Trouble with FZ30 photos (pix)

Hi, I bought an FZ30 this week and have had nothing but trouble with the images I am getting from it. Most of them appear to have a gray overcast, even under different settings, aperatures and shutter speeds.

Previously I have, very happily, worked with my FZ20 for over 6 months. If you would like to get an idea of my skills with that camera, please visit my gallery:

http://katerk.smugmug.com/

OK, so that said, moving to the FZ30 should not have been too much of a reach. Or at least that's what I thought. To get a fair evaluation of my new camera, I left everything on its default settings and started in P-mode. I went to a local garden and park where I have taken many pictures and know the light and conditions very well.

I could tell right away that I wasn't getting the color and quality that I did with the FZ20: (NO post-processing on any of these images)



ISO80, F5.6, S1/125

The images I'm getting are dull, noisy, with a grayish overcast to most of them.

Here's a few more at the standard settings, then I'll tell you what I tried to overcome this:



ISO100, F4.0, S1/200

After a number of P-mode shots, I switched to Aperature mode:



ISO100, F3.7, S1/80.

So after loading these up on my laptop and seeing the VERY disappointing results, I reset the camera to the same settings that have worked for me on the FZ20. Low contrast, high sharpening, low saturation, low noise reduction. Didn't work. Here are the examples from that day's shooting:



ISO80, F5.6, S1/200 -- Note, purple fringing on the trees?

This rose should have pink & cream tones throughout:



ISO100, F4.0, S1/1300

Also, studying this shot, I think I am seeing vignetting and this is at 92mm:



ISO100, F3.2, S1/500

Interior shot:



ISO200, F3.6, S1/25

So, HELP! Did I get a lemon? At this point, I have no choice but to return the camera. I love using it but won't waste my time and money on images of such poor quality.

Thanks.

-- Kate

it all looks like improper color balance.

which many of us are having a bit of a problem figuring out. its not just you.

have you tried manual WB off of a white card?

--
bryan, http://www.grateful.net , http://www.flickr.com/photos/linux-works
just one man beneath the sky, just two ears, just two eyes -PF

I have just said the same thing in another thread.

There is just no bite to them in fact yours look a bit worse than mine.

Is it perhaps quality control in manufacture?

Ralph.

Thanks for reminding me, you bet I tried manual white balance and the results are only marginally better:



Thanks, Kate.

Hi Ralph, it very well could be. There are so many others who are very pleased with their cameras.

I think we were writing and posting at the same time.

-- Kate

Try an exposure bias of +1/3. I shoot AP at ISO 80, contrast std, sharpness high, saturation std. noise low.







--
If you have time, visit http://lovelife.smugmug.com/

It's true the pictures have no pop and are kind of lackluster. On the other hand, I've had days when I couldn't take a good picture with my best camera. Sometimes it's the lighting, sometimes it's your mood, sometimes it's the subject. Everything has to work together. The camera can't make every picture pop!

I can tell that the lighting just isn't right for some of your pictures. Using a historgram tool you can see that the dyamanic range is being compressed because of flat lighting. Try using a higher contrast seting on those "flat" lighting days. Will only help a little though.

I downloaded your picture

http://katerk.smugmug.com/gallery/780010/1/34563184/Large

The historgram was nice and juicky with lots of information at the dark and light areas. Big difference between it and your other posted pictures, but again, this usually isn't a camera problem with a lighting problem.

Tell you what - why don't you turn on the histogram feature on and get used to it, and see if it helps your settings and with picture out the right lighting.

Try taking pictures with both cameras side by side and post them both.

Hi Kate RK after all the hype about the FZ30 to my eyes these pictures appear to be no better than those produced by any digital pocket camera made for the mass market,they look flat and totally lacking in detail and i wont be swapping my FZ20 anytime soon.This is no reflection on your known ability.

Eddie

I have NOT noticed this issue with mine. I use auto WB & auto ISO, most often P mode, generally -EV bias (above shot at -.66 EV under store lighting, auto WB) I think when I took the clown shot all my camera settings for NR, etc., were at default values. I used to use "warm" settings for color in the FZ15, but haven't felt the need with the FZ30.
--
Just let a smile be your umbrella!

John Reed

EffZeeOneVeeTwo, EffZeeFifteen; EffZeeThirty

You seem disappointed Kate .... perhaps its

The flat lighting
The subject material
The WB a bit off
Camera settings

Shoot FZ20/FZ30 side by side on a few subjects for comparo...

Most people seem more than happy with the FZ30.

LoveLifes portrait of the Street Clown is superb..... like DSLR quality

of course the lighting is very bright so it really Pops and it has bright colors.

John

--
FZ1v2

Some folks seem to think that Panasonic may have difficulties with "the first batch" of cameras. Others think maybe it is a quality control issue at a different location (assembly area).

Thanks much

Yes, I do use the lens hood. I might try your settings but the 1st set of pictures were all standard settings, all ISO 80 0r 100. Very much like you suggested.

Thanks,

Kate

... we've had beautiful weather here for several weeks. Same place, taken on 9/6/05 below. This picture shows the lighting very similar to what it was when I took the FZ30 pix. Note the washed out blue skies in several of those as compared to the one from the FZ20 below:



-- Kate

Thanks, Eddie. This time I don't think it was caused by the "idiot behind the camera".

But perhaps as some have suggested, it is a bad production run of the FZ30. Others are getting good pix from it.

-- Kate

I was so confused by people saying they are getting great pix from this camera. But now you know why I'm so unhappy with the IQ. I love the ergonomics of it and the new features.

But this one's going back.

-- Kate

Could you place a URL/link to one of these PIC in the original form? I would like to examine the full size image and the entire EXIF.

====================
johnimage

G5SS00714 R

-- Kate

Here is a link to the original of the first picture I took with the camera. All default settings from the manufacturer.

If anyone's on dial-up, this is a 4 MG file.

-- Kate

http://katerk.smugmug.com/photos/37214700-O.jpg

... that's just it, the lighting was good and the weather beautiful. It was late afternoon, but the sky was blue, not washed out like it looks in these pictures. I specifically chose this location because I know it so well.

-- Kate

The first pic is way undersaturated, especially compared to the FZ20 similar pic you posted. It also has a cyan bias, where the 20's has a yellow bias.

I boosted saturation a whopping 40% and lowered the cyan saturation a bit, and it looks closer to the 20's pic after a levels adjustment, but they weren't under exactly the same conditions and still looked different.

You could try setting saturation to high but you shouldn't need to...there is definitely something wrong here. Did you go into the menu and do a reset? I don't know what it would be, but it's possible someone set something in the store when looking at the camera and left it and repacked the camera for sale.

It doesn't even look right for a bright sunny day; there should be more contrast between shadow and highlight.

The 20 oversaturates by default so it probably seems even worse than it is, but if that's a sunny day pic and the settings are reset to default, something's wrong with the camera.
--
Gary
Photo albums: http://www.pbase.com/roberthouse