Panasonic FZ200

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Thanks for the info Pol. By your standards I'm way down the ladder. I only use Picasa 3 and I have a basic routine I follow. I crop as required, adjust brightness if need be and add a touch of sharpening. Some times I add a boarder. That's it for me now days. That's why the Images I post are sometimes substandard. Going to have to pull my socks up if I continue posting on here.

Don't be so daft! There's nothing wrong with your images and your processing is fine too! David uses Picasa and he doesn't even know which version. I just asked him and he said "I think it's 3 - typical David!

I've given him LR, given him the chance to share my PS versions down the years, offered to share my Elements 11 with him too but he won't bother even installing and trying them - he just sticks with Picasa and does more or less the same as you - maybe crop, adjust brightness if he feels like it and possibly a touch of sharpening and that's it.

This forum is the same as any other for posting pics. Don't be put off by thinking we're all a stuffy bunch of nit-pickers. We're all just a bunch of picci shooters, some professional but not that many pros and those who are are helpful rather than critical.

Aww c'mon Shoppy, don't naff off thinking you're not up-to-scratch (reference to yer spots not intended ... honest injun).

Heck - I'm gonna upload Gert's picci of Nellie. Hang about and I'll upload it - just been doing a 7x5 for Photobox so he can pin her on his wall.

Pol

[Rodbender]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Thanks for the info Pol. By your standards I'm way down the ladder. I only use Picasa 3 and I have a basic routine I follow. I crop as required, adjust brightness if need be and add a touch of sharpening. Some times I add a boarder. That's it for me now days. That's why the Images I post are sometimes substandard. Going to have to pull my socks up if I continue posting on here.

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

It's raining here and there is thunder in the air. Would you believe it the dog wants to go out. Oh well, when you got-ta go you got-ta go.

PS David's shot has remarkable detail for a 1200mm shot. I also found that the FZ200 can sometimes blow the highlights so I now use -1ev at all times. Seems to be right as when I edit and let the computer do auto exposure no changes are made.

Thunder here too along with another deluge. I'm fed up with it!

Anyway, about David's picture and settings. He tells me he simply used iA and usually does use just that. Other than that he only has the UV filter on the camera - nothing else that may or may not affect what the camera saw and recorded.

All I did was to open the original into ACR from his SD card (screenshot of original attached). Those red marks are where the highlights are blown (or too high) and all I did was to use the highlights slider to reduce them slightly until the red marks disappeared.

The next tool (not shown) is that 'curve' on the top of the ACR tools. That's where the 'linear contrast was showing so I opted to save the image in 'medium' contrast - just a quick click from an options menu (linear, medium or strong contrast).

That's all I did - then saved the image. End result as in my previous post showing the final version. The camera did almost all the work - I just tweaked those highlights and opted for medium contrast rather than linear.

This camera rocks!

Screenshot (as shot) below - straight off his camera.



Pol

[Rodbender]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Don't attach too much importance to the UV/colour cast. As I said I may have had other settings wrong as it was soon after purchasing and I did not know my way around the camera to well. I'm like David in that I like a little protection over my lens especially when it's fixed to a bridge camera and can't be replaced.

Pol, short of being accused of having shares in Panasonic, I have to agree it is a belter of a camera. You certainly have given it a glowing report.

Never had any prints produced by Photobox, but will keep them in mind for a print my neighbour wants done. She asked me to take some shots of her anniversary flowers and now wants an enlargement framed and hung on her wall. I can usually manage good prints upto 10 x 8 but she wants something like 15 x 12.

It's raining here and there is thunder in the air. Would you believe it the dog wants to go out. Oh well, when you got-ta go you got-ta go.

PS David's shot has remarkable detail for a 1200mm shot. I also found that the FZ200 can sometimes blow the highlights so I now use -1ev at all times. Seems to be right as when I edit and let the computer do auto exposure no changes are made.

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

I couldn't be more thrilled and David agrees. This camera is a belter - all I could wish for. I've sent David off to give me his SD card and I'll see what he has on there this afternoon.

I've just looked at the shots David took yesterday, shots when he had tha Hoya 52mm Pro-1 Digital UV Screw in Filter on his camera, and There's no problem with the colours, no colour cast that we can detect. He also has a picci of the old boat and the colours on his image are identical to the colours on mine - his with he UV filter, mine with NO filter.

Here's one of the images he took at 1200mm, a shot of a golfer playing on a course near Gilbert's lake. Shot from the camper, opposite window to the one I was using for the lake.

