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Should i get Panasonic FZ20 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter James_Death
- Start date
James_Death
Well-known member
Well i keep trying but mostly pants, had hoped to get a good pic or even reasonable of hopefully my first of many goldfinches as one finally found my nyjer feeder.
This black bird i like one of about 7 i shot and only reasonable one.
I dont have any photo editing on my system and not a techy so please forgive my posting if i cause problems with my attempt to post.
All the best,
James
Well scrib that about posting pics as i dont know how to.
Great pic there.. oh yeah oh so jealous.
This black bird i like one of about 7 i shot and only reasonable one.
I dont have any photo editing on my system and not a techy so please forgive my posting if i cause problems with my attempt to post.
All the best,
James
Well scrib that about posting pics as i dont know how to.
Great pic there.. oh yeah oh so jealous.
solentbirder
Well-known member
Hi James,
Just a couple of things that might help (sorry if this is stating the obvious).
1. Don't confuse the red camera shake icon for the stabilization icon. If you're seeing a red camera icon at the top right of the display this is telling you the picture will almost certainly be blurred. I started using the camera without reading the manual (of course !) and initially thought this was telling me the stablizer was switched on. The actual stablizer icon is a little white hand that shows on the left side of the display (in mode 2 this isn't lit all the time).
2. Use burst mode to capture a lot of photos at once (can catch up to 4 pictures per second). You'll end up with lot's of pictures and some of them will be good.
3. The weather has been extremely dull for the last couple of weeks and this is very bad for trying to get good pictures with a powerful telephoto lens. The shutter speed will be set quite low and you'll get a lot of blurred pictures even with the stabilizer switched on.
4. Give the autofocus a chance to lock on to the bird (use spot focussing option). When the focus has locked the autofocus frame will turn green. Sometimes it can take a couple of attempts (half-pressing the shutter release button) to get a good focus lock.
5. Make it easy for yourself and practice on some ducks at the local park on a bright day. You'll soon see how good the camera can be.
6. Don't give up !
Hope this is some help.
All the best
Solent Birder
Just a couple of things that might help (sorry if this is stating the obvious).
1. Don't confuse the red camera shake icon for the stabilization icon. If you're seeing a red camera icon at the top right of the display this is telling you the picture will almost certainly be blurred. I started using the camera without reading the manual (of course !) and initially thought this was telling me the stablizer was switched on. The actual stablizer icon is a little white hand that shows on the left side of the display (in mode 2 this isn't lit all the time).
2. Use burst mode to capture a lot of photos at once (can catch up to 4 pictures per second). You'll end up with lot's of pictures and some of them will be good.
3. The weather has been extremely dull for the last couple of weeks and this is very bad for trying to get good pictures with a powerful telephoto lens. The shutter speed will be set quite low and you'll get a lot of blurred pictures even with the stabilizer switched on.
4. Give the autofocus a chance to lock on to the bird (use spot focussing option). When the focus has locked the autofocus frame will turn green. Sometimes it can take a couple of attempts (half-pressing the shutter release button) to get a good focus lock.
5. Make it easy for yourself and practice on some ducks at the local park on a bright day. You'll soon see how good the camera can be.
6. Don't give up !
Hope this is some help.
All the best
Solent Birder
James_Death
Well-known member
Great words of encouragement there solent birder.
Greatly appreciated, and veryinformative.
Heck the fast track of just getting your hands in rather than reading, does not always work.
Thanks again,
James
Greatly appreciated, and veryinformative.
Heck the fast track of just getting your hands in rather than reading, does not always work.
Thanks again,
James
James_Death said:
Following on from solentbirder, I would emphasise allowing time to allow the (spot) auto-focus to lock on. Many of my early shots were out of focus either because the a/f was still hunting or had locked on to something else. Like most of us I guess you will be using maximum zoom most of the time and, when in combination with f2.8, you will have no depth of field so a/f problems can be amplified.
Final point - use the EVF rather than the LCD screen.
Attached - copper-rumped hummingbird taken before the a/f had locked
david
Attachments
James
I have a few examples of the FZ20 in my WorldPhotography gallery here (http://www.worldphotographyforum.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=37&sl=k)
I have a few examples of the FZ20 in my WorldPhotography gallery here (http://www.worldphotographyforum.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=37&sl=k)
James_Death
Well-known member
Well went to potteric carr as youngest wanted to see some birds so had a play with the camera and got a few nice pics def want a tcon, on another matter any recommends for getting the plug in shutter release emote jobby, and resonable hide mounts just to get started.
