what am i doing wrong?

Ramblin · Mar 15, 2004

Is it on manual focus? Switch on the side of the lens?

Karen 5 said:
Karen 5 said:

You are either too close to your subject in max telephoto, or not
half pressing correctly.

Click to expand...

entirely possible on both.

Karen 5 said:

As someone else said, the diopter is only
for people with impaired vision, IF it's needed.

Click to expand...

yes, i know that..should have never brought it up. made the rest
of what i said more confusing.

Karen 5 said:

definitely take a closer look at the manual.

Click to expand...

so far i can't make heads or tails of the manual. but had the
same prob with the S400 manual for a while, now it seems clear as a
bell. However..the S400 allowed me to pretty much bypass the
manual and keep playing with the settings while shooting. it was
very "learner-friendly". so i'd make progress just by shooting,
then gradually go back to the manual to refine. and so it went.

Karen 5 said:

And if you're trying
to shoot in low light, that could also be a factor......what type
of lighting are you in?

Click to expand...

Koo, much brighter than i had last night. full mid-day sun with
patio doors wide open, windows open. got better shots last night
in very low light.

Karen

--
Olympus C5050, Panasonic FZ1, FZ10K, Oly Tcon 1.7
http://www.pbase.com/ramblin_mo/galleries

bjames · Mar 15, 2004

Karen 5 said:
Karen

You can use zoom on macro but when shooting 1 1/2 " from subject you will not need to use zoom. You must be further away from subject for zoom to work effectively. Try macro

setting, move back 12" from subject , then zoom in on subject, focus lock and shoot.
Bill

http://bjames.smugmug.com

amerac · Mar 15, 2004

You have a way of framing questions and responding to replies that bears very fruitful information in terms we lay people can easily underrstand. I am printing off this thread for my own use when I get the FX10. I am a beneficiary of your learning process and the generosity of the forum folk. I will continue to follow yoiur progress with interest!

Regards,
Jane
Lurking AMIS

Karen 5 · Mar 15, 2004

bjames said:
You can use zoom on macro but when shooting 1 1/2 " from subject
you will not need to use zoom. You must be further away from
subject for zoom to work effectively. Try macro
setting, move back 12" from subject , then zoom in on subject,
focus lock and shoot.

will do Bill. btw, been meaning to ask about this. it's from Jeff's review at dcresource, any comments?

"One annoyance about macro mode: you can only select it as an item on the mode dial. This may not sound like a big deal, but it also means that you can't take a macro shot while in A/S/M mode. I ran into this myself when taking the above shot, which I couldn't take in macro mode, because the slowest shutter speed available is 1/2 second.

So here's what I had to do to take a macro shot in A/S/M mode. First, I went into macro mode, had the camera lock the focus. I then flipped the focus switch to MF, and moved back to A/S/M mode. Another thing you can do is to just adjust the focus yourself while in A/S/M mode."

Karen 5 · Mar 15, 2004

amerac said:
You have a way of framing questions and responding to replies that
bears very fruitful information in terms we lay people can easily
underrstand. I am printing off this thread for my own use when I
get the FX10. I am a beneficiary of your learning process and the
generosity of the forum folk. I will continue to follow yoiur
progress with interest!

:

: thanks Jane, glad my floundering hysteria is helpful to others

hope i'm still hanging in by the time you get one. what i really need is to have someone verbally walk me thru the functions, etc. that's how i learn best, not instruction manuals..well, least not till i'm 'over the hump'.

so you've decided on the FZ10 for sure?

Jan in CA · Mar 15, 2004

I use manual (ASM) all the time now and you don't need to use macro because you can get REALLY close w/o it in manual! I've actually had the lens touching a flower and still focus! Awesome camera!!

--
Jan in CA

http://purrcat1.smugmug.com/Photography

Panasonic DMC-FZ10
Olympus C -21OO UZ

jack scholl · Mar 15, 2004

Karen,

As a new FZ10 owner I relate to your alarms. My best suggestion is to have a very large merlot, read the manual from front to back with camera in hand, and then have another merlot and do your next favorite thing. The next day try again. . things will be fine.

