FZ1000 pictures from a neighborhood walk

[Mikedigi]

Very nice. Since my FZ8 in 2007 I have had several FZs and have always loved the Telemacro.

It is very clever that i.Auto shoots Macro and Telemacro so well.

If I mainly used DSLRs or ILCs, I would have an FZ just for the Macro and Telemacro.

There are things that I can shoot with Telemacro and onboard flash that would be very difficult to shoot any other way.

And of course at, say, 3mp EZ or 5mp EZ, Telemacro can be very long focal length indeed, still with onboard flash if needed.

Amazing cameras.

Mike

 

[Old Listener]

Very nice. Since my FZ8 in 2007 I have had several FZs and have always loved the Telemacro.

It is very clever that i.Auto shoots Macro and Telemacro so well.

If I mainly used DSLRs or ILCs, I would have an FZ just for the Macro and Telemacro.

There are things that I can shoot with Telemacro and onboard flash that would be very difficult to shoot any other way.

And of course at, say, 3mp EZ or 5mp EZ, Telemacro can be very long focal length indeed, still with onboard flash if needed.

Amazing cameras.

Mike

Thanks, Mike.

We still have an FZ50 that we use for documenting habitat restoration work days. I used it for several years for wildflower closeups but felt limited by the poor isolation of the subject from the background. I also preferred more working distance than I could get using the FZ50 for closeups. Still, the FZ50 produced some pictures I still love.

A grindeilia flower was the place to dine on this particular day.

Most of the photos in this gallery were taken with the FZ50.

Bugs!

The two blue-purple penstemon photos (with and without bee) were taken with a Nikon D5000 and 90mm macro lens. (APS-C sensor). You can see the good and bad of reduced depth of field.

The FZ50 was the best choice for us in 2008-9 but in 2016, the FZ1000 and m43 are way better for us.

I bought a cheap set of screw-on closeup lenses to use on the FZ1000. I tried the +1 lens and found it to be useful without much effect on IQ. That will give me some capability to get closeups of small objects when I'm carrying the FZ1000 and nothing else. However, the m43 setups we use are the very best tools for a day of wildflower and insect pictures (like yesterday.)

--
some of our photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_lesley_photos/
http://naturelover.smugmug.com/

 

[Mikedigi]

Thanks Bill, lots of good flower/ bug images there.

Have you explored the various Telemacro variants that I mentioned?

Mike

 

[GeorgianBay1939]

Absolutely beautiful, Bill!

Thanks. The subjects supply the art and I supply the craft to capture that beauty.

Is that the Oly 60mm f/2.8 on the G7? No image stabilization, methinks. Do you miss that?

No. I do not want stabilization in action when I take closeup/macro pictures.

Because you are using a tripod? Any other reason?

Balance problems force me to use a tripod for these pictures. I don't usually have a problem if the shutter speed is above 1/10 to 1/15 sec.

Wow! Good technique!

It is always a bonus to see little critters nestled, feeding or waiting for prey on your subjects, eh? I sometimes don't notice them until I get the camera home and downloaded.

Yes, there is a sense of discovery when you see an insect in a flower picture. One from today


Potentilla with red mite - I discovered it when I viewed the image on my PC. A reason for pixel peeping!

You are doing a great job with light. I will try to concentrate on that more.

When I approach a photographic, I'm thinking about geometry. Thinking about the light is part of it.

All natural light in our photos. No flash or continuous lighting.

Me neither but I have been tempted to use my flashlight when deep in forest foliage shoot spring ephemerals!

I think that you are getting in a lot closer than I am .... something else I should do. Still use minimum focus distance with the FZ1000 but with a shorter Focal Length.

For closeups/macro photos, I normally work at a distance that gives 1:2 to 1:3 magnification. I re-thought my approach to closeup/macro photography when I switched to m43 from Nikon DX gear. Many more keepers now and shooting is more relaxed. The details of my approach are another story.

Do you have that story posted somewhere? I'd love to read it!

Thanks a lot for giving me the links to that beautiful work Bill.

You are welcome. I'm sure you will be photographing flowers, insects, burds and mammals when the weather permits.

A long time yet. This is a pic taken Good Friday Morning when I went out to warm up my car:

--
some of our photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_lesley_photos/
http://naturelover.smugmug.com/

I am still going back to your images for a shot of spring energy!!

