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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Panasonic FZ150 (1 Viewer)

Waiting...

Hi

I'm counting down the days to get my FZ150 - fingers crossed for delivery tomorrow!

The sad thing is I wont be able to have a proper go with it until the weekend as it's dark when I go to work and dark when I get home :-(

Sometimes work just gets in the way!

I'm very lucky, I only live a few miles from Rutland Water - so that is where I'll be heading. If I manage to get any decent photos I'll post them.

Jacqui - I am thinking of selling my DSLR as it's too heavy for me now, where did you sell yours?

Have a good day everyone and thank you for your encouragement.

Wendy

I
 
Hi Wendy, I sold mine on the pentax user forum (obviously it was a pentax) but they have a pretty good classified section here so that may be worth a go. good luck with selling it and also enjoy your new fz150 when you get it :)
 
Just make sure you do not buy a "grey import ",also the UK official dealers are offering a free 5 year guarantee at the moment.
Most buyers on the forums seem very pleased with the FZ150, i am.
 
Oooh help!

I'm not sure what a grey import is!!! Is it something really bad!

I hope I've not made a mistake, I've ordered it online with a company called Big Norman - how would I know if this is a grey import?

If it is a grey import what does it mean and what are the consequences I could face?

I'm sorry - but can you detect more than a hint of panic!

Wendy
 
<snip>and decided to probably go with an fz150, when I can get one! not many places seem to have them at the moment. I noticed a couple of places have them, ukcamerastore and fotosense, has anyone heard of or had dealings with these retailers before? <more snip>

I got my FZ150 from fotosense and the transaction was smooth and easy, as it should be.
Graham
 
Oooh help!

I'm not sure what a grey import is!!! Is it something really bad!

I hope I've not made a mistake, I've ordered it online with a company called Big Norman - how would I know if this is a grey import?

If it is a grey import what does it mean and what are the consequences I could face?

I'm sorry - but can you detect more than a hint of panic!

Wendy
Wendy,I think Big Norman is a genuine seller,I have read all through the website,and this is where I will be ordering my pan 150.
 
Thank you Christine, I had thought they should be OK as they advertise on this forum and I Feel less worried now!

I hope to receive it today or tomorrow..

Thank you once again for reassuring me.

Wendy
 
This might be irrelevant now, but my impression of a grey import would be a camera that has some different features from the ones sold in your stores. eg someone over here was trying to sell an FZ150 that had been imported from the USA. From a still photo perspective that would have been fine, but the US uses NTSC video system and we use PAL, so any video shot would only be usable on the camera. I think the EU countries have restrictions on any camera that shoots video, so one of those would be slighty inferior to the ones sold here in Oz where there aren't those same restrictions. Good luck with the new camera, it is a good one.
 
Thank you Scodgerott...

The camera arrived today, so far I've only been able to unpack it and put it together as I've been at work.

It all seems perfect, I had a Panasonce FZ18 a few years ago and sold it to buy a DSLR and to be honest, I picked up the camera and it felt like coming home.

I'm desperate to try it out - but it's dark, very rainy and totally miserable outside - so will have to make the dog sit still.

I'm hoping for a dry weekend so I can get out and take some shots to post on here/Flickr - would like to have something nice to show everyone and to say thank you for all the support and help I've received.

Many thanks again
Wendy
 
hi, I have been following this thread as I am thinking of getting an fz150 or a canon sx40 to replace my DSLR which I find heavy to carry on walks and don't really like changing lenses when I'm out although I do like to photograph landscapes as well as birds. I just wondered, to help me make up my mind, if any of you considered the two cameras and why you decided on the fz150?
 
Thank you Scodgerott...

The camera arrived today, so far I've only been able to unpack it and put it together as I've been at work. Many thanks again
Wendy

Well Wendy!
Just awaiting your first shots. Now I have been testing the 5.5 frames/second shooting plus automatic focus on flying birds. I'll tell you!!

Saludos!

Jorge
 
hi, I have been following this thread as I am thinking of getting an fz150 or a canon sx40 to replace my DSLR which I find heavy to carry on walks and don't really like changing lenses when I'm out although I do like to photograph landscapes as well as birds. I just wondered, to help me make up my mind, if any of you considered the two cameras and why you decided on the fz150?

