FZ18 - Versatility of the zoom lens

[HeatherV]

Super shots Gail, I love the last shot, almost looks like a painting. I have just received miy FZ18 so look forward to getting out and giving it a test.

HeatherV....in the county of Dorset UK....Panasonic FZ7, LX1 and FZ50. Tcon 17, Raynox DCR250 & DCR150



http://www.heathersgallery.fotopic.net
http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathervhogg/

 

[PC Wheeler]

I continue to be amazed and impressed with the versatile zoom of the
FZ18. I continue to want to learn more and more to get the best out
of this camera.

The Canon S2 introduced me to the mega zoom digital camera and the
TZ3 reintroduced me to the value of having a 28mm wide-angle
capability. I can never have enough zoom. To have so much of it and
so many features in a package that weighs 14.4 oz including batteries
is, for me, a dream come true.

I have few quibbles with the FZ18 and they are minor. As someone who
reduces images in size and makes primarily small prints, I have no
real complaints about it's sensitivity performance up to ISO 400.

Bought an FZ18, pixel-peeked it to death and took it back to COSTCO due to noise. This morning I re-looked at yesterdays shots full-screen and could not see the noise; and the largest I ever print with a P&S is 8x10. So when COSTCO opened this morning I gave them their cash back and have a second FZ18 .. which does seem to have less chroma noise than the first in similar shots.

I still have and will keep my S3: Great for movie clips & my wife likes it. I did sell my G9: Great camera but not small enough for my pockets; at ISO 80 the G9 has the best IQ of any P&S I've used .. but only 33mm or so on the wide end and only 6x zoom (superzooms spoil me). The FZ18 has in it's one lens the same range I get with my 20D and two Canon IS zoom lenses (total lens price = $1800); in my old age (71 in Jan), I prefer carrying less while hiking! So the FZ18 makes more sense for me than the DSLR. The G9 just did too little for the activities I enjoy, neither fish nor fowl .. but a great camera.

Of course I will always carry one of the Fujis, both of which do very well at ISO 800 and 1600 in a pinch. FZ18 + F31fd really cover all situations

--
Phil .. Panny FZ18, Canon S3 IS, SD700IS, 300D & EOS 20D; Fuji F20 & F31fd.
http://www.pbase.com/phil_wheeler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_ox/

 

[gail]

The more I see FZ18 pictures the more I think it gives the FZ30/50 a
run for their money. The Egret detail in what looks like fading
light is very good. I'd be interested in knowing how much cropping
took place here because the quality looks to compare with a shot
taken with little zoom at fairly close range.

I rarely put full sized images up but I'll do so for this one. It will help others understand why I had to crop it the way I did.

It may also be a delight for pixel peepers to pick apart. I am not among those who judge an image at 100%; never have; never will. Some of you may need to; I do not. You can see the original here:

http://www.pbase.com/gailb/image/88194984/original

I judge an image after it's reduced in size, a tad of levels and slightly sharpened:



--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[Urbanito]

Gail. You are doing an exceptional work with the FZ18. Your progresses are so quick and evident because you have the gift. Soon you will become a great photographer.
Kind regards,
Joao

 

[gail]

Really like the third one, what part of Florida did you take these?

They were taken in Martin County, about 20 miles north of the Palm Beaches in South Florida. The sunrise photos (if you saw them: http://www.pbase.com/gailb/fz18fav ) were taken at Hobe Sound Beach on Jupiter Island.

The other photos were taken right in the community where I live. It abuts a huge preserve area. The heron and stork shots were taken along one of the streets in our community. The area in the photo is where mildly flowing water gathers. The birds gather there to feed. I shoot during the golden hours when the lighting is ideal.

Believe it or not, I stood on a paved sidewalk about 30' away from the birds. Cars drive by right behind me. Others jog past me or pass by walking their dogs.

I'm fairly new in the community but people are getting used to seeing me with a camera around my neck walking around the streets. They are very respectful and move to the other side of the street so as to not interfere with my photo taking.

