FZ200: Any Regrets?

I've been looking for a camera to travel with; one that allows about 24mm to 300mm zoom range without changing lenses, RAW and an optical viewfinder of some sort (anything so I don't have to use the LCD screen for my photography).  I'd been considering the Sony NEX6/7 with an 18-200mm lens, but the DPR review got me to consider the FZ200. I shoot Canon DSLRs for most of my photography, but when I travel with family and don't want to carry a huge camera bag, I have an LX3 and am happy with the image quality.  I worry; however, that there were a lot of negative comments about the FZ200 sensor and noise after DPR gave the camera its gold rating. No stores near me sell the FZ200, so I can't try it without buying it and I don't like to return things unless they are defective.  So, bottom line is, are most buyers happy with their FZ200? Can a DSLR user find happiness with a super zoom bridge camera like this?

I did.

I am happy as a clam with my FZ200. It is a great complement to my Nikon D7000 -- which spends more time on the shelf, since the FZ200 is so great, IMHO.

Do check out Graham Houghton's wonderful series on the FZ150 and FZ200 on YouTube (GHough12)

Me too, ive been shooting dslr for 6 years and very happy with my fz150.

cheers don

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another year has gone, just cleared my 200 gallery images will start all over again, thanks to everyone that took the time to look.

I downsized from Nikon SLRs to Micro 4/3 cameras, of which I still have two, and several lenses for them. However, I've belatedly come to realize that I really dislike changing lenses, and so I find the FZ200 a real comfort. I keep talking to myself about selling off my m43 gear, but I'm finding it hard to do that, even though it stays at home 95% of the time.

Yes, images from the FZ200 are, compared to current SLRs, even mid-range ones, noisy. But whether that's a problem depends a whole lot on what you want to do. It's not for wedding photography. It's not for top-line landscapes for printing large for sale. Like most contrast detect AF cameras, it's not well-suited to sports photography. But it's still well-suited for a lot of other things, things that pretty well cover most of what I want to do.

Will it satisfy your wishes and needs,? Only you can tell. Like you, I dislike returning non-defective items, but I've done it twice, I believe, over the years, and I've survived the self-generated embarrassment. But be aware that some sellers have a limit on how many shutter clicks they'll tolerate under their return policy. If you are going to try before you finally buy, you'd do well to look into that aspect of policy. For example, B&H (my favorite seller in the whole known world), requires:

• Items with shutter counters must show less than 200 exposures.

I'm sure you know that an SLR with 24-600mm @ f:2.8, single lens or not, is going to set one back a goodly sum of money. I hope you find the FZ200 to your liking. It's a truly versatile tool.

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www.pbase.com/morepix

Used my FZ200 during my month long travel to Bali then China in October.

The camera handle the bright tropical light and the cloudy sky with equal aplomb!

Bring extra battery!!! (^_^)

Agree with Don regarding the FZ150. I'm keeping it until I see a need to update and for me there wasn't a need to get the newer model. But, if I didn't have one, I'd certainly try the FZ200. If you spend some time looking at the hundreds of FZ200 photos posted here and at review sites, that will help you to decide if you like the results. Also, you have to decide if your expectations are reasonable considering the small size of the sensor. Afterall, Panasonic does a nice job in getting a lot out of its sensor, but it's not comparable to a DSLR. There are always tradeoffs.

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"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." (A.A. Milne)

Certainly there is noise when you push the ISO up but this must be considered in context with the sensor size, constant F2 and x24 zoom.  Ever hand held a SLR with a 600mm on the end!

All the reviews will mention the presence of noise in the higher ISO's but they do not see it as a problem... nor do I... some forum negative posts are made from extreme pixel peeping and without knowledge and then you have of course the 'Trolls'...

I certainly am..

I've had mine about a 6  weeksnow coming from a canon and 4 lenses, largest was a 300 with IS.  The large carry bag and constant lens switching whilst 'on tour' became a pain.  Within 2 weeks of getting the FZ200 , the fun was back in photography, results are good albeit with an enjoyable longish learning curve.  It was an easy decision to put all my old camera & gear on Ebay.. They sold quickly and I have never looked back..

The camera is virtually always with me even for general walks and cycle day tours... Never happened with my old stuff...

Your mileage may differ...

Kind Regards
Chris

Had mine for 3 months now, have shot close to 8000 shots. Very happy. Check out my Flickr Gallery for samples, also my post earlier today about the hockey arena and read my post near the bottom.

