Panasonic FZ-200 (1 Viewer)

[Swissboy]

.......

Im told the singing is a territorial display. This guy was showing us all whose patch it was

If you took the picture during these last few weeks, it might as well have been a girl. Robins are territorial in winter, and females then behave just like males. This then includes singing to tell others that this is their claim.

Oh yes, and congratulations to you for this fine picture!

 

[dave-g2011]

Thank you so much Swissboy!




Oh yes, and congratulations to you for this fine picture![/QUOTE]

 

[punta]

I am very close to buying the 200. I have had the SX40 but just could not stand the awful evf compared to my DSLR. I have read that the 200 is very good is this true, Is it on par with a dslr's

cheers Punta

 

[scodgerott]

Hi Punta, the evf is certainly much, much better than the viewfinder in either the previous Panasonic FZ series, or the Canon equivalents. You're looking at 200,000 dots compared to 1.3 million in the FZ200, so its way better, but probably not as good as a true optical system. I find it serves me well in that I can see very clearly what I'm trying to shoot.

 

[punta]

Thanks, I will try and have a look at one before I splash out any money. I have been so disappointed with all the bridge cameras I have had in the past.

 

[Swissboy]

.....You're looking at 200,000 dots compared to 1.3 million in the FZ200, so its way better, but probably not as good as a true optical system. I find it serves me well in that I can see very clearly what I'm trying to shoot.

I understand that the EVF is a bit peculiar in that it does not show all colors simultaneously, but in a rapid sequence. I imagine it's a bit like in a movie. If the sequence is fast enough, one does not notice the individual pictures. I am very sensitive to rapid flickering. One reason why traditional (50 Hz) TV never appealed to me. So I wonder whether you notice any of this image sequencing at all?

 

[scodgerott]

I understand that the EVF is a bit peculiar in that it does not show all colors simultaneously, but in a rapid sequence. I imagine it's a bit like in a movie. If the sequence is fast enough, one does not notice the individual pictures. I am very sensitive to rapid flickering. One reason why traditional (50 Hz) TV never appealed to me. So I wonder whether you notice any of this image sequencing at all?

To be perfectly honest Swissboy, I have never noticed this happening either in the FZ200, or any of the other FZ series cameras I've owned. I have read where some people notice it more than others, so I guess I fall into the catergory of the ones that don't notice it. To me, its a total non-issue. If you can see it happening on a tv set, then you must be quite sensitive to this sort of thing and I presume you would see it in the viewfinder as well.

 

[Swissboy]

.....I have never noticed this happening either in the FZ200, or any of the other FZ series cameras I've owned......

It would only be present in the FZ200. Apparently, this was a trick to allow for a EVF with the better resolution, within the constraints they had (whatever these were, price or making sure they did not get too close to a G quality EVF).

 

[njlarsen]

The brand new GH3 also has a different EVF which some people do not like - maybe it is actually the same technology?

Niels

 

[mountain man]

Well as I've said before, other than the really annoying manual focus (which I've pretty much given up on now), for what I want, this camera is just fantastic. Best 480 quid I ever spent!

 

[scodgerott]

Well as I've said before, other than the really annoying manual focus (which I've pretty much given up on now), for what I want, this camera is just fantastic. Best 480 quid I ever spent!

Excellent shots Tom, you're getting great results. With regard to MF, have you tried the side lever? I think its the best of the 3 options and I have a function button dedicated to changing the lever from focus to zoom and back. I have found one of the best ways to use manual focus, is to have the camera set to MF and the focus set to infinity. Then use the one shot focus button on the side of the camera to give you a quick auto focus. The reason I set the focus to infinity is so that the focus has only one way to go - backwards, that way it removes the option of the camera to look forward or back in its focusing decisions.

 

[punta]

Quick question, there is a guy selling three of these NEW on ebay for £250. He says there is a 3-year manufactures warranty with the camera, but my question is if these were grey imports would the warranty still hold up. Do you need a proof of purchase from a proper supplier for the warranty to be valid?