Hi Val, Hi, I have the FZ150. I use it mainly for shooting birds, but also for travel. I chose the FZ150 over the Canon mainly because its a "faster" camera. What I mean by that is that it should focus faster and has much faster shooting rates -12 shots at 12 fps at full resolution and even higher bursts of 40 and 60 fps at reduced file size. The Canon does 10 fps, but only for 8 shots and its done in Scene Mode, which I think means you can't control the shutter speed or aperture settings. This could result in all the shots in your burst being a blur, as the camera may set the shutter speed too low. The FZ150 will autofocus between burst shots at 5.5 frames per second. The Canon can't do that, or does it really slowly at about one shot per second. These features are important to me when trying to photograph fast moving birds. The Canon has a bigger zoom and that's important as well, but if you select the extra optical zoom on the FZ150 its not very far short of the Canon. Also the Canon has a slow manual focus arrangement, whereas the FZ150 has a new lever on the side of the camera that can be set to zoom or focus. I have it set to "focus" in one Custom setting and "zoom" in a second Custom setting. The better manual focus arrangement is important when you are trying to focus through foreground obstacles, such as leaves and branches. I do have a specialised use for this camera and so far its doing a great job. If the bigger zoom is the most important feature go for the Canon. In general, I think the FZ150 has many features that are better for shooting birds. Hope this helps.
 
hi, I have been following this thread as I am thinking of getting an fz150 or a canon sx40 to replace my DSLR which I find heavy to carry on walks and don't really like changing lenses when I'm out although I do like to photograph landscapes as well as birds. I just wondered, to help me make up my mind, if any of you considered the two cameras and why you decided on the fz150?

Hi, I was also trying to decide between these two cameras, but I ended up going for the canon sx40, I was finding it very difficult to find an fz150 in the uk and that is when I started to look at other models. Having read lots of reviews and looked at lots of comparison photos I decided to give the canon a try. The high iso looks very good, see steves-digicams for photo samples on each camera. Yes the fz150 is faster and I dont know yet if that will be an issue with the canon, but the larger zoom and image quality in lower light made me decide to give the canon a try. To be honest I think they will both produce pretty good photos for small sensor cameras, and I suppose it depends what is most important to you. :)
 
Hi Val, Hi, I have the FZ150. I use it mainly for shooting birds, but also for travel. I chose the FZ150 over the Canon mainly because its a "faster" camera. What I mean by that is that it should focus faster and has much faster shooting rates -12 shots at 12 fps at full resolution and even higher bursts of 40 and 60 fps at reduced file size. The Canon does 10 fps, but only for 8 shots and its done in Scene Mode, which I think means you can't control the shutter speed or aperture settings. This could result in all the shots in your burst being a blur, as the camera may set the shutter speed too low. The FZ150 will autofocus between burst shots at 5.5 frames per second. The Canon can't do that, or does it really slowly at about one shot per second. These features are important to me when trying to photograph fast moving birds. The Canon has a bigger zoom and that's important as well, but if you select the extra optical zoom on the FZ150 its not very far short of the Canon. Also the Canon has a slow manual focus arrangement, whereas the FZ150 has a new lever on the side of the camera that can be set to zoom or focus. I have it set to "focus" in one Custom setting and "zoom" in a second Custom setting. The better manual focus arrangement is important when you are trying to focus through foreground obstacles, such as leaves and branches. I do have a specialised use for this camera and so far its doing a great job. If the bigger zoom is the most important feature go for the Canon. In general, I think the FZ150 has many features that are better for shooting birds. Hope this helps.


I agree with everything Rodger has written above, especially the speed of focus and between shots. I spent many months reading specs etc before making my mind up on the FZ150. If only it had the same zoom size of the SX40.
 
I agree with everything Rodger has written above, especially the speed of focus and between shots. I spent many months reading specs etc before making my mind up on the FZ150. If only it had the same zoom size of the SX40.

EXACTLY the same for me. I picked up a Nikon 1.5X tele-extender to make up the optical reach. The built in reach is fine for the vast majority of situations so I don't find myself seeing a shot and fumbling for the extender. I fit up front it for those occasions when I'm intending to shoot subjects afar.

I must say its taking me a good while to exploit the functionality of the FZ150 and am still on the (enjoyable) learning curve. Lots of challenges and the proportion of bird-in-flight shots I'm happy with is improving. Need to work out how to post pics in the gallery next. I tried and failed, got advice on the forum and have yet to use it.

Graham
 
I've downloaded the manual and just reading up ready for the weekend. There is a great deal to learn about this camera - it's got a very impressive toolbox.

One of my aims is to learn to shoot in RAW, I was never brave enough to try before but think from reading other forum messages it is something I should definitely learn once I've learned the basics that is (could take a while ;) )

The dog makes a very poor subject - he's only a year and he's never still - even when he's asleep! And my husband flatly refuses to be my model - oh well ces't la vie.... The weekend is now only a day away and I'm off out on my bike camera in case - can't wait!

Wendy
 
flight shots

was very pleased with some of the flight shots i got of short eared owls the other day using the 5.5 frames per second
 

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Here's a couple of shots of mine from the FZ150. I've cropped them a little and reduced the file size to comply with Birdforum requirements.
 

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