This is the latest in the Panasonic FZ range. It has an 8MP sensor with a 12x zoom for best quality photographs but also has a facility to reduce the sensor size to increase the zoom. This equates to 15x at 5MP and 19.1x at 3MP (equal to 669mm on a 35mm lens). This would be of little use on a walk around camera without the built in anti-shake which does a very good job. The lens is a good quality one badged as a Leica. Both the moon shot and an earlier post "A gap in the trees" were taken hand held at this maximum zoom. I don't want to give the impression that the anti-shake is infallible, as you still need good technique when taking a shot, but the results can be very good. I am very impressed with it and would recommend it to anyone thinking about a new camera. All I need now is some decent weather and to find some little furrry animals out in daylight!
4 comments:
I am so envious about the anti shake feature. Is that digital or optical zoom? (Full extent of my jargon).
It infuriates me that I can get such marvelous close ups of leaves...if only the wind would drop for the duration.
Looking forward to little furry animals :)
It is optical. The anti-shake doesn't have much effect on waving leaves I'm afraid - I tried it today in a blustery wind but still had some blur. The little furry animals were conspicuously absent. I had really hoped they would be out and about while the sun was shining but no luck I'm afraid. I'm taking next week off work to try for some ducks at a park. Not many of them run up trees to hide so I will hopefully do better with them.
Now I'm green with envy! my camera is a fuji finepix S5500 and it's pretty good. But although it has x 10 optical zoom, I don't have good technique...for every good pic, I take about 10 shaky ones! and I'm hopeless at catching things on the fly...One day when they fix the delay on digital cameras I will be so happy. (and broke)
My previous "best" camera was the Fuji S5000 and I do like the pictures it takes but the new cameras now have these things like anti-shake which make them much more user friendly. The start up time on the Panasonic is about a second which is quick and there is very little shutter lag. The zoom is manual, as is the focus if you want to go completely manual. Both are by way of rings on the lens barrel which encourage you to hold the camera properly, supporting it from underneath with your left hand. It has so many good features I could go on for ever but won't. When you're in the market it will be well worth a look but, like everything else electrical these days, it will be old hat in a few months.
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