 

[scodgerott]

Hi Punta,

I don't live in the UK, so I'm not sure about the consumer laws there, but I would say that the warranty is completely worthless. Not even Panasonic give more than a 12 month warranty and its usually conditional on where you buy it, eg if you buy it from a camera store in the UK, that's OK, but import it from Hong Kong and you may be struggling to get any coverage from Panasonic (UK). There may be nothing wrong with the cameras and the price is good, however I have encountered quality issues with the FZ200, I had to take the first one back and that's not just me. I know of others who have had issues with the camera. One other matter you need to consider is this, if these cameras come from the US, then they will be set up for NTSC video rather than PAL. Now you may not be interested in taking video, but it will make a difference if you do and will also affect the resale value. Buyer beware!

 

[punta]

Thanks for the info, I thought as much so.

 

[Stuart R]

FZ200 and RAW

Hi

Starting to get to grips with my FZ 200 but thought users might find the following useful: -

The latest version of Adobe Raw convertor (Ver 7.2) now supports raw convert ion for the FZ200. It presumably is available for download if you are a CS6 user but it is also able to be downloaded to Elements 11 (only version of Elements that it can be downloaded to). I will upgrade from Elements 9 to get this availability. I also believe it is available for Lightroom 4.2 (could be wrong).

There is a chap called Graham Houghton who has done a whole series of You Tube videos on the FZ200 and they are extremely useful.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoIf_3ex-YIYG4YJcqPoMf63dkQ6MZsg

Check them out

Hope this is useful for all you FZ200 users out there

Cheers

Stuart R

 

[moorerp]

Hummingbirds in flight with the FZ-200

Just a quick note to share some pics taken in Costa Rcia this winter, as I haven't been on for awhile. As I get more comfortable with this camera, I get better results. These in flight pics were a lot of work in the making, and required lots of light and patience, but it's a good example of what you can eventually do with a sub $600 (US) setup once it becomes familiar. And the 12fps burst deosn't hurt, either.

cheers,
randy

 

[scodgerott]

Just a quick note to share some pics taken in Costa Rcia this winter, as I haven't been on for awhile. As I get more comfortable with this camera, I get better results. These in flight pics were a lot of work in the making, and required lots of light and patience, but it's a good example of what you can eventually do with a sub $600 (US) setup once it becomes familiar. And the 12fps burst deosn't hurt, either.

cheers,
randy

Brilliant shots Randy. They are as good as any I've seen of hummingbirds. The third one is a stunner and the second one is the strangest hummer I've ever seen. Did you have any situations where the light was very low and if so, how did the camera handle that? When I had my FZ150 I took it to a rainforest area and it really struggled, that's one of the reasons I got the FZ200, but haven't tried it out in a similar situation as yet.

 

[njlarsen]

Randy, great shots. You would do well on also uploading these to the gallery here, many more people would enjoy them

Niels

 

[Swissboy]

....... These in flight pics were a lot of work in the making, and required lots of light and patience, but it's a good example of what you can eventually do with a sub $600 (US) setup once it becomes familiar. And the 12fps burst deosn't hurt, either.

cheers,
randy

Great stuff!! Congratulations. I assume these are all cropped. So how did you manage to get the bird and not the background into focus? That's a constant struggle I have with my FZ150. Of course, if the objects were really so close to basically fill the frame, the FZ150 would handle the focus side too, thouth maybe not as well.

Oh, and please add the species names, thanks.

 

[moorerp]

Great stuff!! Congratulations. I assume these are all cropped. So how did you manage to get the bird and not the background into focus? That's a constant struggle I have with my FZ150. Of course, if the objects were really so close to basically fill the frame, the FZ150 would handle the focus side too, thouth maybe not as well.

Oh, and please add the species names, thanks.

Sorry for the delay- I don't appear to be able to manage more than sporadic visits to this great site.

All of the pics are cropped, but not very much. I've found that you really don't get more than moderate cropping with this camera without losing image quality, so I try to get close to everything I want good pictures of. They're all unmodified other than the cropping.

The first is a stripe-throated hermit (little hermit until a recent split), the second is a male white-crested coquette (my first ever coquette), and the third is a garden emerald.

cheers,
Randy