I processed it - only very slight tweak changing it from linear contrast to medium contrast and I also got rid of some slightly overblown highlights on the golfers shirt. You can see the checks in that shirt in the original image - amazing shot considering the distance and the zoom at a full 1200mm stretch! Setting of the camera was nowt fancy, just iA - point, zoom and shoot picci.



Pol

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

I'm well pleased that you are both happy with your new toys. Regards the UV filter, I tried one on mine and found that even with auto white balance I got a slight colour cast. See the Street Singer images which to me are a little blue. Maybe I did not give it a fair test and the results were due to some other setting I'd made.

Shingles still driving me mad, so not getting out with the camera at all. Getting really fed up now and so is my dog as I'm taking her out more often just to break the boredom. She is pee'd out and can't understand why we are walking the streets for no good reason and my tropical fish tanks have never been so clean.

The filter shouldn't do that though I must admit I'd noticed a slight colour cast in your original images when you started the thread. I felt the sky was slightly 'aqua' and the singer was slightly 'cold' (blue) in the close-ups but thought maybe that was your choice or post processing.

I haven't looked at any of David's since he put his filter on, I'll do that shortly. He's always fusses about having a protection filter on all lenses (usually UV) and nags me to do likewise though I make my own choices but go along with him for a quieter life.

The filters we have are Hoya 52mm Pro-1 Digital UV Screw in Filter, had those on various camera and lenses without problem but I'll be sure to see how it goes and hand it back to him if I'm not satisfied with the images.

I had a delivery of a dozen 7x5 prints off the camera, courtesy of Photobox. They just arrived this morning (including an ID picci for my driving licence) and the colours are spot on - all of them excellent prints. I have a calibrated screen (Spyder Express calibration) and send files of 300ppi cropped to size myself in Photoshop choosing 'let Photoshop decide colours' .. all of them sRGB.

Hand on my heart the colours are absolutely true, clothing, woodwork, skin tones, everything exactly as it should be. There's one of David against a interior door and when the print is held against the door it's exact, as are the clothes he's wearing in the picci. My passport/ID photo is also exactly as it should be - my son took that for me using my FZ200 - though I did the processing myself.

I couldn't be more thrilled and David agrees. This camera is a belter - all I could wish for. I've sent David off to give me his SD card and I'll see what he has on there this afternoon.

Awww that's a right nuisance about the Shingles! I know exactly how you feel being confined and going stir crazy. The very erratic and unstable climate hasn't helped either. We've just had a deluge and thunder storm here and the outside temperature has dropped down to a paltry 16.6C and the garden's sodden.

Hang on in there - you're getting through it.

Pol

[Rodbender]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

I'm well pleased that you are both happy with your new toys. Regards the UV filter, I tried one on mine and found that even with auto white balance I got a slight colour cast. See the Street Singer images which to me are a little blue. Maybe I did not give it a fair test and the results were due to some other setting I'd made.

Shingles still driving me mad, so not getting out with the camera at all. Getting really fed up now and so is my dog as I'm taking her out more often just to break the boredom. She is pee'd out and can't understand why we are walking the streets for no good reason and my tropical fish tanks have never been so clean.

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Well first I'm sorry to hear that your trip was disappointing. I know how you must feel as we visited where we used to live and could not believe we had lived in such a rough area. In such a short time it's hard to except that a place could change so much.

As for the images you captured, how come you have only had the camera a short time and you are already getting some pretty impressive quality images from it. Did you find it easy to handle compared to having a DSLR in your hands? Also are you happy with the results you are getting, I certainly would be. Is David happy with his? I hope so.

I could go on all day about the way society, the environment and the rapid changes going on all around us! TBH I'm disappointed and depressed over and over again when we go out and about and see the ongoing affects of the recession and the effects of the massive debts people have accrued, the way people are scrimping and struggling to try to make ends meet.

Aye the lake was sad to see but we will go back (after the school holidays) and I'll do my very best to get the birds landing along the perimeter again. We'll take a large bag of bird food and sit and wait for them. Gilbert and co did do a quick, very high up fly past yesterday but didn't come close and didn't go near the water at all. They're still around, just got no reason to come to the lake anymore so we'll do out utmost to give them a reason!

Anyway, about the camera, I love it! It's a joy to use and a million times easier to handle than a dSLR. TBH I haven't spent time looking at the manual as mine is on CD, though David has a printed book. I just fiddle and faff, take a test shot and if it's okay I carry on with that setting. Mostly I just use Intelligent Auto and that seems to select the most appropriate scene mode and setting. I do have one customised setting but forget exactly what settings I chose for that one.

