragan Cvetkovic,
To be or not to be is true. G. Boole No it isn't. L. E. J. Brouwer
!!! Sender/From address is bogus. Use reply-to one !!!
Tesselator
You seriously want to offer an opinion on camera manufacturers
without even knowing who Leica is? Really.... ( :-O
FYI, Kyocera and Contax while incorporated maintain _completely_
different lines of manufacture.
You're right about Ricoh but again thier SLR equipment is
a completely different production network than anything
digital bearing thier name.
So at least you should know what you're talking about before
you say things like: "Do I need to say more?".
Maybe you should say less?!
Or not... you might know something worth posting. This
ain't it though.
"Dragan Cvetkovic" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message news:lm65kp5...@privacy.net...
fla...@highstream.net
and I'll be trying it out on a whale watch cruise, hoping to get some really
nice shots using burst mode.
Here's a small album of pics I took the first few days I had the camera (all
photos taken handheld, no tripod):
http://www.joannesplace.com/albums/fz1/index.html
"Andy K" <wo...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bhvgcj$250e$1...@otis.netspace.net.au...
Hans-Georg Michna
>Yes the C750 can accept filters. I know of very few
>digital cameras worth having that can't take filters
>in one way or another.
Hehe, I know of none. :-)
Need that polarizing filter.
Hans-Georg Michna
> 2) Companies like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Casio, Toshiba,
> Fujitsu, Epson, Kyocera, Ricoh, and Sharp, usually
> offer products engineered to fail rapidly (ie. fair
> to poor quality) and thier support teams /almost/ always
> follow a policy set up under the theme: The Company
> Must Always Profit -- Customer Satisfaction comes second!
That's a general problem these days. I never thought I would buy
a product from Panasonic, for this reason.
But then the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 costs about a third of
comparable cameras and is still better because of its long zoom
and image stabilizer, so I had no choice. And so far it is
holding out rather well, travelled with me through gruesome
conditions in east Africa, being subjected to the shaking,
jolting jeep, to heat, dust and my relentless use, and it's
still working. (See http://www.michna.com/kenya2003/ for some
photos.) If it keeps working for one or two more years it has
already earned its living, because then I'll buy a new one
anyway.
Tesselator
> (See http://www.michna.com/kenya2003/ for some photos.)
Wow!!!! Awesome site content dude!
My Mom lives in Transval (Near Sugunda) and that make me wanna
go and visit... Killer-Diller!
Tesselator
"Hans-Georg Michna" <hans-georgN...@michna.com> wrote in message news:sg0ekv4e23h97tpah...@4ax.com...
Yup... by hook or by crook...
Even in some cases by paper-tape (thin masking-tape)
tho usually in most cases an adaptor or mounting
bracket will do fine.
O :-)
Hans-Georg Michna
Don't tell me you have somebody in Africa you could visit and
haven't done it! :-)
Could be the experience of a lifetime.
Paul
On 23-Aug-2003, "Tesselator" <jimm...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> You're right about Ricoh but again thier SLR equipment is
> a completely different production network than anything
> digital bearing thier name.
I have had a Ricoh Caplio G3 S (magnesium body) for 3 months now and it is a
superb camera. Has worked flawlessly and faultlessly. I am more than happy
with it.
Regards,
Paul P.
Dragan Cvetkovic
> "Dragan Cvetkovic" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message news:lm65kp5...@privacy.net...
> > "Tesselator" <jimm...@hotmail.com> writes:
> >
> > > 1) Companies like Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Minolta, Lecia,
> >
> > what is Lecia?
> >
> You seriously want to offer an opinion on camera manufacturers
> without even knowing who Leica is? Really.... ( :-O
>
Hey, I know who Leica is. I don't know who Lecia is.
Bye, Dragan
--
Dragan Cvetkovic,
To be or not to be is true. G. Boole No it isn't. L. E. J. Brouwer
Tesselator
> > You're right about Ricoh but again thier SLR equipment is
> > a completely different production network than anything
> > digital bearing thier name.
>
> I have had a Ricoh Caplio G3 S (magnesium body) for 3 months now and it is a
> superb camera. Has worked flawlessly and faultlessly. I am more than happy
> with it.
Cool!
There are exceptions to everything. Still, I could be wrong
about Ricoh in general. If they are doing the "right thing"
these days with thier digitals then that's good for us as
consumers aye?!!?
Besides, mainly I wanted to name Sony, Samsung, Panasonic,
Casio, Toshiba, and Fujitsu in contrast with Nikon, Olympus,
Canon, Minolta, and /now/ Kodak. As those are the companies
I /actually/ know about. And it would seem from the feedback
I've been getting privatly that this word has been out on the
street for quite some time.
Public awareness is a good thing!
O :-)
Tesselator
"Dragan Cvetkovic" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message news:lmwud2y...@privacy.net...
> "Tesselator" <jimm...@hotmail.com> writes:
> > "Dragan Cvetkovic" <m...@privacy.net> wrote in message news:lm65kp5...@privacy.net...
> > > "Tesselator" <jimm...@hotmail.com> writes:
> > >
> > > > 1) Companies like Nikon, Olympus, Canon, Minolta, Lecia,
> > >
> > > what is Lecia?
> > >
>
> > You seriously want to offer an opinion on camera manufacturers
> > without even knowing who Leica is? Really.... ( :-O
> >
>
> Hey, I know who Leica is. I don't know who Lecia is.
>
> Bye, Dragan
Oh, you're a spelling dragon... err, dragan...
O :-)