Many thanks!

--
Tom
The best part of growing old is having the opportunity to do so.

Brtthome's Blog

photos, prose, prattle and possibilities

brtthome.wordpress.com

 

[Old Listener]

Thanks Bill, lots of good flower/ bug images there.

Have you explored the various Telemacro variants that I mentioned?

Mike

I am aware of some modes that do in-camera cropping. I routinely crop later on both long-lens and macro pictures so the in-camera modes aren't a big deal for me.

I'll look into the AF Macro and Macro Zoom modes. However, AF is not relevant to the way I do flower pictures and "The image quality is poorer than during normal recording." doesn't sound promising.

Keep in mind that I use m43 for closeup photography most of the time. Long lens wildlife photos too. For us, the FZ1000 is mostly for other things.

 

[Mikedigi]

Thank you Bill.

Mike

 

[Old Listener]

Is that the Oly 60mm f/2.8 on the G7? No image stabilization, methinks. Do you miss that?

No. I do not want stabilization in action when I take closeup/macro pictures.

Because you are using a tripod? Any other reason?

I didn't have stabilization when I was shooting closeups handheld or with a monopod.

The dimensions of my subjects and the details in them are often quite small. DOF is 0.2 to 0.5 inches. I do not want an image stabilization algorithm messing around. I'm not thrilled about a sensor that is not firmly tied down.

Yes, I'm using the Oly 60mm macro lens. I also have a Sigma 105mm macro with 4/3 mount. It is sharp enough but for my work, the Oly 60mm is just a much better tool. I haven't used the Sigma 105 in 18+ months.

Balance problems force me to use a tripod for these pictures. I don't usually have a problem if the shutter speed is above 1/10 to 1/15 sec.

Wow! Good technique!

Thanks. My usual tripod developed a problem that compromised some pictures on our last two outings.

Before my balance went to hell, I got good results shooting handheld closeups like this one.

Vinegar weed flower.



It remains one of my favorites. Tiny flower a few inches off the ground with the flowers very close to stem and leaves. Tough to get a good photo. Hard to know what was in focus through the OVF. This time I got the picture. However, my success rate was not high enough to suit me.

Me neither but I have been tempted to use my flashlight when deep in forest foliage shoot spring ephemerals!

You do what you can to get the shots. The fetid adderstongue flowers were shot at ISO 3200 and 6400 with slow shutter speeds. Using a larger aperture than my usual f7.1 gets me something too; I shoot at a slightly greater distance to reclaim some DOF.

I think that you are getting in a lot closer than I am .... something else I should do. Still use minimum focus distance with the FZ1000 but with a shorter Focal Length.

For closeups/macro photos, I normally work at a distance that gives 1:2 to 1:3 magnification. I re-thought my approach to closeup/macro photography when I switched to m43 from Nikon DX gear. Many more keepers now and shooting is more relaxed. The details of my approach are another story.

Do you have that story posted somewhere? I'd love to read it!

One of these days I'll put it up on my blog (dormant for some time.) DPR is not a friendly environment for a heresy like mine. Way too many pedantic armchair macrophotography experts. I find less and less reason to post on DPR.

"This is a pic taken Good Friday Morning when I went out to warm up my car:"



That picture is certainly worth a thousand words. I spotted the windshield wipers pointed upward and realized that I never think about cold weather techniques.

"I am still going back to your images for a shot of spring energy!!

Many thanks!"

It is a pleasure to find and record subjects beautiful and interesting subjects in nature. Sharing them with others who appreciate nature makes it all better.

--
some of our photos

billhunt01

Explore billhunt01’s 541 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

NatureLover

Powered by SmugMug

naturelover.smugmug.com

 

[Old Listener]

Thanks Bill, lots of good flower/ bug images there.

Have you explored the various Telemacro variants that I mentioned?

Mike

Nike, I'll say one thing more. I do almost no PP. I do crop my photos. I find that useful in a variety of ways. The obvious effect is to make the subject larger. Cropping can reduce the amount of untidy background. It may render the remaining background less busy. It can alter the color balance of the photo. I don't control everything about the subject and its context; cropping lets me make the best of an imperfect original image.