Ft. Myers is a good drive from the Martin/Palm Beach Country area but there are so many interesting places to visit and photograph including Jonathan Dickinson State Park; Blowing Rocks; Jupiter Lighthouse. Morakami Park, Indian River Lagoon, FL Oceanographic Coastal Center and a whole lot more.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[gail]

Joao,

Thank you. I am touched by your kind comments.

I suppose, to some extent, it helps that I have an art background. But I follow a few very basic principles of composition that anyone can follow really.

The other "secret," besides taking LOTS of photos (and only showing the good ones), is to try to understand camera settings in relation to light; exposure compensation and Exposure Lock are the main ones I use. (I probably couldn't set a camera manually if you paid me. I use P Mode and begrudgingly if I have to, Shutter or Aperture priority mode).

Photography-wise, I try to savor, understand and absorb the words of George Eastman, one of the founders of Kodak:

"Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography."

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[gail]

Super shots Gail, I love the last shot, almost looks like a painting.
I have just received miy FZ18 so look forward to getting out and
giving it a test.

Thank you and congratulations. I look forward to seeing photos from your lovely country! I wish you lots of sun. ;-)

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[gail]

Bought an FZ18, pixel-peeked it to death and took it back to COSTCO
due to noise.

It does have noise; anyone who tells you differently is not with the program. But is it noise most of us can live and work with, YES!!!

I still have and will keep my S3: Great for movie clips

That's the only thing I miss not having the S2. My hubby has no interest in photography. At least you have a wife to keep all the batteries conditioned. LOL! ;-)

Of course I will always carry one of the Fujis, both of which do very
well at ISO 800 and 1600 in a pinch. FZ18 + F31fd really cover all
situations

We discussed this some time ago in the CTF, but why do you keep both the F20 and F31? I'm seriously thinking of getting one of them (I don't care about manual controls so, other than that....), which do you prefer as to high ISO performance: the F20 or F31?

I hope you enjoy your F18 as much as I do!!!
--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[PC Wheeler]

We discussed this some time ago in the CTF, but why do you keep both
the F20 and F31? I'm seriously thinking of getting one of them (I
don't care about manual controls so, other than that....), which do
you prefer as to high ISO performance: the F20 or F31?

Well, there's the problem. The F31 is better for outdoors and such. The F20 seems to do better for shooting flash-free indoors at high ISO. So it is hard to part with either of them, darn it. But if I had to sell one, it would be the F31, I guess.

Since I paid $140 for the F20 is not a big deal to keep. I also prefer it's optional external charger: Plugs into wall vs. corded.

--
Phil .. Panny FZ18, Canon S3 IS, SD700IS, 300D & EOS 20D; Fuji F20 & F31fd.
http://www.pbase.com/phil_wheeler
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phil_ox/

 

[nascardudette]

As much as I loved my S2, it really was heavy. Though eventually a
proponent, I came to dislike having to baby-sit three sets of
batteries (3 sets of 4 AA batteries).

I was able to conquer the battery situation by switching to energizer E2 lithiums.

They weigh less and last a really long time. I bought 40 on ebay for $24. I go thru about 4 a month. So it really is not a bad deal. I was surprisingly pleased with the battery performance AND the flash recycles much faster.

Will cooking a big, fat, juicy filet minon work?

probably getting a job to support my hobbies would work better

just kidding .. he is fine about it all .. it is more my issue of feeling guilty and wasteful with cameras that I "rarely" use. Guess I need to try to ebay the old FZs.

Thanks again for the great posts .. and the great thread .. lots of good info.
--
FZ10, FZ3, S5is

 

[Dcuk]

Great photo's Gail,

The third one looks almost like it's from the 'Set' of Jurassic Park! Was T-Rex on lunch break? Were you shooting RAW (roar) bad joke alert! D

Cheers,
Dcuk

 

[Dcuk]

To save you needing to crop so tight does this help any?

Below the original



Below new version (maybe?)