I started off shooting RAW but mainly just shoot jpegs now as I can process them in ACR anyway and they use much less card space. I have CS6 so that's what I'm using atm. They don't need much processing - mainly just a bit of a tweak with the levels and curves - or a bit of a tweak with the contrast (and straightening when I'm shooting wonky horizontals and verticals.

I haven't looked much at what David has but he's also delighted with the camera. He has a UV filter on his and presented me with a new one yesterday evening. He's been a fan of bridge cameras for ages but he definitely likes this one best of all from his selection.

It really is a cracking good camera, no doubt whatsoever about that! Worth every penny and a lot of fun to use with excellent results.


Pol

[Rodbender]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Well first I'm sorry to hear that your trip was disappointing. I know how you must feel as we visited where we used to live and could not believe we had lived in such a rough area. In such a short time it's hard to except that a place could change so much.

As for the images you captured, how come you have only had the camera a short time and you are already getting some pretty impressive quality images from it. Did you find it easy to handle compared to having a DSLR in your hands? Also are you happy with the results you are getting, I certainly would be. Is David happy with his? I hope so.

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

I'll have a look through the pics later and maybe post one or two if they're suitable. I didn't take the dSLR - just had the FZ200 with me.

Pol

Okay, here's a brief 'photo story' of todays' trip down to Gilbert's lake.

You might be interested to note the first and last images were taken with through the camper window with the vehicle actually in motion. First one was slowing down at a junction but the last one was through the windscreen travelling at maybe 25-30mph (I'd asked David to slow down and drive smoothly as I'd wanted to capture the sky as well as the road ahead).

First image - setting off ...



Overall view of the lake and farmhouse.



Zoomed in on old boat on far end of lake.



Close up shot of abandoned specs on fence post above that yellow crisp bag (in the foreground)



Going home (it eventually rained en route but not much).



We didn't bother stopping for fish 'n chips, too crowded - just made a sarnie in the camper.

Pol

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Just got back from Gilbert's lake. I'm wishing I hadn't bothered because it was terrible down there. Tacky B&B, litter all around the lake, fences broken and replaced with rope or string, overgrown verges, wildlife virtually all gone, no foxes, Herons, Swans, Horses etc gone just a few Coots left but worst of all no Gilbert and his crowd.

It's astonishing (and depressing) to see how rapidly things are changing and not for the better either! We've decided to start looking for new 'stomping grounds' and maybe look for Gilbert and his mates one more time in the low season, though the environment is totally changed (and ruined).

I'll have a look through the pics later and maybe post one or two if they're suitable. I didn't take the dSLR - just had the FZ200 with me.

Pol

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Everyday life, the sort of pics I like best.

The zoom on this camera is incredible and the pics from the far end of the zoom are certainly acceptable, to put it mildly.

It probably won't be too long before we can get down to Gilbert's farm and see if he's still swooping around the lake, the burger van and the cycling track. If so I'm tempted to see how I can manage the SLR as well as seeing what I can get from theFZ200. I don't like it down there in school holidays, too many tourists and unruly kids but maybe we'll make an exception ... we'll see.

Pol

[Rodbender]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

When they let me out, which isn't very often, I tend to take the same sort of pictures. I love this camera for the zoom power and the candid shots you can get. I also find the screen great for waste level shots and most people don't realise you are taking their picture. You have some great examples there and I'm sure you will be taking a few more candid street shots.
Had mine now for about 6 months and I'm still finding new things about it. My biggest problem is remembering what I have found.

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Hiya Shoppy,

Grabbed some quick snaps in the supermarket car park this morning. None of them anything special but just a brief selection of the sort of tripe that I shoot, look and smile at then usually chuck in the bin. Just some of my favourites for you to look at. Still haven't had much time to get to know the camera.

First one shows the overall scene and the following shots were some of the snapshots I liked best. All shot from the same place at the far end of the car park - shot through an open window of the van.



Dig her fancy car!



Forget yer 'toy' woman, just look where you're going with that buggy!



Chill and enjoy, dude.



almost there.



Pol

[Pol]

Re: Panasonic FZ200

Weather here is awful and I have not had much sleep, so I'm going to grab a couple of tablets and put my head down for a few hours. Catch up with you later.

Yeah it's foul here too.

Have a nice kip ... I just rolled outa bed myself to come downstairs for lunch and I'll probably go back and just read in bed this afternoon.

C ya.

Pol