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TZ3 in bright, overhead sun (pix)

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gail

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More test photos.

The sun was bright today; hardly a cloud in the sky to provide a bit of relief from the high contrast; photos taken when the sun was almost overhead, certainly not the best time of day to shoot.

The challenge was not only the light but exposing correctly. It was so bright I could hardly see the LCD even with anti-glare film applied. I had to use the Power LCD, not the best when trying to judge exposure and look for clipped highlights.

The majority of shots were taken at -2/3 Exposure Compensation; Natural Mode. What surprised me is that there were very few blown highlights in areas where I most expected them. Check the white areas.









The TZ3 is the first camera I've ever owned that doesn't have a viewfinder. I'm still having a bit of a difficult time holding a small camera steady without the aid of a viewfinder. Hate to see what these photos would look like without IS.

It is a pure joy using the TZ3 focal range. Images can be soft but most sharpen nicely.

A few more photos here:

http://www.pbase.com/gailb/tz3sfl

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700 & S2
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
Gail,

I love the photos. What made you use a -2/3 exposure? The colors are great. I have a Tizzy and I just don't play enough with it. I have been learning so much since the TZ3 came out.
Thanks for the shots,
Judi
 
I think this camera will be an ideal travel camera, i.e., one camera you can take along to do almost everything a tourist would need a camera for. Your shots exemplify that, with decent exposure and good colors throughout. Thanks for posting.
--
Just cruisin' ...



EffZeeThirty (Got the Gull), Tizzy, Foxy50
 
gail said:
More test photos.

The challenge was not only the light but exposing correctly. It was
so bright I could hardly see the LCD even with anti-glare film
applied. I had to use the Power LCD, not the best when trying to
judge exposure and look for clipped highlights.
Click to expand...
Member said:
The TZ3 is the first camera I've ever owned that doesn't have a
viewfinder. I'm still having a bit of a difficult time holding a
small camera steady without the aid of a viewfinder. Hate to see
what these photos would look like without IS.
Click to expand...
Gail,

Thanks for the photos. Please excuse my obsession with the LCD performance, but can you clarify that when you had difficulty seeing it and moved up to 'Power LCD' it performed better/much better/same?

Like you I am used to an OVF, and a bit weary of LCD only DC's.

Thanks,

Nick
 
Judi Moore said:
What made you use a -2/3 exposure?
Click to expand...
I've found it to be the best setting when taking outside photos in good light. Found this to be true with most every digital camera I've owned. I change the setting as necessary, of course, but generally I keep my camera set to -2/3 at all times.
Judi Moore said:
Tizzy and I just don't play enough with it.
Click to expand...
You'd be surprised what a little playing will do. At least it helps me become more familiar with my camera and learn what settings may work "best" for a given scene.

It's been a long time since I use bracketing, but the TZ3 has a good, responsive bracketing mode.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700 & S2
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
can you clarify that when you had difficulty
NIK11 said:
seeing it and moved up to 'Power LCD' it performed better/much
better/same?
Click to expand...
The Power LCD works much better.

It is, however, more difficult to judge proper exposure if you tend to rely on the LDC like I do for watching exposure changes as you move the camera around a scene.

For outside shots like the examples, I know pretty much what settings I should use and where I should lock exposure. That, and a little luck, works well.

I took a few bracketed photos but most were single shots. The TZ3 also has a live histogram, so using it could prove particularly useful in bright sun. Haven't tried it yet.

I'd be lying, though, if I didn't say that there have been a few times that it was very difficult to view the LCD. There will be times you long for a viewfinder, even if it is mediocre like on my SD700.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700 & S2
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
Hi Gail. Great photos you have here, specially considering the weather conditions. Keep posting and giving us tips which always proved to be very useful. On my yesterday post I could, finally, get the EXIF data. It was you that called my attention to the fact that my photos didn't have those data. Thanks for that.
Regards,
Joao
 
Does anyone think it makes any difference as to how you hold the camera in front of them?

Many people seem to stick the camera out quite a way from their face at arm's length. The manual seems to suggest holding the camera close to your body, elbows against the body, with the screen only inches from your face. It seems to me that this hold would minimise the effect of the sun / bright light on the LCD. It would certainly help to get a rock solid pose.
 
Lots of people can't focus on something that is only a few inches away. That why they have to hold the camera out further from their body. If you are lucky to have such close focus vision, then a long brimmed cap, such as a baseball cap, will keep the sun off of the LCD viewfinder.
--
geeno
effzee 5 and 30
 
Agreed. I am one of the 'lucky' ones with glasses where the reading lens would leave the screen about 9 inches from my glasses, enough then I would have thought to help keep the sun off the LCD, as you say especially if used wearing a cap.

I'm asking because I'm thinking of getting a TZ3 for my wife, who's short-sighted but won't wear her glasses out of the house except as a last resort. However ... as a boomerang present the camera would be very handy for me to use on many occasions, instead of my FZ30, wouldn't it? Ha! Ha!

We have no previous experience of LCD-only digital cameras, and in my wife's case she has never used any digital camera before at all. The lack of a viewfinder is a bit off-putting, but that's the way they are now, and the TZ3's LCD with its 3" diagonal appears to be as good as they come.
 
Zoomshooter said:
However ... as a boomerang present the camera would
be very handy for me to use on many occasions, instead of my FZ30,
wouldn't it? Ha! Ha!
Click to expand...
Hmmmm, sound like she'll never "see" it! :-)
Zoomshooter said:
The lack of a viewfinder is a bit off-putting, but that's the way
they are now, and the TZ3's LCD with its 3" diagonal appears to be
as good as they come.
Click to expand...
I swore I'd never buy a camera without a viewfinder and, if I ever have a choice again, I won't. But I didn't have a choice this time; I wanted a digital camera with the zoom range and compactness of the TZ3.

Until I get a better handle on framing shots with the LCD, I'm going to have to live with having some slightly blurry images. But I almost never take just one photo of a subject anyway.

The more I use the TZ3, the more I like it.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700 & S2
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
gail said:
Until I get a better handle on framing shots with the LCD, I'm
going to have to live with having some slightly blurry images. But
I almost never take just one photo of a subject anyway.

The more I use the TZ3, the more I like it.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that the 'slightly blurry images' are something to do with the fact that you're viewing via the LCD?
 
Zoomshooter said:
Are you saying that the 'slightly blurry images' are something to
do with the fact that you're viewing via the LCD?
Click to expand...
Yes, coupled with the fact that I probably need to depress the shutter release button more smoothly, particularly when using 6-10X zoom.

I want to make very clear that the majority of images DO NOT have that slight blur. It's simply a matter of developing a new technique for a new generation of cameras. Though, as has been said, there is no progress without change but change isn't necessarily progress.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Panasonic TZ3, Canon SD700 & S2
http://www.digicamhelp.com/digital-camera-blogs/index.htm
 
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