It is not a perfect digicam. . but it does things that short of $2-3000 in a DSLR with a hernia attached, nothing can compare!
Jack
http://www.pbase.com/jrs40

Karen 5 said:
this camera seems to have almost no ability to auto-focus. when i
zoom in on anything it remains blurry. unless i mess around
with diopter, then manual (such as manual is)..by then the shot is
gone, unless it's a fixed object.

[disclaimer, in no way have i even semi-grasped the manual, nor do
i find the camera particularly intuitive, but for pete's sake, i'm
expecting some help with auto-focus in P mode]

Karen

Joanne168847 · Mar 15, 2004

Karen 5 said:
thank you Mary! it's humiliating to come online babbling about
this stuff..but it's that or throw it out the window. don't know
why i'm so 'extreme' around techno stuff. guess cause i have
little (no) ability in that area and it frustrates/scares me. like
sitting in algebra class with my brain clouding over

Believe me Karen, you're not alone... gotta tell a funny TRUE story here... went to visit some friends in NC a couple of years ago. They'd just gotten their first computer. She was so upset, it didn't work, nothing would show on the screen. Was getting ready to pack it up for return but figured she'd wait for me to take a look. I sat down, booted up the computer, turned on the monitor... "Hey, what did you just do?" "I turned on the monitor."

Yep, you guessed it :-D

Ramblin · Mar 15, 2004

1) Trying to use 12x zoom at 4 feet wondering why it wouldn't work
2) Damn thing won't focus - manual focus was left on.
--
Olympus C5050, Panasonic FZ1, FZ10K, Oly Tcon 1.7
http://www.pbase.com/ramblin_mo/galleries

Bierbaum · Mar 15, 2004

I'm glad you got it figured out. I too, know what it is to be frustrated by all this Tech equipment.....LOL. All you can do is laugh at yourself and keep learning.

--
abierbaum

amerac · Mar 15, 2004

Karen 5 said:
so you've decided on the FZ10 for sure?

Yes, I think so. If I had to buy today, that is definitely what I would get. I am awaiting the return of my dead Oly750 from the service center, and I am going to perform some resurrection rituals suggested to me on the Oly forum. But my heart is already with the FZ10. I kind of knew all along that was what I would get, and was looking for contrary opinion. When I bought the Oly, I was tempted by the FZ-1 but the 4mp won out. Now, of course, I can have IS and my 4 mps too!

John_Reed · Mar 15, 2004

jack scholl said:
Karen,
As a new FZ10 owner I relate to your alarms. My best suggestion is
to have a very large merlot, read the manual from front to back
with camera in hand, and then have another merlot and do your next
favorite thing. The next day try again. . things will be fine.
It is not a perfect digicam. . but it does things that short of
$2-3000 in a DSLR with a hernia attached, nothing can compare!

Nothing? Well, there IS the "lowly" FZ1 or FZ2, now selling for $250 or so, that, though they fall short in the pixel count, still compare pretty well. Leave us not forget the heritage!

Member said:
Jack
http://www.pbase.com/jrs40

--
John Reed

Nikon CoolPix 4500 Panasonic DMC-FZ1 (w/FZ2 upgrade)

Ian Brook · Mar 15, 2004

Karen

This is something that I found, too, on my demonstration from hell, in NY. I got the dioptre set OK for my vision, but then what I pointed the camera at, subsequently, did not appear sharp in the EVF.

Ian

Karen 5 said:
Karen 5 said:

You should set the diopter first so it's clear to your vision (the
way I understand it the diopter is for the EVF, for people who
don't have perfect vision, it has nothing to do with focusing the
camera).

Click to expand...

right, i understand that..it's helping me focus, not the cam.
but seeing as how i'm doing a lot of this without glasses, am using
the diopter in trying to use the EVF. (playing with lcd and evf
both) find i can't just set it once and have it be right. every
time i change focal distance--if i'm saying that correctly, zoom in
or out--have to change the diopter for my eyes with EVF.

anyway, that's a side-issue, prolly should have left it out for now.

