..About a year ago I brought a little Panasonic FZ5 for my wife and we were both well pleased with it for 'general' photo taking (kids / views etc etc).
When the FZ30 was released I thought it would be a really good camera for birding (I'm an ex Olympus UZI (2100) user and already had a B300 (1.7x zoom) lens that would screw right on the front thread of the FZ30 to give me an enormous zoom range.....
I've had the FZ30 for about 6 months - it's a nice camera - well built - feels right - reasonably fast reacting - BUT for birds .... NO WAY..... The noise produced by this camera - even at ISO80 is BAD...
Zoom into blue skies taken on a bright day and you can see speckles and noise everywhere... zoom into a bird and it's detailed plumage and feather detail are simply lost in the 'quagmire of muck'.....
I finally decided to give up with my FZ30... it's OK for 'general' shots but that's what I brought the FZ5 for.. so I dont want it....
A few days ago I went for a Nikon D50 with kit lens and am quite simply gobsmacked with the speed and agility of this camera - and noise - WHAT NOISE - skies are absolutely clean and even with the 18-55 kit lens I can see detail in the few bird pics i've taken that is simply lost when I use the FZ30...
The REAL viewfinder is also a dream to use.. you can see the real thing not a dotty electronic picture in the EVF....
I intend to go for a decent zoom (300 or 400mm) when I've sussed out the choices and can't wait to see the results...
I'm not putting this message on here to slate the FZ30 - but do advise anyone thinking of buying a new camera for the hobby of 'birding' to think seriously about what to buy.... A Nikon D50 is about the same price as an FZ30 (I know you've got to put another lens on the D50 as well and this will bump up the price!) - The specifications of the FZ30 look ideal for a birder BUT Panasonics advertising department doesn't tell you about the noise problem. Don't make the mistake I made and have to change cameras...
Now that DSLR's are in this same price bracket I suggest to all potential camera purchasers - buy a DSLR, it's the only way to go if you want to photograph birds with any degree of 'quality'....
The Nikon D50 is the rock bottom priced SLR in the Nikon range -don't let that put you off - it's in a totally different league to an FZ30...
I want £325-00 for my FZ30 if anyone really wants to buy one (I will include postage and a spare battery with this.) - Mint Condition and will honour the outstanding 6 months warrantee to the purchaser....
When the FZ30 was released I thought it would be a really good camera for birding (I'm an ex Olympus UZI (2100) user and already had a B300 (1.7x zoom) lens that would screw right on the front thread of the FZ30 to give me an enormous zoom range.....
I've had the FZ30 for about 6 months - it's a nice camera - well built - feels right - reasonably fast reacting - BUT for birds .... NO WAY..... The noise produced by this camera - even at ISO80 is BAD...
Zoom into blue skies taken on a bright day and you can see speckles and noise everywhere... zoom into a bird and it's detailed plumage and feather detail are simply lost in the 'quagmire of muck'.....
I finally decided to give up with my FZ30... it's OK for 'general' shots but that's what I brought the FZ5 for.. so I dont want it....
A few days ago I went for a Nikon D50 with kit lens and am quite simply gobsmacked with the speed and agility of this camera - and noise - WHAT NOISE - skies are absolutely clean and even with the 18-55 kit lens I can see detail in the few bird pics i've taken that is simply lost when I use the FZ30...
The REAL viewfinder is also a dream to use.. you can see the real thing not a dotty electronic picture in the EVF....
I intend to go for a decent zoom (300 or 400mm) when I've sussed out the choices and can't wait to see the results...
I'm not putting this message on here to slate the FZ30 - but do advise anyone thinking of buying a new camera for the hobby of 'birding' to think seriously about what to buy.... A Nikon D50 is about the same price as an FZ30 (I know you've got to put another lens on the D50 as well and this will bump up the price!) - The specifications of the FZ30 look ideal for a birder BUT Panasonics advertising department doesn't tell you about the noise problem. Don't make the mistake I made and have to change cameras...
Now that DSLR's are in this same price bracket I suggest to all potential camera purchasers - buy a DSLR, it's the only way to go if you want to photograph birds with any degree of 'quality'....
The Nikon D50 is the rock bottom priced SLR in the Nikon range -don't let that put you off - it's in a totally different league to an FZ30...
I want £325-00 for my FZ30 if anyone really wants to buy one (I will include postage and a spare battery with this.) - Mint Condition and will honour the outstanding 6 months warrantee to the purchaser....