Link for full size new version
http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/29616/2000412482300921072_rs.jpg

Spent about 45 mins to see how a new composition might look (probably needs longer to do it correctly.)
Cheers,
Dcuk

 

[gail]

The third one looks almost like it's from the 'Set' of Jurassic Park! Was T-Rex on lunch break? Were you shooting RAW (roar) bad joke alert! D

LOL! Good one.

I haven't shot much RAW because it seems to slow shot-to-shot time; not something I want to happen when photographing subjects like birds. Am I missing something? I'm using a SanDisk Extreme card so it's fast.

Spent about 45 mins to see how a new composition might look (probably
needs longer to do it correctly.)

Thank you! You did an incredible job. I'm not sure I could get it to look that good. Any tips?

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[Dcuk]

Aw thank you! [blushes]

Tips:

Hmm where to begin? I'll start at the very beginning, it's a very good place to start, when you begin, you begin with A, B, C .......

OK, think that's enough of that! )

The whole thing was done using GIMP 2.4 (the free open source image editor)

I grabbed a slice from the left side of your photo, made the canvas larger, then added the photo slice on again further to the left from where it was, kept repeating this with the slice at different heights and mirrored once,

next used the clone tool to hide the slice edges and add random bits of detail here & there to make it look almost like different scenery, also using the clone tool painted bits in on the water and did further touching up, till felt happy with the result (still needs more work so not completely happy lol) but tried to do it fairly quickly to keep it fresh since someone had mention about your tight crop and didn't know how many people might post on your thread in between.

Please make all Cheques/Checks (I'm still learning to speak American so please excuses all spelling mistakes) payable to me! (joke)
Cheers,
Dcuk

 

[JohnTN]

I agree 100% I just got back from as month long trip today using it every day Started out at the Vegas, the Grand Canyon, then San Diego Zoo, then Sequoia NP, after that on to AU and NZ. Will post pictures a soon as I get them dl'd from the Ipod I backed them up to on the trip.

I was truly amazed at how well it did!
--
John

 

[gail]

Thanks, Dcuk!

I simply love your humor.

I appreciate your sharing the image editing steps you took. I'm going to give them a try (or is it, give it a go?) when time permits. I just hope I can do as good a job as you.

Oh, don't worry about not yet learning to speak American. I was raised in Brooklyn, NY so I don't know it fully either.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[gail]

And you forgot to ask me to carry your camera bags?!

Seriously, that sounds like a trip of a lifetime. Can't wait until you share some photos and FZ18 tips with us. Glad the FZ18 served you well.
--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php

 

[Dcuk]

Wow! just looking at some of your pbase photos,

"Man and his best friend" (but which one?)

It's a great photo but!
(If I'd put 'butt!' that would make it a bum photo, which it's not)

As in some many things in life, if only you'd taken the photo a few seconds earlier you would have captured (looking at the second set of foot prints) maybe the only real proof of big foot! D



Just kidding.
Some really nice photos!
Keep up the good work and let me know how you get on with your editing.
Cheers,
Dcuk

 

[gail]

As in some many things in life, if only you'd taken the photo a few
seconds earlier you would have captured (looking at the second set of
foot prints) maybe the only real proof of big foot! D

Actually, it was the Loch Ness Monster, taking a little break from your region of the world to get a bit of sun. I'm surprised you didn't see the pic of Nessie in my online gallery.

I have an interesting story behind that shot; a real example of pressing the shutter button at the right second.

That beach has a leash law; I never paid much attention to it until the dog in the photo kept jumping on me out of nowhere a couple mornings in a row. I was in deep concentration, looking through the viewfinder and didn't see doggie coming, so he scared the whits end out of me and my heart would literally pound.

The reason I snapped that shot one morning was to use to report the owner to the authorities. But when I saw how the picture came out I was so excited, made some prints and gave them to him another morning. He even wrote me a thank you.

Needless to say I never placed the call.

--
gail ~ http://www.pbase.com/gailb
My digital camera BLOGs: Pany FZ18 & TZ3; Canon S2, SD700 & A570; Nikon 5400
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-logs/index.php