Karen 5 said:

Then try focusing on something - half-press the shutter
button until the green light stops flashing.

Click to expand...

i'm doing the half-shutter thing, but nothing is changing, nothing
seems to happen. with my Canon, works its little head off to
focus, you can hear/feel it. i get a good solid half-shutter,
fairly quick focus (depending, but at least it's trying), then snap!

it's almost like this cam doesn't have that feature..or perhaps i'm
not doing it right. dern, thought this was gonna be sorta like my
husb's old Sony Mavica with 10x (cept add 2x)..which has less than
a pixel but takes fast, precise shots with ease.

Karen

Effzeeone · Mar 15, 2004

Karen 5 said:
Karen 5 said:

Click on the menu and see if the AF Trigger is set on shutter or
focus. It needs to be set on shutter for the shutter to focus when
you push it half down.

Click to expand...

Walt, you may have it cause it's simply not focusing. only place i
see AF, is "C-AF" and it is indeed set to Off. but i can't get to
it for some reason. the menu skips right over it, from Audio
Rec.--right past my ability to get in and turn on/off AF--directly
to Dig. Zoom. how do i access it? or are we even talking about
the same thing?

Karen, I only have a upgraded FZ1, but it sounds like you have the camera set to use the focus button to achieve focus lock rather than the shutter button focus lock. That's the only way I can think of that would cause the Continual AutoFocus to not be a selectable option in your menu system. This is what occurs with my FZ1 when I select the focus button option instead of the shutter button.

Does any of the above make sense?

--
Chris

Effzeeone · Mar 15, 2004

(No Text)

--
Chris

RHinNC · Mar 15, 2004

jack scholl said:
Karen,
As a new FZ10 owner I relate to your alarms. My best suggestion is
to have a very large merlot, read the manual from front to back
with camera in hand, and then have another merlot and do your next
favorite thing. The next day try again. . things will be fine.
It is not a perfect digicam. . but it does things that short of
$2-3000 in a DSLR with a hernia attached, nothing can compare!
Jack
http://www.pbase.com/jrs40

Ouch! I am recovering from hernia surgery now.

One good thing, I can do lots of research. The bad thing is I spend money on stuff like a new FZ10 which should be here Wednesday...

Oh well, there is a silver lining in every cloud. Except I chose a black FZ10 over the silver one....

Kirwin · Mar 15, 2004

Enjoy your new camera!
--

Regards,
Kirwin
http://timebandit.smugmug.com

BB · Mar 15, 2004

First buy a fine clear tape for "permanent" long time use...

Then adjust the diopter setting until you are on the middle of perfection... You should then see the pixels... And fix that with a little piece of tape!

Cover also the MF selector, if you never use it!

Karen 5 said:
this camera seems to have almost no ability to auto-focus. when i
zoom in on anything it remains blurry. unless i mess around
with diopter, then manual (such as manual is)..by then the shot is
gone, unless it's a fixed object.

[disclaimer, in no way have i even semi-grasped the manual, nor do
i find the camera particularly intuitive, but for pete's sake, i'm
expecting some help with auto-focus in P mode]

Karen

--
I'm a film producer, photographer and website creator...
With EE plaza lifestyle Magazine, which include a first class
Best Buy guide and other sites - living for the beauty!

BB · Mar 15, 2004

Karen 5 said:
wow..so in Macro i can never use zoom..at all?? my best macros
with the S400 were usually right at it's top optical (3x),
sometimes a little dig thrown in.

You can always use 2x zoom in macro and still get max close...

And in that way, will not the camera make shadows (that hide your object) as easy!

--
I'm a film producer, photographer and website creator...
With EE plaza lifestyle Magazine, which include a first class
Best Buy guide and other sites - living for the beauty!

what am i doing wrong?

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