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first review fz18

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Looks ok for good light low ISO. RAW will help...ISO 200 is um ok ish..400+ no thanks.

I do wish they would update the design though, even just one jog dial will help a ton for settings. And again we have the SD card in the battery compartment, better to move it away so you can change it on a tripod.
--



Clint is on holiday! Soon to return! ;-)
 
The battery/card problem on the Canon is not the same on a Panny because the the batteries don't fall out (clipped in) and the door does not have contacts needed for power. Now it still could cause a tripod problem on proximity of door opening to tripod thread but that is a completely different issue.
--
terry
http://tbanet.zenfolio.com/
 
--
------------------------------------------------------------
Gene
From Western PA.

Panasonic FZ 20 and FZ30
D50 and lenses.

http://imageevent.com/grc6



Just trying to learn and it's slow going!
 
Here's the ISO 800 color chart:



It looks to me like they've allowed noise, yes, but there's much less evidence of color bleeding in the red square, where it's been prominent in the past. So, details are still there, and images taken at this ISO would likely be recoverable pretty well with Noise Ninja or the like. Then you have RAW captures too, which should improve captures even more. I think it's a step forward, personally.
--
Just cruisin' ...



EffZeeThirty (Got the Gull), Trizzy, Foxy50
 
I agree John, it looks better than what we've seen in the past, but I donot know the NR settings used by the reviewer to come to these pictures (cannot read Japanese unfortunately).
--
Marius
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariusjh

 
John_Reed said:
Here's the ISO 800 color chart:



It looks to me like they've allowed noise, yes, but there's much less
evidence of color bleeding in the red square, where it's been
prominent in the past. So, details are still there, and images taken
at this ISO would likely be recoverable pretty well with Noise Ninja
or the like. Then you have RAW captures too, which should improve
captures even more. I think it's a step forward, personally.
--
Just cruisin' ...



EffZeeThirty (Got the Gull), Trizzy, Foxy50
Click to expand...
That looks to me like heavy NR again...sure with RAW its far easier to control the NR process...but aside from the lack of colour bleed..its venus III smudgemaster again..though maybe a little lighter.

That is what bothers me with pannie of late..its the destruction of details with processing in jpeg, that I just dont like. Trying to wipe out the grain effect is a mistake IMHO. That sample above has heavy NR on it...leading to artifacts.

Now this is low NR processing...

And very good to pp.....(of course not as good as RAW)









That is how to do NR processing..hands off...

RAW saves the day again for pannie..but really its time to put venus smudgemaster to bed and give users venus IV..with a choice of NR "off" or a low that really is very low indeed.

If the sample posted had low NR on it, we would see the grain noise...we dont, we just see a lot of it wiped out..and bits of it left. Far from ideal.

I have seen some good results from the FZ's in RAW at higher ISO, its just a shame their jpeg engine is so weak.
--



Clint is on holiday! Soon to return! ;-)
 
John_Reed said:
Here's the ISO 800 color chart:



It looks to me like they've allowed noise, yes, but there's much less
evidence of color bleeding in the red square, where it's been
prominent in the past. So, details are still there, and images taken
at this ISO would likely be recoverable pretty well with Noise Ninja
or the like. Then you have RAW captures too, which should improve
captures even more. I think it's a step forward, personally.
--
Click to expand...
I quickly shot my teddy bears with the FZ8 at 400 and 800 ISO, and it seems to me that the FZ18 has more fur detail and less color bleeding at 800 ISO (and even at 1250) than the FZ8 at 400 ISO.

Perhaps they have managed to tame at last Venus III?

Am.
 
The pics at 82,8 mm (= 504 mm) look more like digital zoom to me.
--
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5, Casio Exilim QV-R62, Minolta DiMage X20
 
I've got to say I'm impressed. The buildings are shot through a heap of atmospheric haze and you can see heat distortion, but they do appear as clean and sharp as I could hope. The Full zoom of the fruit, cicada and snake appear very sharp. Not digital zoom in the least. The snake pic is a tad over exposed and CA can be seen, but that's a tricky shot to pull off.

In some of the foliage shots I can see the NR creeping in in the shadows. I assume that all settings were at Default, as that's usually the norm unless it's stated somewhere. If that is the case then there should be 2 "notches" of NR below this. So room to play around wiith.

