Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

[coupekid]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

lovely bit of street photography really transferring the viewer there George.

I really enjoyed this set, nicely presented too. great stuff!

[Archangel]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

George, my absolute favourite is the flower shot, then the waiter who looks like he's worried its gonna fall! Do you think maybe the FZ30 is a better bet than buying the Nikon D40 which I had my eye on recently! Maybe I don't need a DSLR after all!

Hi Jocelyn,

Thanks for liking and commenting.
My favorite is the waiter, just because I tried to isolate him using the tree on the right side where his tray fades away inside the tree (you can see part of the straw of another not visible ice coffee glass mixing with the tree) and kept as a background only the interesting part with the balloons.

As far as the FZ30 is concerned here are a few comments:

I have no brand loyalty. I would buy any camera brand that I think it fit my taste and fits my needs at a given moment.
I do like Nikons very much. I do have a compact Nikon currently that managed to take photos that even the entry level SLRs would dream off.
I was considering the Nikon D40X (the 10MP version, that just came out), but I didn't want once again to get involved with buying lenses and all this stuff I tried to got rid off in the past by selling one DSLR with all the lenses and ruining another one in a bike accident.
In the past and while using DSLRs, there were many times I lost a scene while I was trying to change lenses. The bird flew and didn't wait for me to attach my long zoom lens.
DSLRs are the utlimate of course but mostly for different situations where there is no so strong necessity to change lenses continuously (e.g studio, modelling, exhibition photograph, e.t.c.
Outside on the street you need something with a fixed lens mostly and option for 1x to let's say at least 10X zoom.
Of course you can go with your DSLR on the street with the standard lens, but when a plane flies over your head, that won't wait for you to put on your long zoom lens.

Anyway, these are thoughts that may vary according to different people, but my experience all these 21 years with photography says that there are specific cameras for specific situations.

I had the FZ5, a very small SLR type, that proved to be a very good camera and when it came to street scene action photos it proved to be sometimes if not better, at least equal to what a DSLR would do in such situations.
I was going to get a new camera, since I started this part time job and thought to get something like my FZ5 but with some more options and not to step up to the DSLR again, at least until the point where that would be proved really necessary.
After a lot of research (since I'm getting very much involved with camera reviews and doing some comparisons on my own) I decided that the FZ30 is the best choice in the SLR type category.
It offers image adjustments (contrast, sharpness, saturation and noise reduction), it offers RAW, TIFF and JPG of course, it offers images at 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 ratios, it offers the swivel LCD, it offers program shift and some other. The flash is very powerful (7.5 meters at wide angle) and the camera has manual zoom and focus rings too, to remind you the classic cameras and to save battery power too. The zoom is done only manual for better accuracy and the focus can be done manual or automatically.
There is focus lock option and 9 point focus area to choose from if you wish.
The lens is fixed and the dust problem to the sensor is minimized if not totally eliminated and the camera powers up instantly and is ready to take the shot.

Anyway, in other words the FZ30 is a complete camera for its class, the best in the SLR type cameras currently in my opinion and it does any type of photography satisfactory enough.
Though I was somewhat lucky to find it new after one year and a half from the time it came out and was also lucky to buy it almost half price from the price it had originally 1 & 1/2 years ago.

I like that the images are sharp from edge to edge and as far as the noise myths are concerned, yes it does have noise but it is no worse than other brand cameras in the same category. Sometimes it proves to be better in terms of noise than other cameras in the same category and from what I have observed all the Panasonic images behave very well with the denoising software as they clean up better than images from other cameras.

If you decide to buy one, I will tell you some hints so at least your day shots will look totally DSLR shots
But I think for the options that offers and at the price it is being offered now, it is a crime to miss such a camera, that now costs the same as a a good tiny compact.
Personally, I like not to miss legends in a class (that could be any camera class), but instead to add them to my collection.

I do not want to influence anybody with my writings. I only state my personal opinion according to which product fits my current needs and does the job properly. If I think that in the future there is a necessity for a DSLR, I would buy one, but when I do, I must really need it in order to make the best use out of it.
I don't know what exactly are your personal needs Jocelyn, but with the FZ30 I personally can do most if not all.
Also I must say that every time we see a good wildlife photo taken by a DSLR along with its expensive attachments, we don't know how many from the series photos that were taken were coasters.
In other words there is no camera, even a DSLR that can guarantee all clicks to be successful.


George

[pewidane]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

hey george.My favorite is the first picture.I have 2 panasonic and are very pleased with them.DMC-FZ 1 and DMC-LC 5.Great leica lenses but a lot of noise.100 asa is the best.Peder.

[Archangel]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

hey george.My favorite is the first picture.I have 2 panasonic and are very pleased with them.DMC-FZ 1 and DMC-LC 5.Great leica lenses but a lot of noise.100 asa is the best.Peder.

Thanks Pedar.
I do have the FZ5 and FZ30 and I'm also very pleased with them.
Personally I don't have noise issues up to ISO200 and don't consider them worse in noise than other comparable cameras.
I managed to take very nice shots even at ISO400!
Here is a sample shot at ISO400 with the FZ5 (Original and Cleaned version).


Original Version @ ISO 400





Cleaned Version @ ISO400






And here are the FZ5's FullSize Crops of both Original and Cleaned version

FullSize Crop Original @ ISO400





FullSize Crop Cleaned @ ISO400





And here is a Canon A620 @ ISO400 FullSize Crop





And here is a Nikon Coolpix 7900 ISO400 Fullsize Crop





George

[pewidane]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

I use this program to remove noise.Peder.

[Archangel]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

I use this program to remove noise.Peder.

Noise Ninja, Neat Image and Noiseware are all do very good job.
I use mostly Noise Ninja and Noiseware occasionally, but they all rely on everyones personal taste.

George

[Jocelyn Walker]

Re: Sunaday Morning in the Cafes

Thanx George for your honest & down to earth opinions & advice. As far as DSLR pics seem to be so incredibly clear & in focus, as you say, there are pros & cons! I sometimes wonder whether the amount or type of photography I do & more specifically my aptitude, warrants spending so much on a DSLR if I could possibly manage to take half as good shots as those you have taken with your FZ30! I definitely want a camera that has a decent optical zoom, not for the size print I can obtain but clarity. I was under the impression that the Nikkor ED lens on my 5X Nikon would have produced a better clarity than it does! I definitely need to have a look at the FZ30 soon! The manual will come in handy too! I sold 1 of my paintings at an art exhibition last weekend, so who knows!