panasonic fz30

georgia taylor wrote:
> I almost bought the panasonic fz30 right after Christmas. Anyone here
> own it?

You might also want to ask in the rec.photo.digital.zlr newsgroup. There
are quite a few FZ30 owners there.

David
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

georgia taylor wrote:

> I almost bought the panasonic fz30 right after Christmas. Anyone here
> own it?


Yes. Great camera. I bought a 55mm UV filter yesterday to protect THAT
GLASS! I use a Pentax *ist D normally, but when a high power zoom is
needed, The Panasonic is easier to deal with than a bag full of lenses.
Call me lazy. I usually have it set to a five MP picture size. That way
you get almost a 20X optical zoom factor.





mike
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

"The Panasonic is easier to deal with than a bag full of lenses.
Call me lazy.

--that's why I am considering buying it instead of a real SLR.
a 420mm lens costs too much and is too bulky.
A $550 8mp 420mm camera would do just fine for me.

I usually have it set to a five MP picture size. That way
you get almost a 20X optical zoom factor.
--that makes no sense. if you set to 3mp you get even more zoom.
if 420mm is the max, whats the point?
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

Bolshoy Huy wrote:
> I almost bought the Jaguar XJ6 right after Christmas, anyone here own
> it?

Yes. I prefer the BMW 7-series, but that's just my own opinion. A Jag is a
Ford with trimmings, pure and simple.
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

I have it and love it.

R


"georgia taylor" <rufus DeleteThis @prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:lofxf.14$ur7.5@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
>I almost bought the panasonic fz30 right after Christmas. Anyone here own
>it?
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

Bolshoy Huy wrote:


> I usually have it set to a five MP picture size. That way
> you get almost a 20X optical zoom factor.

> --that makes no sense. if you set to 3mp you get even more zoom.
> if 420mm is the max, whats the point?
>

You are right. I must start to read my posts before sending. Page 34 of
the manual says:

8, 7, 5.5 MP res. Zoom = 12X

5, 4.5 MP res extended zoom = 15.3X

3, 2, 1, 2.5 MP res extended zoom = 19.1

This is all before the 4X digital zoom is even started.I haven't had any
need.for the 76.5X combined zoom (at 3 mp)

Neat camera and a perfect excuse to have SOMETHING with Leica written on
it sitting around the house....


mike
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On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:26:07 GMT, m II wrote:

> You are right. I must start to read my posts before sending. Page 34 of
> the manual says:
>
> 8, 7, 5.5 MP res. Zoom = 12X
>
> 5, 4.5 MP res extended zoom = 15.3X
>
> 3, 2, 1, 2.5 MP res extended zoom = 19.1

It sounds as if all that's happening is that Panasonic is doing
in-camera cropping that could be better done with the computer. For
instance, take the 8mp image on the computer and crop to produce 4
equal sized quadrants. Each contains only 2mp, but has a field of
view equivalent to what you'd get if the lens had the ability to
zoom out to 24X. If the Panasonic did this it would capture only
the central 2mp. You could get the same thing by cropping the
central 25% of the image on the computer, but you'd still be able to
use any part of the 75% that the camera would have thrown away.


> This is all before the 4X digital zoom is even started.I haven't had any
> need.for the 76.5X combined zoom (at 3 mp)

All's not lost. You can still add 4X (or 8X or whaterver) digital
zoom to any of the images on the computer if you ever need it. <g>
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 00:57:35 -0500, ASAAR <caught DeleteThis @22.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:26:07 GMT, m II wrote:
>
>> You are right. I must start to read my posts before sending. Page 34 of
>> the manual says:
>>
>> 8, 7, 5.5 MP res. Zoom = 12X
>>
>> 5, 4.5 MP res extended zoom = 15.3X
>>
>> 3, 2, 1, 2.5 MP res extended zoom = 19.1
>
> It sounds as if all that's happening is that Panasonic is doing
> in-camera cropping that could be better done with the computer. For
> instance, take the 8mp image on the computer and crop to produce 4
> equal sized quadrants. Each contains only 2mp, but has a field of
> view equivalent to what you'd get if the lens had the ability to
> zoom out to 24X. If the Panasonic did this it would capture only
> the central 2mp. You could get the same thing by cropping the
> central 25% of the image on the computer, but you'd still be able to
> use any part of the 75% that the camera would have thrown away.

That's exactly what it's doing. Somewhere on Panasonic's FZ30 web page,
there's a diagram showing how the Extended Zoom works. At low zooms
(below 420mm), the camera uses the entire sensor chip and downsamples to
the selected resolution. At higher zooms, it starts cropping, using
smaller and smaller areas of the chip, until you reach one sensor pixel
per output pixel.

It's actually a sensible option to give people; if someone is, for
whatever reason, shooting at lower resolutions, give them the choice
between using the entire chip vs. using only the pixels in the center
and increasing the effective crop factor.