Thanks as ever,
James
Thanks as ever,
James
James_Death
Well-known member
jude55 said:
Thanks had just spotted that myself, think ill go for that.
Then i think a polarizer and uv filter and the tcon 17 already got 2 spare batterys again ebay, £20 i think with postage.
Should be set appart from a bag then.
Thanks again,
James
James_Death
Well-known member
As im after a tcon...whatis the max workable magnification please,
Is it the 1.7x the max or can you go higher.
Thanks as ever,
james
Is it the 1.7x the max or can you go higher.
Thanks as ever,
james
lachlustre
Should be recording bird song
Hi,
I managed to find an FZ20 on sale in the US last summer on holiday ($270), and promptly had a lot of fun with it in North Carolina & Utah mountains. I managed to take quite a few photo's that I'm happy with (not up to the standard of many here, but that's me rather than the camera).
Then in November, I bought myself the Raynox 2.2x teleconverter. So far, I haven't taken a single picture with it that justifies my investment: the softness of the result means that I am at least as good off cropping a photo without the extra lens. I've tried using a monopod, but I think that basically the problem is that I live in Holland. And its winter. I've seen the sun once in 2006. I definitely agree with previous comments about this being a camera for bright conditions.
I managed to find an FZ20 on sale in the US last summer on holiday ($270), and promptly had a lot of fun with it in North Carolina & Utah mountains. I managed to take quite a few photo's that I'm happy with (not up to the standard of many here, but that's me rather than the camera).
Then in November, I bought myself the Raynox 2.2x teleconverter. So far, I haven't taken a single picture with it that justifies my investment: the softness of the result means that I am at least as good off cropping a photo without the extra lens. I've tried using a monopod, but I think that basically the problem is that I live in Holland. And its winter. I've seen the sun once in 2006. I definitely agree with previous comments about this being a camera for bright conditions.
Macswede
Macswede
lachlustre said:
I was very disappointed with the TCON-17 I got to go with my FZ20. I bought it in November when it was very dark but recently we've had some bright sunny days and I've had better results. I'm really enjoying using it at the moment. You may well experience something similar with your Raynox.
Graham
Attachments
IanF
Moderator
I've had no problems with the Tcon-17 - esults are very slightly softer than the lens alone and I have to say Macswede - you got some great looking shots there.
I do find though that bright days give far better results - with or without the teleconverter.
My main reservation about the raynox is the 2.2x which I think may just be a bit too strong for the optics. 1.7x converters seem to do fine but 2.2x may give just a bit too soft results.
Maybe it's worth stopping down to f5,6 or even f8 which should be managable with the IS on a bright day and a lightish subject. Spring and summer should give better results once the weather improves though I find bright winter days are just about ideal for photos.
I do find though that bright days give far better results - with or without the teleconverter.
My main reservation about the raynox is the 2.2x which I think may just be a bit too strong for the optics. 1.7x converters seem to do fine but 2.2x may give just a bit too soft results.
Maybe it's worth stopping down to f5,6 or even f8 which should be managable with the IS on a bright day and a lightish subject. Spring and summer should give better results once the weather improves though I find bright winter days are just about ideal for photos.
Ron Houser
Well-known member
FZ20 experience
James,
I had a Panasonic FZ-20 camera until I moved up to a slr. In my experience, the FZ-20 is an excellent choice for an all-round, high-quality camera. I used it in Costa Rica a few months ago and I can tell you that the quality of my photos and the ability to zoom to 12X beat anything anyone else had on the trip. The Leica lens (image stabilized and f2.8 all the way to 420mm!) is wonderful. The only reason I went to a slr is the fact that in low light situations, such as that under the rain forest canopy, images show a fair amount of digital noise, especially with an iso of over 200. The small digital sensor simply can't match that of the larger slr sensors. However, if I only had to have one camera/lens, I'd pick the Panasonic any day.
James,
I had a Panasonic FZ-20 camera until I moved up to a slr. In my experience, the FZ-20 is an excellent choice for an all-round, high-quality camera. I used it in Costa Rica a few months ago and I can tell you that the quality of my photos and the ability to zoom to 12X beat anything anyone else had on the trip. The Leica lens (image stabilized and f2.8 all the way to 420mm!) is wonderful. The only reason I went to a slr is the fact that in low light situations, such as that under the rain forest canopy, images show a fair amount of digital noise, especially with an iso of over 200. The small digital sensor simply can't match that of the larger slr sensors. However, if I only had to have one camera/lens, I'd pick the Panasonic any day.
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