For me, a FZ150 Bonus

I like to take indoor photos of my grandchildren. They provide a challenge in that they are constantly moving.

Enter the FZ150 with the FL-50 flash. Since the FZ150 is a between-the-lens camera, shutter speed can be set really high. Set it to shutter priority @ 1/2000 and you'll get frozen motion at ISO 100. I'm looking forward to our weekend babysitting two of the four grandchildren.

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Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28, FZ150

I gather from Panasonic that it's not.

The flash gun fires multiple high speed flashes to allow high shutter speed on the camera.

"An FP TTL AUTO mode that repeatedly emits high-speed FP flashes makes it possible to use the flash even at fast shutter speeds"
( http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/compact/fz150/optional_accessories.html )

The camera uses a combination of physical shutter and sensor based electronic shutter.

DougB said:

I like to take indoor photos of my grandchildren. They provide a challenge in that they are constantly moving.

Enter the FZ150 with the FL-50 flash. Since the FZ150 is a between-the-lens camera, shutter speed can be set really high. Set it to shutter priority @ 1/2000 and you'll get frozen motion at ISO 100. I'm looking forward to our weekend babysitting two of the four grandchildren.

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28, FZ150

Click to expand...

That is what I thought, but this is a between the lens shutter. Focal plane shutters need the multiple flashes which is true with my Olympus e-620, but the FZ150 with the between the lens shutter flashes once. How do I know this? The FL-50's readout tells me so.

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

There's some cross info then, the Pana site says what I quoted..

I'd be interested in fidning out for sure from a Pana techy!

DougB said:

That is what I thought, but this is a between the lens shutter. Focal plane shutters need the multiple flashes which is true with my Olympus e-620, but the FZ150 with the between the lens shutter flashes once. How do I know this? The FL-50's readout tells me so.

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

Click to expand...

When I've used the FL50 on my E-620 set @ 1/320 shutter priority, the flash readout shows FP as the flash mode. The FP mode is unavailable with the Panasonic.

I shot several indoor photos with 1/2000 second shutter priority both with the built-in flash and the FL50. Works great.

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Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

FP is focal plane

For a film camera that's right level with the film itself - for a sensor camera it's the sensor level shutter, either mechanical or electronic.

There's just too much conflicting info and reports/reviews.

I even wrote an email to Panasonic asking them about the flash sync speeds and shutter type - it was ignored.

DougB said:

When I've used the FL50 on my E-620 set @ 1/320 shutter priority, the flash readout shows FP as the flash mode. The FP mode is unavailable with the Panasonic.

I shot several indoor photos with 1/2000 second shutter priority both with the built-in flash and the FL50. Works great.

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

Click to expand...

Be that as it may, my experiment tells me that the FZ150 has a between-the-lens shutter or equivalent. My E-60 is a focal plane shutter, so any shutter speed 1/250 and above, only a portion of the sensor is being exposed so the multiple flashes are needed. As far as I can tell, the FZ150 needs only one flash.

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Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

I don't mean to be contentious, but is it really a bonus?

I would think you can get the fast action freezing you desire, but you may not really need to force the 1/2000 shutter speed....with a flash. I would think 1/320 or maybe even 1/160 may be plenty, but fortunately, you should not even have to worry about the synch speed, since the camera will take care of the details.

I think that with a focal plane shutter camera, at say 1/160, at ISO 100, with a similar flash, you should get similar "frozen" action results.

What I mean is that the flash duration of the FL 50 is rated from 1/20000 to 1/500 (except in FP mode). Since you are not using a focal plane shutter, isn't the flash duration the main determining factor in "freezing" the image, and not the shutter duration? Except in the most extreme cases, 1/500 ought to be fast enough to freeze most kid related action.

It is true that the leaf shutter in the FZ150 is a bonus in that it does not have the slow 1/160 or thereabouts limitation of focal plane shutters (whatever the speed is required to have the curtains fully open), but in a child photography situation as you describe, I would think that the main flash emission duration period is the determining factor in capturing the action, and not shutter speed. Indeed, at too high a shutter speed, let's say 1/4000 or higher, there may not be enough time for the FL 50 to get its flash emission to full power, and thus achieve a sufficient exposure...fortunately, we don't have to worry about this, since the FZ150 does not go any higher than 1/2000 for stills.

To my understanding, the only real reason FP mode exists is so that you can get daylight fill flash with focal plane cameras when the ambient light is so high that the FP synch speed is too slow, an will result in an overexposed shot, or of course, you want to use a larger aperture for lower depth of field, which will result in an overexposed shot unless you increase your shutter speed.

Oh, I'm NOT calling you a liar, I'm expressing a desire for more definite info from Pana.

DougB said:

Be that as it may, my experiment tells me that the FZ150 has a between-the-lens shutter or equivalent. My E-60 is a focal plane shutter, so any shutter speed 1/250 and above, only a portion of the sensor is being exposed so the multiple flashes are needed. As far as I can tell, the FZ150 needs only one flash.

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

Click to expand...

Besides freezing action, faster shutter speeds indoors decreases mixed lighting problems ..... most of the light will be from the flash.
--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ28

Enter the FZ150 with the FL-50 flash....

I have an FL-40--cost me some big bucks back then and apparently it doesn't fit the newer cameras. Any suggestions for a smaller, sub $200 flash for this camera?

Foxhills said:

Enter the FZ150 with the FL-50 flash....

I have an FL-40--cost me some big bucks back then and apparently it doesn't fit the newer cameras. Any suggestions for a smaller, sub $200 flash for this camera?

Click to expand...

I'm happy with the Metz AF50-1 and it comes in under $200.

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Nigel

I agree. I have the Metz 50 AF-1 as well and it works great...fast recycle..good power...great for bouncing and I get consistently good exposures.

Hi,

I'm confused. Is the FL40 a Panasonic or Olympus flash? If so why won't it fit? I thought they were all the same.
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Regards,
Bob(Ma.USA)

Check out this info
http://photo.net/digital-camera-forum/00EcNr

--
Doug Burgess

Olympus E-620, 14-54mm, 50mm F2, FL-50, 50-300mm and the 2100 UZI
Panasonic FZ-150