-dms
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

In article <slrndsfdha.7dc.dmsilev.RemoveThis@bardeen.uchicago.edu>,
Daniel Silevitch <dmsilev.RemoveThis@uchicago.edu> wrote:

> On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 00:57:35 -0500, ASAAR <caught.RemoveThis@22.com> wrote:
> > On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 03:26:07 GMT, m II wrote:
> >
> >> You are right. I must start to read my posts before sending. Page 34 of
> >> the manual says:
> >>
> >> 8, 7, 5.5 MP res. Zoom = 12X
> >>
> >> 5, 4.5 MP res extended zoom = 15.3X
> >>
> >> 3, 2, 1, 2.5 MP res extended zoom = 19.1
> >
> > It sounds as if all that's happening is that Panasonic is doing
> > in-camera cropping that could be better done with the computer. For
> > instance, take the 8mp image on the computer and crop to produce 4
> > equal sized quadrants. Each contains only 2mp, but has a field of
> > view equivalent to what you'd get if the lens had the ability to
> > zoom out to 24X. If the Panasonic did this it would capture only
> > the central 2mp. You could get the same thing by cropping the
> > central 25% of the image on the computer, but you'd still be able to
> > use any part of the 75% that the camera would have thrown away.
>
> That's exactly what it's doing. Somewhere on Panasonic's FZ30 web page,
> there's a diagram showing how the Extended Zoom works. At low zooms
> (below 420mm), the camera uses the entire sensor chip and downsamples to
> the selected resolution. At higher zooms, it starts cropping, using
> smaller and smaller areas of the chip, until you reach one sensor pixel
> per output pixel.
>
> It's actually a sensible option to give people; if someone is, for
> whatever reason, shooting at lower resolutions, give them the choice
> between using the entire chip vs. using only the pixels in the center
> and increasing the effective crop factor.

I was wondering if there was any difference in picture quality between
extended zoom and post-cropping, so did a few test shots. Zoomed or
cropped, the pics were pretty much identical. I think I did see slightly
better detail on a bit of red pipe--less smearing--but only at 100-200%
enlargement.
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

In article <kentc-5D7E33.17060415022006 RemoveThis @news.bellglobal.com>,
Kent Clarke <kentc RemoveThis @dot.org> wrote:

> I was wondering if there was any difference in picture quality between
> extended zoom and post-cropping, so did a few test shots. Zoomed or
> cropped, the pics were pretty much identical. I think I did see slightly
> better detail on a bit of red pipe--less smearing--but only at 100-200%
> enlargement.

Doh! The better image was from cropping in PS.
 >> Stay informed about: panasonic fz30 

On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:46:43 -0500, Kent Clarke <kentc.TakeThisOut@dot.org> wrote:

>In article <kentc-5D7E33.17060415022006.TakeThisOut@news.bellglobal.com>,
> Kent Clarke <kentc.TakeThisOut@dot.org> wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if there was any difference in picture quality between
>> extended zoom and post-cropping, so did a few test shots. Zoomed or
>> cropped, the pics were pretty much identical. I think I did see slightly
>> better detail on a bit of red pipe--less smearing--but only at 100-200%
>> enlargement.
>
>Doh! The better image was from cropping in PS.

I think the main advantage of in-camera cropping vs cropping during
PP is that the viewfinder image is magnified to reflect the crop,
showing you just what you'll get when you take the picture. It's
Panasonic's way of telling you that you should really invest in a good
tripod.

Tom
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In article <26ocv192r3148b2savada4os6282ickr78 DeleteThis @4ax.com>,
Tom2000 <abuse DeleteThis @earthlink.net> wrote:

> On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:46:43 -0500, Kent Clarke <kentc DeleteThis @dot.org> wrote:
>
> >In article <kentc-5D7E33.17060415022006 DeleteThis @news.bellglobal.com>,
> > Kent Clarke <kentc DeleteThis @dot.org> wrote:
> >
> >> I was wondering if there was any difference in picture quality between
> >> extended zoom and post-cropping, so did a few test shots. Zoomed or
> >> cropped, the pics were pretty much identical. I think I did see slightly
> >> better detail on a bit of red pipe--less smearing--but only at 100-200%
> >> enlargement.
> >
> >Doh! The better image was from cropping in PS.
>
> I think the main advantage of in-camera cropping vs cropping during
> PP is that the viewfinder image is magnified to reflect the crop,
> showing you just what you'll get when you take the picture. It's
> Panasonic's way of telling you that you should really invest in a good
> tripod.

True, especially with manual focusing's enlarged inset. Might help in
composition, or knowing when to press the shutter if tracking a distant
critter.
I was trying out a TrekPod today. It helps keep the camera steady during
shutter press for sure, but when I lost the subject in the viewfinder,
it was impossible to find it again quickly. At least a tripod keeps the
camera in the approximate vicinity.
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