Cheers,

Rudy

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The FZ200 - One step closer to bridging the gap.
Flickr photo gallery

Here's the simple logic

1) To get rid of all your lenses, and even those you still haven't got yet cause you can't afford them, you need a bridge camera with a super-zoom lens (25mm to 600m).

2) To put a super-zoom lens in a camera that is still affordable and doesn't weight 12 pounds, you must use a small sensor.

3) To use a small sensor means you will get noise (it's irrelevant whether one bridge camera has 40% more noise at such-and-such ISO... they all have noise that becomes visible long before we want i to).

4) To remove noise get a 3rd-party denoiser (Topaz or Neat Image). This easily gets you beautifully clean images shot at ISO 100-400, still quite clean at ISO 800, and still quite acceptable at ISO 1600.

Of course, you'll still need to play with the camera a fair bit to learn how to make it do best what you want it to, but once you get comfortable you can get some pretty nice results in a wide variety of shooting conditions.

Cheers,

Rudy

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The FZ200 - One step closer to bridging the gap.
Flickr photo gallery

Plus with a lens like on the FZ200, f2.8 all the way to 600mm you can keep the ISO low enough to make it very useful in just about all situations.  Its pretty sweet! IMHO

I am.

I've never been one so I wouldn't be able to say from personal experience but based on comments on this forum I'd say yes.

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Florida

Excellent point Ron, I forgot to include that in my brilliant logic (ha ha), but that actually is a VERY important consideration. With a max constant aperture of f 2.8 the ISO stays much lower over a wide range of shooting conditions than it's competitors. The pixel peepers keep telling us that Canon's images are cleaner at higher ISOs, yet because it's lens is so much slower than the FZ200's the ISO is always up there around 800 or so when the lens is zoomed out, except under full sun conditions.

All of the low-light indoor hockey arena shots I posted today were shot at ISO 1600 and f 2.8 with a minimum shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, which is amazing, and they all turned out very nicely. There are not too many other bridge cameras on the market (that I know of) that can do that.

Rudy

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The FZ200 - One step closer to bridging the gap.
Flickr photo gallery

CameraCarl - the debate on this camera has played out in this forum.  Read and you'll see what people have done/decided and learned.

Good luck!!

if you are happy with the lx3 image quality, the fz200 will probably serve on that score. i own the lx3, but found it a bit too noisy and soon ended up with the dlux4, which is okay, but i did not end up taking it everywhere!. i don't have the fz200 (i ended up going off in another direction with cameras), but it was on my list because it's a compact, low light option with a great zoom range and has gotten good reviews. i don't think you can lose - and the price has dropped to $549.

I have absolutely no regrets about the FZ200. It is by far the most fun and versatile camera I have owned. The main reason is that there is practically no picture opportunity that I feel I can't, at least, attempt with this camera and get usable results. This is because there is so many ways to take a picture. You can let the camera make all the decisions for you for decent results or you can take full control of everything and get very high quality shots even with the small sensor. For example, higher resolution shots are easy when you stitch together multiple shots and use HDR techniques. The swivel LCD and large depth of field from the small sensor is great for this.  Another technique I experimented with tonight uses image stacking to reduce image noise. The picture below was taken at ISO 1600, handheld, at 12fps in Raw. I used the stacking option in PS CS6 which reduced image noise and then I finished off the image in Noise Ninja. The final image looks like it was shot at ISO 200. This camera is so easy to carry around and use for everyday shots but also can be very capable when it comes to capturing quality images that can rival higher end cameras.

Tim



10 ISO 1600 Raw files processed with ACR, images stacked in PS CS6, and finished in Noise Ninja

No regrets at all. I have a Canon 7D with multiple L lenses. Haven't used it in over a month since I got the FZ200. I went to use the Canon yesterday and was surprised at the weight - had forgotten how much the 7D and 70-300 lens weighed. The FZ200 is now my go to camera but I would not get rid of my DSLR. There is a place for both. Each camera has its strengths and weaknesses.  For fast sports action nothing (in my opinion) beats a good DSLR, for wedding/event photography use a DSLR. For a good all around camera, light weight, long zoom, great IS, great movie mode it is hard to beat the FZ200 but it has its limitations. The FZ200 does have noise - especially above ISO 400 but the constant F2.8 aperture helps keep the ISO low.

Would I buy it again - YES.

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Bert D