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Panasonic FZ-200 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter mountain man
- Start date
mountain man
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mountain man
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scodgerott
Well-known member
Good to see some more shots coming from the FZ200.
scodgerott
Well-known member
Winterdune
Well-known member
I don't know if anyone's interested but now I am using a DSLR for most of my bird photography I no longer need my Nikon TC E17ED converter. This is the absolute rolls royce of converters and gives 1020mm max focal length without going into EZ mode and with hardly any loss of IQ. I have not yet listed it in the For Sale section but if anyone wants to make me an offer for it I would be happy to consider it. I also have the Panasonic LA5 adapter which fits the FZ150 but not the FZ200, which I would include if anyone wanted it.
Cheers
Sean
PS UK only I'm afraid.
Cheers
Sean
PS UK only I'm afraid.
miketaylor
Well-known member
So, what is the general consensus re the FZ150 vs the FZ200, now that people have had a chance to compare the two?
I have a Canon EOS 40D DSLR + 400mm lens, and am still in learning mode. I'm finding that I'm missing out on so many opportunities for taking photos (of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, landscapes etc) while I'm out birding or walking, usually because I don't have the camera at the ready or I have the wrong lens on it. I end up taking my compact Lumix TZ5 with me for the close-ups or the landscapes - while the photos come out pretty well, I do wonder whether I'd get better results with a better camera. A bridge camera appeals because of the sheer versatility, even though I expect that the DSLR will have better image quality. Of course, if I dedicate time purely to bird photography the DSLR would be the camera to use, but I find I spend more time walking and birding than purely photography.
Amazon has the FZ150 at £286 and the FZ200 at £430, so I'm wondering whether the FZ200 really warrants the extra 50% in price for someone who doesn't have either at present.
Views please?
Cheers,
Mike
I have a Canon EOS 40D DSLR + 400mm lens, and am still in learning mode. I'm finding that I'm missing out on so many opportunities for taking photos (of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, flowers, landscapes etc) while I'm out birding or walking, usually because I don't have the camera at the ready or I have the wrong lens on it. I end up taking my compact Lumix TZ5 with me for the close-ups or the landscapes - while the photos come out pretty well, I do wonder whether I'd get better results with a better camera. A bridge camera appeals because of the sheer versatility, even though I expect that the DSLR will have better image quality. Of course, if I dedicate time purely to bird photography the DSLR would be the camera to use, but I find I spend more time walking and birding than purely photography.
Amazon has the FZ150 at £286 and the FZ200 at £430, so I'm wondering whether the FZ200 really warrants the extra 50% in price for someone who doesn't have either at present.
Views please?
Cheers,
Mike
Biancone
to err is human
Yes, I'd also like to know. Is there even a consensus? Some of the comparative FZ150 vs. FZ200 images posted above by "scodgerott" back in September seem to show sharper images from the former. Has anyone satisfied themselves that the 2.8 max aperture is of real practical benefit, especially for BIF?
scodgerott
Well-known member
My impressions from the comparison images I posted a while back was that there really wasn't much difference in quality. In some the FZ200 was slightly better and in others the FZ150 was just ahead. To tell you the truth, I didn't expect any difference and I think that's the case. Where I did expect a difference was in lower light performance and in that respect the FZ200 winds hands down. It will regularly shoot at 100iso, where the FZ150 is using 400 or even 800. With regards to taking shots of birds in flight, I don't think the FZ200 is any better (and could be worse) than the FZ150. Why could it be worse? Well they have changed the auto focus modes and the AFC (auto focus continuous) now tries to calculate ,or predict the movement of the subject. I find that the result is that the camera is still trying to work out what's going on when I press the shutter and nothing happens. I miss the shot completely. The same with AFF (auto focus flexible) which does something similar. I have turned those off and get a better result by using AFS (auto focus single). With the FZ150 I used AFC all the time.
For the price offered on the FZ150, I would go with that, as its a great deal and unless you know you will be doing a lot of shooting in low light, I wouldn't worry about the FZ200, although I do feel that overall the FZ200 is the better camera.
For the price offered on the FZ150, I would go with that, as its a great deal and unless you know you will be doing a lot of shooting in low light, I wouldn't worry about the FZ200, although I do feel that overall the FZ200 is the better camera.
Biancone
to err is human
Rodger, Many thanks for your views. I hadn't picked up this detail about the AF change. Interesting! Mind you, I only use single AF on my FZ45 (mainly because it doesn't do a useful burst). Now to try and decide between FZ150 and the new SX50, or something more ambitious!
Brian.
scodgerott
Well-known member
I would like to add something further to the discussion on the F2.8 lens for birds in flight. I have been thinking about the F2.8 and its relatively narrow depth of field. I wondered if that narrower depth of field might make it harder for the camera to focus on a bird in flight. I have tried using a higher F number, like F6.3 to see if by using a broader depth of field will help the focus work faster. So far, I can't notice any difference, but will keep experimenting with the F stops, as I feel they might make a difference. However having said that, the camera can still focus pretty quickly, but I have missed a number of shots of stationary birds when the camera wouldn't focus on them at all. By the time I activated the manual focus and fiddled with it, the bird was gone. These were situations when the light was great and there seemed to be no reason why the camera couldn't focus on the subject. I do know that the FZ150 did that sometimes as well, but it seems more prevalent in my FZ200.
dave-g2011
Well-known member
scodgerott
Well-known member
That's a superb image David. Well done. Hope you are happy with the FZ200.
Regards
Rodger
Regards
Rodger
miketaylor
Well-known member
Thanks Rodger.
I've seen the FZ200 with a cashback deal, bringing it down below the £400 mark. But I think I'll go for the FZ150 as the price is really good.
Dave - fantastic photo of the Robin. Can I ask, the image is really sharp - did you do any post-processing?
Mike
I've seen the FZ200 with a cashback deal, bringing it down below the £400 mark. But I think I'll go for the FZ150 as the price is really good.
Dave - fantastic photo of the Robin. Can I ask, the image is really sharp - did you do any post-processing?
Mike
idaho john
Well-known member
and...
Dave, let me add my voice to the compliments you are getting. What a great shot of one of my favorite birds (outside the US
).
John
Dave, let me add my voice to the compliments you are getting. What a great shot of one of my favorite birds (outside the US
). John
dave-g2011
Well-known member
Dave, let me add my voice to the compliments you are getting. What a great shot of one of my favorite birds (outside the US
John
Thanks John, Glad you like it.
My favorite garden bird also
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dave-g2011
Well-known member
Thanks Ratal.
Yes it shows how good and simple it can be.
Im told the singing is a territorial display. This guy was showing us all whose patch it was
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dave-g2011
Well-known member
Im very happy with it Rodger. I skipped from the fz100 to the fz200. So I missed the gradual improvement of the fz150 and the debate
. I cannot believe the results im getting of 'moon' shots on manual, hand held.
dave-g2011
Well-known member
Hi Mike, thanks for the compliment. No post processing used for this shot. I cropped it slightly. As you can see from the breast and the shadow at base of tail, the light was perfect for the moment. I took about 5 shots and chose this because of the singing pose.
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