Guy, having just today received my ZR5100, I am looking for a lens cap to suit, as the function ring seems perfect for providing a bit more protection for the "lens barrier".
I've never bothered, I keep the camera safe by putting it in a small belt pouch, roomy enough that the front does not push on the lens barrier. Maybe some tupperware lid may fit, check kitchen shops for can top covers as well.
I'm certainly interested in seeing how useful the zoom enhancements are: 380mm seems rather ambitious!
No, it's a 19-95mm equivalent lens and is best kept in that range. Doubling to 190mm equivalent is possible but really after that it all goes more downhill rather quickly.
I bought it purely because of the wide angle end. Tele shots, well, that's my wife's job to catch with her ZR850. But "serious " trips I would have M4/3 gear anyway so better tele possible with that.
No deliberate side-by-side tests with the M4/3 but the video is rather good, usually walking video gives wobbly effects but it seems to use a combination of lens and digital stabilisation to even out bumps when walking. It doesn't correct for roll in the video, so then that's a job for the M4/3 which does do roll correction properly.
On my ZR800 I use time lapse at 2fps to get a sequence of shots from tourist bus/taxi windows in strange cities, that (with the aid of Google's Street View) allows me to trace our route back to places that seem to be worth a longer visit: a modern version of Hansel & Gretels' breadcrumbs. With a wider lens, the ZR5100 might fill that role better.
For me that would be way too many shots to wade through. Anyway we do self-planned trips and no buses, except local buses and trains as we need to get places we have already searched for and possibly street viewed from home.
With a 200 page pdf booklet, suggestions for getting a printed copy would be useful. Printing and binding an A6 copy of the ZR800 manual took me ages. A quicker option would be useful.
From earlier days I had guillotines and plastic binding punches so made my own A5 sized manual with a laser printer and put a plastic back on it. Nice to read but no way I'd carry it away of course. The PDFs are always carried in a little netbook or tablet so no extra weight.
With a white model, methods of reducing its visibility might also be needed!
White never a problem, makes me look like a tourist that can be ignored, which I am.
Mine has been slightly added to and now looks like this....
The label because I have two white Casios and when mostly hidden in their belt pouches they look the same at a quick glance, so I labelled their ends. Contemplating some stick-on grip idea mainly to keep my fingers away from the flash area as I have occasionally fouled the flash when using fill-in.
I use a slim wrist strap from some unknown camera as I never use neckstraps any more for any camera, no matter what size they are.
So far in use for various local trips with family the ZR5100 has proved adequate, Experimenting still, but I think setting the camera to -1 sharpen and then re-sharpen properly in post process appears to work better. But only at base ISO, as usual with small sensors it gets noisy as the ISO wanders up the range.
Mostly P mode so far and have front ring for focal length (rarely use that ring anyway) and the back dial for expsoure compensation by rotating, and left-right press for shifting the ISO, in an attempt to keep it low, otherwise auto ISO all the way and put up with the noise.
Front button for 1 shot selfies, fun with grandkids, but in real life only extremely rarely do a selfie or couplie.
The idea of a web page is still there but stalled due to stays of family here and now trying to catch up on neglected jobs. Still not sure in what way to make the pages, an intended "how to" method may be best as I discover or explore features.
Regards..... Guy