I was expecting worse than this,, and at this VERY early stage I think they look like an improvement over the FZ8, when compared to that FZ's early shots. We'll have to see what it does in the "real" world when Forum members get their sweating mitts on it! ;)

Mark
 
Well I only wonder because Panasonic didn't upgrade the FZ50 this time around. If you break one tradition, why not another?

OOOOrrrrrrrrr... can we get a firmware upgrade from Leica? Is it the same chip?
 
John Miles said:
Well I only wonder because Panasonic didn't upgrade the FZ50 this
time around. If you break one tradition, why not another?

OOOOrrrrrrrrr... can we get a firmware upgrade from Leica? Is it the
same chip?
Click to expand...
And I find it would be only fair to provide a firmware upgrade to the FZ8, if Venus III has taken such a good step forward. After all it was released only 4-5 months ago, and is not discontinued.

Any idea to whom one should write at Panny's? (did they ever release a software upgrade?)

Am.
 
I like the fact that there is no more red smudging :D yay
--
Cloverdale, B.C., Canada
Panasonic Lumix FZ50, Pentax *ist D
http://joesiv.smugmug.com
 
Barry Fitzgerald said:
John_Reed said:
Here's the ISO 800 color chart:



It looks to me like they've allowed noise, yes, but there's much less
evidence of color bleeding in the red square, where it's been
prominent in the past. So, details are still there, and images taken
at this ISO would likely be recoverable pretty well with Noise Ninja
or the like. Then you have RAW captures too, which should improve
captures even more. I think it's a step forward, personally.
--
Just cruisin' ...



EffZeeThirty (Got the Gull), Trizzy, Foxy50
Click to expand...
That looks to me like heavy NR again...sure with RAW its far easier
to control the NR process...but aside from the lack of colour
bleed..its venus III smudgemaster again..though maybe a little
lighter.

That is what bothers me with pannie of late..its the destruction of
details with processing in jpeg, that I just dont like. Trying to
wipe out the grain effect is a mistake IMHO. That sample above has
heavy NR on it...leading to artifacts.

Now this is low NR processing...

And very good to pp.....(of course not as good as RAW)









That is how to do NR processing..hands off...

RAW saves the day again for pannie..but really its time to put venus
smudgemaster to bed and give users venus IV..with a choice of NR
"off" or a low that really is very low indeed.

If the sample posted had low NR on it, we would see the grain
noise...we dont, we just see a lot of it wiped out..and bits of it
left. Far from ideal.

I have seen some good results from the FZ's in RAW at higher ISO, its
just a shame their jpeg engine is so weak.
--



Clint is on holiday! Soon to return! ;-)
Click to expand...
What is the samsung like in low light?

--
Kind Rgds

Heath

(The Amateur amateur in training)
Latest addition the amazing Finepix F30
LX1(the new doorstop)
FZ30
S7000(in sons hands now(sometimes))
Tcon17
Raynox DCR 150 & DCR 250 Mcon40
Nikon SB24+omnibounce
Tripod
CamCane



Pull the other one, it's got bells on....
 
Now these are a sight to sore eyes - I was prepared for another fiasco...
I appreciate best the sharpness, corner to corner, in the wider shots.

I see a dimminutive amount of CA in problem areas. It seems PF (albeit on a hazy day) is nonexistent, although I'd be happier to see wide shots in full sunshine...
Can't discern any of the problems so prominent in the competitors.
There's a big difference in IQ between these and the China Wall series.

I guess a good chef can, after all, brew a tastier dish using the same ingredients with which lesser cooks falter...

--
djotai

Gallery : http://www.flickr.com/photos/djotai/
 
Copusmaximus said:
What is the samsung like in low light?

--
Kind Rgds

Heath
Click to expand...
Well exif is in images..and they were taken at realistic slower shutter speeds..not bright lights.

With lots of shadows of course...you lose something...but to my eyes at least its the best 1/2.5" ccd I have seen to date..

Aka ISO 1600 is really usable..and its up to you to pick if and what NR you want to do. Or just b&w it for some nice grain.

It blows my fz-5 away..no question..bar of course the fact its a compact.

--



Clint is on holiday! Soon to return! ;-)
 
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