Panasonic Lumix FZ20 (1 Viewer)

Digital zoom/ FZ20 examples.

Ian, Digital zoom is an internal image interpolation technique of the camera, a technological solution that changes the image sent to sensor and enlarges the actual pixels, the outcome is a "zoomed in" image but an image in a lower quality. This "technological" solution can always be applied on the image later on with PSP or any other imaging program. Am I missing something here in not understand why digital zoom is being used whatever the situation is since additional details are never being added to the image with digital zoom?

Regarding my images, all were taken with no converter with full optical zoom (equiv to 432mm) from a few meters away, not a distance shots, though, a good indication to the quality of the lens and the images the camera can produce.

Camera settings for bird photography

Hi Ian - like you I have a Olympus C2100 and have now bought, three days ago, a Panasonic FZ20. Also I have a B-300 converter. The Olympus needed a step-ring, and for the Panasonic I have bought a Pemaraal adaptor for using the 1.7x converter lens (which is made of 'plastic', very well made, and excellent service from a nice bloke in the US, Pete Liontas).

I have a question about settings on the FZ20: for bird photography, what settings have you found best on (a) metering (b) autofocus (c) stabiliser modes??

Thanks for any help
Tony

Thanks for that RedBishop, I think I can just about get my head around your explantion. I had never used it until last weekend for the Red Kite photos, but was still pleasantly surprised with the results. Now having resized larger some optical zoom shots using imaging software the resutls are pretty similar. Jury is still out on this for me but I'll experiment further.

Hi Tony,

On behalf of Admin and the Moderators welcome to Bird Forum :t:

My C2100UZ is still going strong and for it's age still produces very good shots which give the FZ20 a good run for it's money. It's now my wife's camera as she prefers using that one over the FZ20 which was actually bought for her!

As regards settings -

a) Metering - bracketed spot the first one on the menu
b) Autofocus - spot (smallest) and last on the menu
c) IS - Mode 2

Welcome to Birdforum,Tony.

Just one more around the Digital zoom, the bottom line was greatly discribed in RAH answer on a different thread:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=31462&highlight=digital+zoom
<Quote>
The problem with using digital zoom in the camera is that you are stuck with the results - there's no way to undo it. If you take a real good picture but it's all grainy because you used digital zoom, you have a problem. The alternative - take the picture without digital zoom and then modify it later with an image editor - is much better, because the original picture is as good as it can be and a much better starting point for your later enhancement.
</Quote>

The fact that with Digital Zoom you've gained nothing since it can be done outside on a PC and more than that, you have changed the picture without the option of going back is the key point. When using Optical zoom only you have all options still available for you.

FZ20 camera settings

Thanks Ian (and Henry) for the welcome to Bird Forum.

Also thanks Ian, for the recommendation for the FZ20 camera settings. Let's see how I get on!

Regards
Tony

I finally got a chance to get out with my fz20 in a bit of sunshine on sunday, popped over to Elmley and Harty Ferry. I'm so far impressed with the results given fairly close birds and sunshine especially.
Here's just one example from the weekend as promised:

Woody

Cracking shot, Woody.

And to be fair to the FZ20, most cameras are at their best in good light with close subjects.

I've yet to achieve anything like the quality of your lapwing, but that's mainly because I've yet to have the light - it's been grim and grey up here recently - but come the weekend I'll be out there with a vengeance and my new Tcon 17...

Thanks for the encouragement!

Very nice Woody, you captured loads of colour and detail in the shadow area despite the strong back lighting. No sign of CA either!

The FZ20 is especially highly regarded where CA (or the lack of it) is concerned - one of the reasons I bought mine - and it's nice to see the proof...

had a look at the panasonic amongst others but settled on the fuji ss5500 with teleconvertor,(1.5), preferred the build and versatility in comparison to pan and min dimage, new sony h1 could be worth a look although did not have the patience to wait for release
results okay but still practicing, it seems to be dependent on how good the light is, would anyone know how to connect the fuji to an optolyth tbs 80hd straight, please?

Everything you always wanted to know about the FZ20. Go to www. dpreview.com and look for the Panasonic forum.

Hi.
Might have a fz20 to sell any body interested PM me

Hi Guys,
Thanks to your positive feed back, I bought a FZ20 last week, and I'm delighted with it! Easy to use, 2" bright monitor, easy to follow menu, and great sharp pic's with the Leica OIS Lens, and best of all £30 off Jessops RRP!
I would recommend anyone not wanting to buy on line, to print out, and take a list of comparable prices to your camera store, I used (Click) uk.shopping.com but any will do, Jessops, and maybe others, will usually match a lower price.


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Thanks again, Alan.

BTW, anyone using the (DMW-LTZ10) Panasonic 1.5 Tele Conversion Lens?
any info much appreciated.
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Hi Alan,

most folk seem rather put off the Panasonic lens by the price - it costs as much as the camera!

The Olympus Tcon-17 (1.7x) does a damn fine job though, and there's a fair bit of experience of that item on here...

Thanks Keith,
Wondered why no one had mentioned it before, obviously the price!
Will check out the T-Con 17.
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Thanks, Alan.

this is were i got mine from

http://www.bestcameras.co.uk/shop/a...umix_DMC_FZ20b___128mb_SD_card__case_141.html

Digital Zoom can give better quality !

RedBishop said:

The fact that with Digital Zoom you've gained nothing since it can be done outside on a PC and more than that, you have changed the picture without the option of going back is the key point. When using Optical zoom only you have all options still available for you.

Click to expand...

This is correct if you take photos in RAW/TIFF format. But I once read an explanation from an engineer who worked with digital camera development for Pentax, I don't have source anymore, but his explanation made sense to me:

He said there is one poorly understood difference when taking photos of lower quality, i.e. storing as JPEG in camera. JPEG is a "destructive" compression, i.e. you cannot get back what you had before compressing. If one applies digital effects in the camera and then compresses to JPEG in camera one gets a better picture than if compressing a picture to JPEG and then applying digital effects afterwards.

The engineer had a discussion about bit depth, something like this, I am not an expert: applying the effects in the camera made use of the whole bit depth before reducing the bit depth in the compression. This is not the same as reducing the bit depth in the camera and later applying digital effects.

See it this way:
1) You have a perfect picture and apply digital effects to this perfect picture. Then you compress it. Given that compression you have as good a picture as you can possibly get.
2) You have a perfect picture and compress it. You now have a partially destroyed picture. Afterwards, in your computer, you apply digital effects to that imperfect picture. Applying these effects to the picture that is already imperfect will not give the same result as in 2 because the digital effects are not applied to the complete information that was in the original picture. Given the compression level you don't have as good a picture as possible (given that the digital effects are the same of course, maybe an effect can be "better" in Photoshop than in some algorithm implemented in the camera ...).

So: If taking photos in TIFF (which takes about 16 MB in the DMC-FZ20), digital effects (e.g. digital zoom) in the camera makes no sense. It can make sense if taking photos as JPEG.

/Oscar, Stockholm, Sweden

Got hold of my FZ20 on Monday but as yet I've only managed one proper play with it. I took the attached pictures on Wednesday evening, in very poor light and in between the showers. I think that we will become good friends over the next few months. I really like the ability to get good close up spur of the moment shots where the bird would (did) have flown by the time I could have got my digiscoping gear out and assembled. My early experience was gained from a Tamron mirror lens the Panasonic has almost the same focal length, but with auto focus and a quarter of the weight.

Photos have had brightness and contrast adjusted and sharpened slightly.

Mark