I'd prefer to keep control of the cropping as opposed to letting the camera make choices.

 

[GeorgianBay1939]

Is that the Oly 60mm f/2.8 on the G7? No image stabilization, methinks. Do you miss that?

No. I do not want stabilization in action when I take closeup/macro pictures.

Because you are using a tripod? Any other reason?

I didn't have stabilization when I was shooting closeups handheld or with a monopod.

The dimensions of my subjects and the details in them are often quite small. DOF is 0.2 to 0.5 inches. I do not want an image stabilization algorithm messing around. I'm not thrilled about a sensor that is not firmly tied down.

Yes, I'm using the Oly 60mm macro lens. I also have a Sigma 105mm macro with 4/3 mount. It is sharp enough but for my work, the Oly 60mm is just a much better tool. I haven't used the Sigma 105 in 18+ months.

Balance problems force me to use a tripod for these pictures. I don't usually have a problem if the shutter speed is above 1/10 to 1/15 sec.

Wow! Good technique!

Thanks. My usual tripod developed a problem that compromised some pictures on our last two outings.

Before my balance went to hell, I got good results shooting handheld closeups like this one.

Vinegar weed flower.

It remains one of my favorites. Tiny flower a few inches off the ground with the flowers very close to stem and leaves. Tough to get a good photo. Hard to know what was in focus through the OVF. This time I got the picture. However, my success rate was not high enough to suit me.

That is a beauty! I looked up Vinegar Weed and found good photographs in Keith Haworth's very nice collection of wildflowers of the Santa Rosa Plateau. It sorta reminds me of the oft overlooked itty bitty Prunella vulgaris.

Me neither but I have been tempted to use my flashlight when deep in forest foliage shoot spring ephemerals!

You do what you can to get the shots. The fetid adderstongue flowers were shot at ISO 3200 and 6400 with slow shutter speeds. Using a larger aperture than my usual f7.1 gets me something too; I shoot at a slightly greater distance to reclaim some DOF.

I think that you are getting in a lot closer than I am .... something else I should do. Still use minimum focus distance with the FZ1000 but with a shorter Focal Length.

For closeups/macro photos, I normally work at a distance that gives 1:2 to 1:3 magnification. I re-thought my approach to closeup/macro photography when I switched to m43 from Nikon DX gear. Many more keepers now and shooting is more relaxed. The details of my approach are another story.

Do you have that story posted somewhere? I'd love to read it!

One of these days I'll put it up on my blog (dormant for some time.) DPR is not a friendly environment for a heresy like mine. Way too many pedantic armchair macrophotography experts. I find less and less reason to post on DPR.

Agree. When you say "blog" do you mean your restoration work on smugmug?

"This is a pic taken Good Friday Morning when I went out to warm up my car:"



That picture is certainly worth a thousand words. I spotted the windshield wipers pointed upward and realized that I never think about cold weather techniques.

"I am still going back to your images for a shot of spring energy!!

Many thanks!"

It is a pleasure to find and record subjects beautiful and interesting subjects in nature. Sharing them with others who appreciate nature makes it all better.

--
some of our photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_lesley_photos/
http://naturelover.smugmug.com/

Thanks a lot for showing us your fine work and sharing your hints Bill!

--
Tom
The best part of growing old is having the opportunity to do so.
https://brtthome.wordpress.com/

 

[Old Listener]

"That is a beauty! I looked up Vinegar Weed and found good photographs in Keith Haworth's very nice collection of wildflowers of the Santa Rosa Plateau."

I note that the flowers are quite monochrome blue in those pictures. I don't see that in my pictures. Perhaps the ~400 miles between his location and mine is the reason for the different color.

"It sorta reminds me of the oft overlooked itty bittyPrunella vulgaris."

I spotted a 1" tall flower in a grass lawn in New Brunswick on an August/September 2014 trip. The flower glows in the captured image.


self-heal, heals-all

Then I noticed an even smaller white flower in the grass nearby.


Eyebright

Both flowers were spectacular when seen (magnified) on our PCs.

"Agree. When you say "blog" do you mean your restoration work on smugmug?"

my blog site (not much used)

--
some of our photos

billhunt01

Explore billhunt01’s 541 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

NatureLover

Powered by SmugMug

naturelover.smugmug.com

 

[GeorgianBay1939]

"That is a beauty! I looked up Vinegar Weed and found good photographs in Keith Haworth's very nice collection of wildflowers of the Santa Rosa Plateau."

I note that the flowers are quite monochrome blue in those pictures. I don't see that in my pictures. Perhaps the ~400 miles between his location and mine is the reason for the different color.

"It sorta reminds me of the oft overlooked itty bittyPrunella vulgaris."

I spotted a 1" tall flower in a grass lawn in New Brunswick on an August/September 2014 trip. The flower glows in the captured image.


self-heal, heals-all

Have a look at the "Heal All" (the local name) taken with the FZ1000 around here last summer at https://brtthome.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/20150624-britt-beasties-and-blossoms/ (Exifs are intact there)

Then I noticed an even smaller white flower in the grass nearby.


Eyebright

Both flowers were spectacular when seen (magnified) on our PCs.

Yes, those clever cameras and big screens make for wonderful viewing.

"Agree. When you say "blog" do you mean your restoration work on smugmug?"

my blog site (not much used)

I enjoyed having a look at C, M & N! Thank you.

--
some of our photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_lesley_photos/
http://naturelover.smugmug.com/

All good stuff, eh?

--
Tom
The best part of growing old is having the opportunity to do so.

Brtthome's Blog

photos, prose, prattle and possibilities

brtthome.wordpress.com

 

[Old Listener]

Tom,

I looked at all the images on the page you linked. Great stuff. Subjects I like very much captured vividly.

Your heal all picture is very pretty. It was taken from the side where mine was taken looking down on the plant. I could believe that it is the same species. Of course, several species could have the same common name.

I especially like the Viper’s Bugloss. Such a striking combination of blue, green and red.

In the blog article, you said "I saw one patch of these blue flowers. I’ve not seen them around here before. Cultivar? Baby Blue Eyes?"

It looks like a flax to me. We have western blue flax in California that looks quite similar

western blue flax image on Flickr (with crab spider)

Our baby blue eyes looks somewhat different




baby blue eyes - taken late in the day at the Carrizo Plain in 2005 with a mediocre camera. Still a favorite though.



--
some of our photos

billhunt01

Explore billhunt01’s 541 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

NatureLover

Powered by SmugMug

naturelover.smugmug.com

 

[GeorgianBay1939]

Tom,

I looked at all the images on the page you linked. Great stuff. Subjects I like very much captured vividly.

Your heal all picture is very pretty. It was taken from the side where mine was taken looking down on the plant. I could believe that it is the same species. Of course, several species could have the same common name.

I especially like the Viper’s Bugloss. Such a striking combination of blue, green and red.

In the blog article, you said "I saw one patch of these blue flowers. I’ve not seen them around here before. Cultivar? Baby Blue Eyes?"

It looks like a flax to me. We have western blue flax in California that looks quite similar

western blue flax image on Flickr (with crab spider)

Our baby blue eyes looks somewhat different


baby blue eyes - taken late in the day at the Carrizo Plain in 2005 with a mediocre camera. Still a favorite though.

--
some of our photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_lesley_photos/
http://naturelover.smugmug.com/

Thanks for your correction, Bill. I agree. I found that patch in some wasteland near some former dwellings so it is very likely planted from seed by someone who appreciated that western wildflower. I shall revisit the spot this summer.

I went back to the blog's archives to see the first month of posts last year, (May 2015) and realized that the journal/diary style will useful to guide some of my photo probing this year. That style imposes some discipline to get out and about every day .... and to get some product up on the blog at least every week. Ahh ... in a month: https://brtthome.wordpress.com/2015/05/

--
Tom
The best part of growing old is having the opportunity to do so.

Brtthome's Blog

photos, prose, prattle and possibilities

brtthome.wordpress.com

 

[Old Listener]

Before you got the FZ1000, I used to see your posts on the m43 forum and found them something to look forward too.

Fine subjects well captured in that blog post. You have something to look forward to. Hope it comes soon. Tomorrow, we're off on a short trip to see wildflowers in central California.

The blue flowers in the blog post you first linked to might or might not be the same western blue flax. I belive they are in the same genus. Perhaps a cultivar since the color on the petals is rather uniform.